A week and a half ago we had an impromptu three day weekend due to ice and snow. The snow was pretty but not plentiful enough to sled in or make a snowman. We stayed in, fed the birds and ourselves (homemade Oreos!), and rearranged the house. Tuesday life went back to our normal routine, but that afternoon it started snowing and snowing. We woke up the next morning to 8" of snow and the kids shouting "This is going to be the best day EVER!" It was still dark. They pulled on sweaters over their pajamas, wool socks on their feet, topped them with boots and went outside to frolic.
It snowed half of Wednesday and stayed cold and clear for the next six days. The last week has been a mix of playing outside, a bit of sledding, more home rearranging, the beginning of a remodeling project, stuff sorting, cooking, tv, books, legos, games and all of us getting sick of being home. Once I realized that the roads were covered in a sheet of ice I abandoned my ideas of fun cooking projects and just focused on stretching the groceries we did have as long as possible. I'm thankful that I bought that huge package of spaghetti from Costco, but I am really ready to take a break from eating it.
In early December, right before a batch of snow arrived, I bought two more bird feeders. I always worry about the birds when it is really cold. We have been having so much fun watching them over this last week. What else are we going to do? We have a set of kid-sized binoculars at both the front and back of the house in the prime feeder viewing areas. This winter we have seen and identified a pair of Varied Thrush, Anna's Hummingbirds, flocks of Bushtits, Black-Capped Chickadees, A Red Shafted Male Northern Flicker, Bewick's Wrens, and Song Sparrows, in addition to the Dark Eyed Juncos, Robins, and Scrub Jays we see all the time.
I've been pouring over the seed catalogs and gardening books, dreaming of spring and summer. I've asked Vincent to make a cold frame for winter gardening. If I had one already and had sowed seeds in the fall I could be harvesting lettuce right now, even in the snow! I'm amazed to see that my kale is still going strong, standing tall in a sea of snow. The lemongrass, however, has turned brown and died.
You have been making great food, keeping the kids busy and happy! Beautiful light comes in through those big windows. We can't think of gardening yet around here. We have lots of snow and ice. Last year was May 1st when I planted. It's fun looking through the catalogs.
ReplyDelete