a wintry Tuesday

Most of my (formerly) Midwest friends have relocated to the south. Oh, they were slow to leave initially. But the winter sojourns turned into year round events and poof! They're suddenly residents of places such as Florida and New Mexico.

I claim to like the seasons. I tell people near and far that snowfalls are beautiful and though cold, Wisconsin has the virtue of sunshine in the wintertime. Give me a sunny 10F (-12C) over a damp, foggy 30F (-1C) anytime! -- I say this with utter conviction.

But there's a twist: you need to get used to the cold. Cheepers need time to grow extra feathers, humans need time to grow resilient. In other words, when the first snowstorms come our way, it feels unpleasantly cold out there!






I went out to free the cheepers.






Brrr! I gave them extra bread, I shoveled the path to the farmhouse door, I went inside and slammed the door behind me.

Still, it is tempting to step out and reacquaint myself with winter, especially in the two minutes where the sun poked through (I caught that from the upstairs of the farmhouse).






Ed runs the snowblower to make it easy for me to back out the car. He eats a small breakfast. Snow drips down from his jacket to the kitchen floor.






In the late morning, I ask him if we should go cross country skiing. I would have been okay had he said no. It just felt so cold out there! But he doesn't hesitate -- let's go!

And of course, if you're moving around on skis, it takes no time to warm up.






Ed's a late comer to skiing. He often feels unsteady at the beginning of the season. For me, skis and skates are my childhood friends. And still, he and I do well together. I sometimes take detours for an extra workout. But inevitably, we'll ski through a beautiful stretch ever so thankful to be out on this gray but beautiful winter day together.






In the afternoon, I am with Snowdrop.

Look, grandma! A tiny book about penguins!






Isn't that grand?






With Christmas and a birthday celebration, and many adoring relatives delighting in this very first grandchild in our extended clan, there are a number of new toys in her home. (By contrast, I had a doc's appointment earlier today. My MD admitted to having four grandchildren. When I expressed delight, he said -- well, the oldest girl is reasonable and quiet. The three boys? It's like a tornado passing through. I had the feeling that "adoring" was not the attitude adopted by those sharing the holidays with the younger bunch.)






The little one is, of course, delighted. And playful. In love with it all.






But her main way of attacking the new is to try to understand what makes it tick. She has spent many intense moments trying to figure out how to flip those tightly bound pages of a cardboard book. Here, she is trying to understand the operation of a plastic pretend vehicle of sorts.






Again and again, she wants to get it.






All this is rather exhausting for her. She pauses, she asks to be held, she perseveres.

I'm thinking that it's tough to be an almost one year old.


I go home tired, because I know she is tired. Ah, but tomorrow - that's another day. How good is that!