Hello World!

Main Entry: cabin fever

Function: noun

Date: 1918

: extreme irritability and restlessness from living in isolation or a confined indoor area for a prolonged time

I guess I didn’t really need Merriam-Webster to point that out, did I? After battling a cold and being down for the count for nearly a week, it’s a given that I was ill-tempered and antsy. Doing nothing but staring at four walls and sleeping a majority of the time definitely quashes one’s right brain. What to do to combat this affliction?  Get the heck out of the house, of course! I can only take so many photos of my interior precinct and didn’t really want to start detailing bodily functions; it wouldn’t have been pretty. Fresh air was definitely in order.

Even though this photo was taken at the historic summer resort community of Ottawa Beach, its February landscape parallels yet starkly contrasts the subject of my recent flashback to Oahu. Much of this water was frozen and didn’t invitingly beckon an afternoon dip. (I’ve never had a desire to become a member of any Polar Bear Club by plunging into icy waters.) The snow-covered beach wasn’t wrapped in blue skies, but rather cloudy gray through which very little sun shone. Those hunky cabana boys and totally rad surfer dudes? They were replaced with ice fishermen not prancing around in Speedos, but instead bundled up against the elements. Yes, I’d still rather be recouping and taking pictures in Hawaii, but I think this shot is just as lovely.

And it sure was great to again be out in the real world!