After this, you won't wonder why I haven't written ...

I woke up, made oatmeal for breakfast, took the dog with me to put wood in the wood stove and empty ashes. Back at the house, I started laundry, washed the garage floor (yes ... I wash the garage floor), washed the kitchen floor, switched laundry from washer to dryer, reloaded dryer. Thought about going to Mass, decided not to (a duet of decisions that has been singing together for something like 10 years). It isn't the Church, it is "the look" that you get if you go single and as a stranger. Well, people DO. Religion is fine; people need a great deal of work.


Where was I? As usual not going to church and continuing my litany of things that don't much go on in my life and why - honest - I don't write about the nothing that never happens because even I see how tedious that would be.

I got the Kubota out and took dog for a run. He found a hole in the woods, that was probably something that would bite him on the nose if I let him dig for more than a minute, so I distracted him by shouting "squirrel" and pointing further down, so off he ran and I followed him. After he realized that I had lied to him, well ... he is a dog, because he is a dog, he didn't care all that much because he decided to look for mousers in a rotting log. He didn't find any. Stop to put more wood in the stove then back to the house, started taping the Daytona 500 for the fella and I started this post.

I wonder if people realize that when they drive their four wheel drives over fields to get to a place to appreciate nature, in the process, they have almost certainly squished a few field mice.

I wonder what the heck Beyonce is plugging in that commercial where she sings and dances about upgrading something-or-other. My attention comes to a dead stop at the point where she is holding a big gold "upgrade" necklace in her teeth. Beautiful talented girl bites gaudy neckwear and right then and there, I realize that whatever she is promoting it isn't to me. Mental "click". Next.

I pause to switch laundry again.

Typical day for me, Sunday anyway. Rest of the week, subtract guilt over not publicly worshiping, add diesel fumes and mud.

Sun on a Snowy Roof Makes ...

I was inside working one day last week.  The sun was warm on the southern side of the school house roof, which melted the snow, the water dripped from the edges of the rain gutters, hit the cold air and froze. Of course that happened over and over again until the icicles formed and I looked out the window and took a picture.  Of course.

So, guess the wild one isn't THIS one.

The big big, get ready it is on the way monster, batten down the hatches storm that Fabiola talked about here, seems to have uhhh, rethought the whole issue and decided to become a light snowfall with icy cold and little wind. Sold!

Still cold, even with snow, is tollerable. The prep that everyone here did will not go unused. There will be one or two wild days yet in this season, and as the worst rarely happens with the three day advance notice of nothing that this one got, being ready ahead of time is all logs on the fire and fuzzy slippers on the feet.

But I was all ready to tell stories of bravery once removed. Once removed, as I refuse to go out until the storm is done stormin but the fella and the local boys always come up with an excuse as to why they have to brave the elements after they have been inside for more than 12 hours.

"Oh, LOOK! Neighbor up the road is headed this way in his four wheel drive and Neighbor to the south is headed that way up the road with his plow truck. Wonder if they can see each other? Nevermind, I hear snowmobiles, it they are all locals and know where the ditches are they can make sure the boys get home fine."

I will be standing warm at the window with my fuzzy slippers on. Watching and lauging.

Saturday Night Slipping Round In The Dark ...

Saturday Night just past dark, I slip into my dancin shoes and don my brightest, best sliding through the night finery. Off I go, out the door and down the lane anticipating a meeting in the semi dark. Ember stirring is my intent. Without a word spoken, fuel added to glowing coals produce flame which slowly grows to a fire and...

Oh, it's a regular thing, me and my woodstove. 'Most every night in the winter, around dark, I put my work shoes and several layers of outdoor clothes and with puppy I walk while he runs down to the shop to fill the woodstove and set the dampers for the night so there will be heat in the morning. Tonight was no different than most before except for the blowing snow which wasn't nearly as deep as the weather people predicted, which is just as well, but no big deal one way or the other.

Saturday night in a world where starlight is often enough to light the way to where I want to go.

Waiting for Spring ...

Rhonda in the post below wrote a comment regarding hanging in through the dark until Spring. This time of year is always a challenge. But of course we can hang in!

A couple of weeks from now the January thaw will happen. It always does. Round about the third week of January, after a forever of the worst cold and miserable the year throws at us, comes a few days, maybe almost a whole week when the sun shines and the weather warms. Most years, one day a couple of days in the air will smell of Spring.

That is the day in winter that I wait for, the one that smells of warming earth with a hint of a promise of green. That day is Old Man Winter's exit cue, the day that he starts to pack-up getting ready to go. Of course we can hang in waiting for the day that reminds us why Spring is so glorious.

A Day for Bittersweet Songs and Hot Coffee ..

If the sun ever got round to rising today, there was little evidence in the light. Early January seems to bring grey days with her when she sweeps in all silver and cold. Today was all freezing mist slowly glazing everything with a fine coat of ice. It was a day to stay inside and mostly, I did, playing bittersweet songs from the seventies, Carole King and Dan Fogelberg and ... well, if you are near my age, you know the ones. And always, as always a pot of hot, hot coffee went with me across the street to the office, along with a half full half gallon of Chocolate Silk to mix in.

Fabiola didn't venture out when I did a few times, to skate to the mail-box and back, then later to the house. After dark, puppy and I slid down to the pole barn to re-fill the wood stove, I guess so that the trucks don't get cold. Although on a day like today, they weren't going anywhere. Unless a have-to came along, fortunately, it didn't.

Even through the gray, I did notice was the the days are getting longer at last. A hint of coming Spring in a few additional minutes of gray light today. But it is still dark when I get to work and dark when I leave. Today was all silver in the middle.

Starting Over, over again

I spent about half an hour yesterday going through some of my old posts. My reaction? Who the hell is that person? What happened to her and where did she go? I liked her, before she got busy and tired and, frankly, stopped feeling much of anything anymore.

So, (mentally shaking my hands in the air to clear the current from them and maybe, just maybe, hook into that wave in the air that sometimes if you are creative and looking carries ideas along waiting to be pulled out for a look see). Ut-oh crazy talk.

Not so much, really. Ever notice how bloggers that write rather than report often write about similar odd ideas on the same day. Or you were just going to write about ... but ... wrote about it today and you don't want to seem to be snagging ideas from them. But you thought it was passing strange that they ...

There is a wave in the air, or a river, or a net, a cosmic something or other that has all sorts of interesting things flying or swimming or just hanging around waiting for you to come by. Yes, yes, I know, crazy talk. Still. Reaching.

Not there not at the moment. Back to where I was. Starting here.