Saturday - 323rd

You know how the air feels just before a snowstorm: a little prickly, eerily still. Well that's our morning for you! The snow wont start until late afternoon, but it feels like it may want to deceive us and get here earlier. We're not the boss here, we merely watch and wait.

Winter colors are very much driven by the snow on the ground and the sun in the sky. If both are present, you get a range of beautiful tones that change as the day progresses. Shadows are a deep blue, the snow is lustrous, the yellow of the farmhouse and the red of the sheep shed stand out. But on a pre-storm day, the snow blends into the murky background of somber tones.

The animals all stay in their favorite protected shelters. For Dance, this seems to be our farmhouse. Just a visit! (But it's not a short visit.)

A friend who lives in California, described for me what's blooming there now. I think about what is blooming here now. It's all on a sunny window sill, or on the kitchen table, or in my head.

I spend many hours searching for books for the grandkids. It's a tricky project because I'm not there, eyeballing their bookshelves. And sending emails "do you have this, do you have that" kind of takes away any element of surprise. You want to give them a pick-me-up on a dark winter's day, not a promise of something someday in the future. Still, I search.

It's a day of quiet. We push ourselves out to ski, but it's an effort. (No regrets, once we're out!)

On the weekend, we search out parking lots with fewest cars and pick up the trails there. Today, that put us in the 9-Springs wetlands. Not necessarily our favorite place, but we do avoid people!

(Sometimes it's hard to believe that a successful day is measured by how good we were at avoiding all people!)

The skies turn even grayer and the snow begins to fall. And it will continue to fall tonight, and tomorrow. Ah, January in Wisconsin! Embrace winter. Learn to love a cold nose and a warm supper!

And popcorn, with Netflix.