Cloudy with a threat of storms. There, does that sound like a day you'd like to spend outside? Oh, I have nothing against snow storms. In fact, since retirement (to say nothing of isolation), I have to admit to liking them. And we need to keep that snow base thick and packed if Ed and I are to continue skiing. But, we are hovering just at freezing, and if I'm reading the weather maps correctly, we're likely to get some drizzle and ice before we get to the snow part. So, yukky weather, at least for the bulk of the day.
Does that mean we are housebound once again? No it does not. We simply flip the day, giving ourselves an outing early, right after my walk to feed the animals...
(the cheepers are totally confused as to how to treat this day: out of the barn, back to the barn, out again... what's a chicken to do???)
... and of course, after breakfast.
And in fact, preparing breakfast gives me an idea: I have all this beautiful fruit right now. Wouldn't it be good to drop some over at my daughter's house? Sure, she has fruits too, but I have these fantastic strawberries (it's rare to have fantastic strawberries in January) and remarkable CSA carrots! I prepare a plate...
... and Ed and I drive it over to their place (the sitter is in charge)...
(I'm not sure Sparrow is thrilled with these seconds-long through the door visits!)
And after, we drive over to the nearby Owen Woods for a short hike. It's a nice change from our usual.
By late morning, we are home again and I retreat to my writing. For a few hours. And then I pause. If a storm is coming, I should at least try to get the last storm's snow load off the porch roof. It can't be too hard, right?
I climb out the bathroom window onto the roof, shovel in hand and immediately I can tell this is not my best idea. The snow is wet and heavy and the glass below is as slick as I've seen it. The only way I can keep from crashing down in a slip and slide is if I balance on the inch-wide strips of wood between the glass panes.Impossible? No, not that, but difficult. After two slips (but no fall!) I almost give up. But, I'm up there, I may as well persevere.
And now that I am safely back on the couch, I can say I'm glad I did it. The kitchen is always that much brighter with the porch roof cleared. Too, if the pileup is too great, it stays there and stays there and stays there, all the way til the end of March. But, the writing mood passed and I am left once more to piddling my way through the rest of the afternoon.
Here's a very welcome interruption!
A sweet and wonderful cap, or almost cap to the evening. It can't be all good news all the time, can it.. I have a message from someone I care deeply about of a COVID exposure, so that's on my mind. But of course, in some way, it's on all our minds as we count the days until all this is behind us.
With love...
