From the Mouth of Demons

Hopefully, this will be one of my last cold weather posts of the season. The last two weeks have been literal bitter disappointments with frigid temps day after day. There were a few teases above 20°, but both were short-lived. So what we get are these instances where things melt up a bit, only to freeze mere hours later. They make the sidewalks treacherous. But they also wreak havoc on our roofs and gutters.

I was driving down Park Avenue this last weekend and noticed the grand Swedish Institute. It is one of our few remaining grand castles. Summit Ave and Lowry Hill also have huge estates, but most are truly American. The Institute harkens back to the grandeur of European architecture. One of the many amazing features are the Gargoyles that adorn the exterior of the gutters on the corners. They are intricate monsters & creatures that have these horrific mouths where the water shoots out. I have only seen them in full rain once where the current of the water came lashing out! Here in the winter, they are sometimes frozen on these late days where the snow on the roof melts during the afternoon and then slowly sets by the dusk.

This collection is from a Facebook Feed article. No photographers are credited. But each one captures some of that Nordic winter spirit that I am trying to get at. Hopefully they will be flooded with rainfall in the next 2 months.