What's Going On?

SPRING? WINTER! SPRING?

The latter part of this past week brought balmy, shirt-sleeve weather to our part of the U.S.  My daffodils and forsythia bloomed, the day lilies began to send up new leaves, and all was looking well for the world. "About time!", I thought, and began to make plans for working in the flower beds.  Silly me! 

By mid-afternoon yesterday, a light rain was being pushed by a cold north wind at about 50 miles an hour (the gusts turned my umbrella completely inside out, took my breath away [so much that it scared me], and nearly blew me off my feet... really!) and then....

...it snowed last night!  

Not very much; the ground was not even completely covered, just clumps of snow here and there, when I got up this morning.  The temperature is rising, even as I type, and a quick look out the window just now shows that it's nearly all gone.  

We Arkies are wont to say "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes; it will change."



BITS AND PIECES

* This past Saturday, which was a balmy day, my stamping partner and I hosted another successful Stamp Camp, our first of this year. I'm happy to report that a good time was had by all.

* I continue to enjoy my Kindle, and the free books I download from Amazon.  As I've previously commented on this blog, I am a (big) fan of mystery stories. My taste runs to the "cozy" mystery, although a well-constructed thriller also holds my attention.  One evening last week, I began to read Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon.  Once I read the first page, I couldn't stop. This has to be one of the funniest stories I have ever read. If laughter is good medicine, I shouldn't be sick for quite some time! Highly recommended by yours truly, if you enjoy such things.

* My smart phone, a gift from my son-in-law in 2012, is behaving erratically. I've checked everything I know to check, and have had others more experienced than I try to resolve the problems I'm having -- to no avail. Perhaps it has a built-in self-destruct chip. :)  I fear a new phone is in my future.

I am slightly amazed at how much I have come to depend on this pocket-sized piece of technology -- being able to send and receive email when not at home on my computer; texting (never while driving, thank you); taking photos; checking the weather, etc., etc.  I've become so comfortable with it that I have been giving thought to doing away with my "land line."  Today, I'm not so sure!

* Today is St. Patrick's Day. Are you wearing green? Interesting information on the wearing of the green here.

That's it.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Evening Shadows

"Look round and round upon this bare bleak plain, and see even here, upon a winter's day, how beautiful the shadows are! Alas! it is the nature of their kind to be so. The loveliest things in life, Tom, are but shadows; and they come and go, and change and fade away, as rapidly as these!"

~ Charles Dickens (Martin Chuzzlewit)

Clear Skies

Just a dusting of snow left on the tree limbs

The morning brought bright sunshine and, although it was still below freezing, the sound of drip, drip, drip from the eaves. Streets that last night were snow-covered (only about 1/2 inch, but covered nonetheless) are clear except in shady patches.

Looking out my kitchen window this morning while waiting for my coffee to brew, I beheld a yard full of diamonds.  There was enough sleet in last night's wintery mix to create light-catching shards of ice that glittered and glimmered on the surface of the snow. I tried to capture the sparkles in a photograph, but gave up after a few chilly tries, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

All's right with the world here.  I hope you can say the same.

Tomorrow is also a day.

If Winter Comes...

Winter has hardly arrived.  It's not even 30 days into the season, and I am more than ready for SPRING. While I think snow (freshly fallen) can be very beautiful, it also brings damp, bone-chilling cold. I'm already tired of taking photos of snow and icicles, mostly because I don't know how to keep warm while I'm doing it!

In keeping with my desire for something Spring-y, I offer the following from my archives -- My first photo mosaic, which I tried for the first time today.  All photos are of plants from my garden or that of Gardening Daughter, with the exception of the yellow rose, which is growing in our church garden in memory of my eldest granddaughter who died three years ago, at age 29, in a tragic automobile accident.  We call it "Christie's Rose."

(

Yay! It won't be too long before this is an actuality.   I feel better already!

My day was as busy as I had anticipated. However, my year end financial reports were in balance and I got a few more church-related odds and ends finished. That always leaves me with a feeling of accomplishment, something that (unfortunately) doesn't happen every day. 

Sweetie Pie has yet another ear infection. Poor baby!  I do wish I knew what was causing this.  I'm doctoring her as best I know how, with antibiotic ear drops left over from the last time.    If she doesn't improve by tomorrow evening, it's off to the veterinarian -- again!

It's just about time for my nightly dose of Yorkshire humor.  Our local PBS station is running early episodes of Last of the Summer Wine.  These particular ones were filmed in 1973, the first year of the series.  I'm finding them not quite as humorous as the later episodes, but it's interesting to see how the characters have developed.

Tomorrow is also a day.

New Year - Day 10 - Housebound

 It was still snowing when I went to bed just before midnight last night, so I didn't know exactly how much would accumulate overnight. I took a ruler outside with me this morning and measured 5" on the flat.  Fine, powdery snow that, given any rise in the temperature, should be gone before too long.  However, a warming trend is not in the immediate forecast, so who knows when this pretty stuff will be gone, and unfortunately, it won't be pretty as it goes. 

I tried to get a couple of photos before I went tromping around the yard in my size 10 gumboots; I do admire the look of unbroken snow.  The photo is of the looks-like-a-mushroom-with-all-the-snow-on-top metal birdbath in the back yard which, except for some critter tracks, was unblemished.  My driveway had deep tire tracks in it and until I remembered that the paper delivery people come up the drive to (supposedly) throw my paper under the carport, I wondered who had been to visit after the snowfall, since the drive was pristine when I retired.

I awoke just before 8. Almost the first thing on my mind, even before coffee, if you can believe that, was that the bird feeders needed to be filled.

You can see from the photo on the right that this one was quite empty.  There are birdy tracks all around the edges of its roof; the birds were up and looking for breakfast long before I rolled out.

After clearing off the snow and emptying the tray of blown-in snow and seed hulls, I filled it to the brim, then made a trip to the smaller feeder further out in the yard. 

It wasn't long before I had a scarlet visitor (photo below right). He was soon joined by a host of Sparrows and a jumble of Juncos, those cute little 'snowbirds.' However, almost before they could get their fill, the Grackles arrived (photo below left). When they are in the neighborhood, I can't keep the feeders filled. Oh, well -- everything deserves to eat, and I did have more bird food.

The Grackles departed after depleting the seed supply, moving on to someone else's feeders, no doubt.  When I felt sure that the larger flock, at least, had moved on, I refilled both feeders, which were soon visited by my 'sweet birds.'

I will keep stocking and re-stocking the feeders several times a day until the snow is gone. When things are back to normal, whatever that may be, I'll only have to fill them once a day.

Needless to say, I did not venture any further than my back yard today.  I made a big pot of beefy vegetable soup, visited a few new blogs, ran a load of laundry and otherwise took it easy.

If there was wintery weather at your place today, I hope you were safe, warm, and dry.

That's it for this 10th day of January. Tomorrow is also a day.

A Bit of Ice

In central Arkansas, winter precipitation is more likely to take the form of freezing rain rather than snow. Such was the case this morning. The temperature is hovering just below the freezing point (currently 30 degrees) and a light rain is falling. The ground is still warm enough that the streets are not icy, but shrubs and trees, and the utility lines, have a light coating of the frozen stuff. It's supposed to warm to above freezing later in the afternoon, but will be very cold again tonight. If it doesn't stop raining, we may have a real Winter Wonderland in the morning. I just hope the ice doesn't get heavy enough to break any power lines.

A lonely, dried out and ice-covered leaf still clings to my Japanese Maple tree.

My wind chimes, which were ringing in the light wind earlier this morning, are now sounding distinctly off-key due from a light coating of ice. These hang near my front door right under the eaves, in a position that manages to catch water as it drips from the roof. I've tried moving them to prevent this happening, but the move also prevents them from catching the breeze. Since they have an extremely pleasant sound under normal circumstances, I've decided to leave them where they are and accept the occasional freeze-up.

Sky Watch

Scudding across the sky, driven by a bitterly cold north wind, the gathering clouds announce that Winter is here, even though the official date for the season is a couple of days away. Don't let those glimpses of blue sky fool you; there was an impending ice storm in those clouds.

Sky Watch was created by Dot and expanded upon by our retired friend Tom. This weekly theme post is brought to you by Klaus, Sandy, Fishing Guy, Ivar, Wren, and Louise. Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.