alderfather

It's not the cold I mind so much; but the the lack of warmth.

The temperature is -1 degree. It's very calm outside. The snow glows in the light of the full moon. From the woods over north an owl hoots; calling to others of his kind. Fox tracks wander through the yard. In the field behind the house two deer dig through the snow for frozen tufts of winter wheat. A busy night here in Lake Affect.

Wyatt and I just went for a romp out back. I drove the quad. He ran liked a crazed 2 year old. Oh, wait; he is a crazed two year old. I parked the atv and started to walk back further at a particularly wet spot. A little flock of Chickadees was shopping in the area. As I walked away from the atv one bird landed on the handlebar. Perhaps I should have left it running for him?
I am surprised at how wet it is out there. At mid-January everything is usually quite frozen but today you could swim in a couple of spots.
This morning at 4:30 or so there was a pack of coyotes yipping and carrying on just to the west. An owl commented from nearby, then all was silent again.

I just read this...

Rush Limbaugh on Haiti relief donations: 'We've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax'

Has he missed any meals lately?

I really cannot imagine waking up in a pile of rubble that used to be my home. I feel for those who suffer through this. I feel even more so for those who lose family and friends. We're all going to go some day but this is such a cruel act of nature.

One of the reasons my posts tend to be brief, if not downright terse, is that I never learned to type. When I was in school I was more interested in shop class than acquiring office skills. I can move along pretty well with five fingers but am hard pressed to type when I can't see the keyboard.

Wyatt's number three leg is still bothering him a bit. He did go running this morning but limped for a bit after. Poor Puppy!

Chickadees, blue jays and crows out there this morning. Their calls are reassuring in this winter landscape. Life continues.

Yesterday I woke and stretched and felt a hell of a pain in my left shoulder. Must have slept wrong I guess. You would think after all these years I'd get it right. I even nap every day I can just to keep in practice. Much better today thank you.

Wyatt was out running in the snow last night, having a ball. This morning he is limping and avoiding putting weight on his left hind leg. Slept wrong? Eerie coincidence. I checked his paw and leg quite thoroughly and see nothing wrong. I told him it was growing pains and he should just shake it off. We'll see.

It's a day when I feel like eating donuts. Maybe eclairs. Dunkin Donuts chocolate covered, custard filled. Maybe three or four followed by an hour nap. There's something about Lake Affect winter days that just makes you want to suck down a boatload of calories.

It's truly winter in earnest here. A couple of feet of fresh snow and nose nipping temperatures are the norm until the first week of March. Last week I was down by the pond cutting and dragging scraggly willows that threaten to fill the whole thing in. The new (used) quad did admirably in yanking trees even in the snow. Awesome!

Yesterday I worked my Monday job as usual. Everyone seemed a tad cranky. When that happens I just get lost; drive to town and visit a friend or run errands. The expressways were a junkyard as people fell of the road and into each other in droves. Like this is the first snow you've seen?

Wyatt is asleep on the floor between me and the wood stove. We're warm and content.

Just a quick note to all of you folks relying on your shiny new GPS units to deliver you safe and sound to Grandma's house. Look around you. If it looks like you don't want to go there then don't. If it looks like you won't get out of there don't enter.
You're welcome.

So it's 2010. Yay! Personally I think the o's did rather poorly. I can't honestly say that I think mankind will display more wisdom this decade than last but one can always hope. Without hope what do we have.

The planet has been good to us. The Gods think we're pretty cool. Maybe we should treat us better.

As I drive around during the holiday season, (from before Thanksgiving to late January), I notice those inflatable decorations laying in blobs in peoples yards. Devoid of their pumps. Devoid of their attendants they slump to the ground; meaningless lumps of red, green, and white plastic.
I was struck by the metaphor they portray. What is Christmas without the hype? I enjoy the season to revisit friends and family, to show those I love that I do care and I do think of them. I love the season as that intimate turn of the wheel time when nature inexorably turns toward a new year.

From time to time I have heard someone described as a "shit weasel". I'm not sure what that means but I think it's probably not good. Ya think?

Most of my shopping is done. I spent a couple of days wandering the intermall looking for just the very things. One note of caution y'all, check on where that lovely gift will ship from. I ordered something for Pookie that she had requested; turns out it is shipping from Japan. No idea if it'll be here by Christmas, or this year.
Last year's tree made it through the summer and is planted in our front yard all decked out in blue lights. Nice when a plan comes together. Years past we've had so-so success with potted trees surviving. This one had a great root ball which was mostly undamaged. I gave it buckets if water this spring to get it going.
There was a big flock of Robins at the crab apple tree this week and the bluebird dropped by to see if the birdbath had thawed yet. Fat chance there.

Now that Wyatt is out of, (mostly), his puppy stage he has become a big help around the house. He particularly enjoys barking and lunging at the vacuum cleaner to keep it in line. When it's time to take out the trash he's so excited to help! He'll gladly try to carry the biggest bag. The kitchen floor has never been cleaner now that winter is here. Wyatt brings in fresh snow many times a day to dampen it so the mud comes right up.
I don't know what I'd do without him.

"People don't alter history anymore than birds alter the sky, they just make brief patterns in it." Terry Prachett in Mort

This resonates with me. I'm here and then I'm gone. It's not a morbid thing at all, just an observation on the transitory nature of ...well, everything.

More than anything this time of year I find myself eagerly awaiting the shortest day of the year; not because I like short days, no. Because soon the days will get to have more day in them. more day for the sun to shine. More day to play outside. More day to warm the ground, the air, and me. My sense of hope grows with the waxing sun.

My brain does exactly what it's paid to do; talks. It talks all the time. In my sleep, while I'm meditating, as I drive, always. It never shuts up. I do not remember it ever shutting up; you know, that erk! blank stare moment. Nope, not even then. The fact that it works is a good one no doubt. Maybe it works too well?
Commenting, contriving, calculating, assessing, assorting. Always yakking away.
Good thing I don't do lots of coffee.

Tonight we're having supper at an Ethiopian restaurant with friends. Last week it Thai. ON the thirteenth we meet with friends for Indian cuisine. It's good to live near a city; just not too close.
I filled the bird feeder yesterday after leaving it empty all summer. I assumed it would be a while before any of the feathereheads discovered it. This morning the Chicadees and Blue Jay proved me wrong.
Hunting season continues here with sound of shotguns all around. Thankfully I hear less and less. Although we do not allow hunting here it is still a tad scary to go out on the trails with Wyatt so I talk to him a lot as we go so we don't make the evening news.

People. You have got to check this- http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/ -out.
Hmm. I wonder if there's a people of 7/11 site.

Three inches of lake affect white this morning. Wyatt ran and skidded like a madman! Of course he generally does anyway. Kind of fun to go out before dawn and be able to see more than a foot ahead of oneself.
Thanksgiving dinner was rich and way too filling. Also? Pookie made a chocolate cream pie for me. Awesome!
Some times I'm content, sometimes I'm not. Moods are like the weather; everchanging.