Werner Ulrich's Home Page:  Ulrich's Bimonthly

Formerly "Picture of the Month"

January-February 2008

Years come and go (New Year's poem)

Years come and go
Bring us more of the same
Wrapped up in new numbers.


Years come and go
Should it be in vain?
Many a fellow wonders.


Years come and go
Allow us trying again
Beyond all previous blunders.


Years come and go
Some memories remain
Resist routine's sweet slumbers.


Be welcome then, old new year
Let your Pandora box of hope and pain
Bring us happiness not cumbers!


      W. Ulrich, 1 Jan 2008

For a hyperlinked overview of all issues of "Ulrich's Bimonthly" and the previous "Picture of the Month" series, see the site map

Welcome back  Another year has gone by before we may be ready to say goodbye and tackle another one. Never mind, it's only a change of numbers. Or is it? Well, yes, but it's a change of numbers that gives us an annual opportunity to pause, to take some distance. Reculer pour mieux sauter, you know that one, just make sure you emerge from the festivities reasonably fit and well to jump. In any case, thanks for being back to the Bimonthly.

The good news is, the dark season here in the Northern hemisphere is already at bay. It has begun to slowly give way to the growing light of January and February, with their happy mixture of snow, sun, and ski boots. A good time to look forward, define new goals and take up new projects.

I wish you a year of prosperous and meaningful new undertakings, along with the health and good spirits it takes to accomplish them.
Happy New Year!

The discreet charm of January  For this first Bimonthly of the year, I have selected two pictures that I brought home from one of my recent photographic excursions. If you first look at the picture below, you see a tranquil winter landscape close to Riggisberg, a village some 20 km south of Bern, Switzerland, with the chain of the Bernese Alps rising in the background. There is only little snow in the fields, which allows their various colors and patterns to show through. The translucent nature of the fields makes this pre-Alpine winter scenery look serene and friendly. To be sure, we have winter, it is cold and the mid-afternoon shades are prevailing over the sunny mountains in the distance; but thanks to this translucent quality of the fields, there is a hint of spring and warmth, something that makes us feel light-hearted, safe and secure. But then, looking in the opposite direction (roll your mouse over the picture), we suddenly see an area of low pressure nearing from the north-west, bringing thick clouds, cold winds, and probably snow. The scenery has turned unfriendly, almost menacing. Time to go home and enjoy an evening by the fireside!

Janus-faced January  January is the month of Janus, the god of two faces. What a fitting metaphor for this month of warmth and cold, of light and shadow, of leaving behind us the old year and beginning a new one.

January n., [M.E. Janyuere < L. Januarius (mensis), (the month) of Janus, to whom it was sacred] the first month of the year, having 31 days; abbrev. Jan., Ja.

Janus [L., lit. gate, arched passageway < I.E. base ya-, var. of ei-, to go, whence YEAR] Rom. Myth. the god who was guardian of portals and patron of beginnings and endings; he is shown as having two faces, one in front, the other at the back of his head

(from Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, , 2nd College Edition, D.B. Guralnik, ed., Cleveland: William Collins + World Publishing, 1974; the Janus picture is from Livius.Org, with permission).

Picture data  Digital photograph taken on 8 December 2007 shortly before 15:30 p.m. in aperture priority mode, ISO 100, aperture f/7.1, shutter speed 1/125, focal length 26 mm (equivalent to 39 mm with a conventional 35 mm camera). Original resolution 3872 x 2592 pixels; current resolution 700 x 525 pixels, compressed to 119 KB. The second picture, which appears when you roll your mouse over the basic picture, was taken at the same time and location but looking in the opposite direction, towards north-west rather than south-east. Its technical data are identical except for the following details: ISO 200, aperture f/10, shutter speed 1/250, focal length 34 mm (equivalent to 51 mm with a 35 mm camera), compressed to 100 KB.

„Years come and go
Bring us more of the same
Wrapped up in new numbers.”

(From this New Year's poem)

Notepad for capturing personal thoughts  »

Last updated 1 Jan 2008 (first published 1 Jan 2008)
https://wulrich.com/bimonthly_january2008.html