We continue to be many degrees below normal. Plenty of sunshine, but cold. Just a tiny, wobbly step above freezing.
After a thorough farmhouse cleaning, Ed and I sit down to breakfast and review our options.
The grass needs to be cut. Not so much because we are looking for that perfect grass length, but because the maples have shed their leaves and if we do not either rake (how tedious!) or mow (shredding the leaves to smithereens), the grass will not survive, come springtime.
Ed goes out to start the tractor-mower. What a surprise -- it's dead. I turn to baking cookies.
(The ingredients are a giveaway, no? Moroccan semolina almond lemon cookies.)
(Ready to bake!)
(baked!)
(Ready to eat!)
Ed has been volunteering his labor at a maker space downtown (it's where people come together to build stuff) and he goes off to work there. I have only one requirement for the both of us this afternoon: that we take a walk. Somewhere.
But where?
We live near a city rich with urban parks. This one, by Lake Menona, offers a number of trails.
Some of them take you down to the star attraction here -- the lake. With, of course -- the view.
The lake isn't anywhere near frozen yet, but there are signs of winter. Look! Thick icicles dangling from a fallen limb...
If you want proof of our current winter madness, you need only cast a glance at the shoreline here...
Still, there's a hazy sun and a lovely path that beckons. We feel energized!
It's one of those rare Sundays where the parents of Snowdrop have evening work obligations and so the young family is not with us for dinner. Ed suggests we buy a Subway sandwich and split it for our evening meal.
Perhaps I should have nodded a yes to that. I am right in the thick of planning the Thanksgiving meal. But I could not do it. On a late fall Sunday, the smell of food baking, cooking, percolating is heavenly! Chicken in garlic, olive oil, lemon and rosemary... Potatoes roasted at the side... a veggie, a salad... This is what makes a Sunday evening special.
The crazy busy week begins tomorrow. Tonight, the farmhouse is quiet. Peaceful. Getting ready for what's ahead.
After a thorough farmhouse cleaning, Ed and I sit down to breakfast and review our options.
The grass needs to be cut. Not so much because we are looking for that perfect grass length, but because the maples have shed their leaves and if we do not either rake (how tedious!) or mow (shredding the leaves to smithereens), the grass will not survive, come springtime.
Ed goes out to start the tractor-mower. What a surprise -- it's dead. I turn to baking cookies.
(The ingredients are a giveaway, no? Moroccan semolina almond lemon cookies.)
(Ready to bake!)
(baked!)
(Ready to eat!)
Ed has been volunteering his labor at a maker space downtown (it's where people come together to build stuff) and he goes off to work there. I have only one requirement for the both of us this afternoon: that we take a walk. Somewhere.
But where?
We live near a city rich with urban parks. This one, by Lake Menona, offers a number of trails.
Some of them take you down to the star attraction here -- the lake. With, of course -- the view.
The lake isn't anywhere near frozen yet, but there are signs of winter. Look! Thick icicles dangling from a fallen limb...
If you want proof of our current winter madness, you need only cast a glance at the shoreline here...
Still, there's a hazy sun and a lovely path that beckons. We feel energized!
It's one of those rare Sundays where the parents of Snowdrop have evening work obligations and so the young family is not with us for dinner. Ed suggests we buy a Subway sandwich and split it for our evening meal.
Perhaps I should have nodded a yes to that. I am right in the thick of planning the Thanksgiving meal. But I could not do it. On a late fall Sunday, the smell of food baking, cooking, percolating is heavenly! Chicken in garlic, olive oil, lemon and rosemary... Potatoes roasted at the side... a veggie, a salad... This is what makes a Sunday evening special.
The crazy busy week begins tomorrow. Tonight, the farmhouse is quiet. Peaceful. Getting ready for what's ahead.
Nina, your cookies look lovely. I can almost smell the fragrances of the chicken you cooked, and the roasted potatoes.
ReplyDeleteSeeing today's photos, I realize that winter is upon you.
Perhaps you live about as far north as Sapporo -- 30 centimeters of snow fell in Sapporo yesterday!!
I am dying to ask now: surely all the Sandhills Cranes have left Madison for balmier climes by now, haven't they? Please leave a comment about this if you have time sometime.
Thanks for your blogging. I can't tell you how I have enjoyed reading every blog post you have ever written.
Ah, lovely Sapporo! But of course, Sapporo is prone to snow. We here used to get such beautiful snowfalls, but in recent years, it has been less predictable. It's cold, but often very dry in the winter.
DeleteAs for the cranes -- I believe they stay here very late -- until the end of November and sometimes even into early December. Their winter nesting ground is for the most part Florida. Not terribly far. But this year, I wouldn't be surprised if they already have departed. It's been far colder. That may have put them off. If I have time this weekend, I'll look around at their favorite spaces -- the cornfields by the wetlands. You can usually find a bunch there if they haven't yet left.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Birdwatcher!