Be Chilled My Heart

I don't do Valentine's Day. But that is okay, I don't have a grudge against it, I just don't buy into it anymore.

So everyone loves to talk about weather. -15F translates into -26C? I never understood why we don't all use the same measurements. But that is for another day.
I know others are much colder. And I looked at the forecast for us. -17 tonight and Monday? Oh bother.

I measured the temp in the shed yesterday, because it actually felt a bit colder. It wasn't but it was out of the sun so that made it feel so much colder inside.

This is how the girls spend their afternoons. I get obsessed by worrying if they are warm enough. 
Everyone gets about twice the amount of hay during this cold spell. And thankfully, no one is showing signs of cold. 

When I had a place in the flat lands of Kenosha, I had to have a run in for my horses. There was no place for the equine to get out of the wind. 

I am literally going stir crazy inside. It is too dangerous to go hiking even if I get out of the winds. I'm wearing a mask, over the glasses goggles, and a fur lined hat. The secret of keeping warm hands?

My Grandmother's hand made knit mittens with a pair of little knit gloves underneath.

Grandma's Secret Weapon
Knit Mittens

I tried the insulated gloves that are called HotShots and every other high tech glove. Nothing. works like mittens. I've even been able to open gates with them on. If I have to put a halter on someone, I do have to pull the mitten off.

Watering has become a nightmare. The hoses work well and drain from the top of the hill at the outside hydrant. In the past, when we had these cold temps, Rich would help me drain hoses after disconnecting them. With subzero temps and one person, the draining doesn't work as well.

[Yes, one time the outdoor hydrant froze up. That was once in 30+ years. A year when we had no ground cover but subzero temps for an extended period of time.]

Mittens crossed that I don't have to fill the tank until Monday afternoon? With a high of 3 degrees, I may be able to get 'er done. 

Oh and for the curious. The mailman DID show up! His huge Jeep with knobby snow/mud tires could handle just about anything thrown at him. So now that he knows where the house is, I wonder if he'll make deliveries next time. 

I spoke with him this summer at the post office and he told me he couldn't find our house. True Story.

So for those who celebrate, Happy Valentine's Day.

For me? Just a daily outdoor chore challenge and then a day of walking about this tiny cottage waiting for a chance to get out and hike.

Stir Crazy.

Finishing touches Fairy house...

This was the gnarly tree I was working on...

I think I may leave it just about like this. I used Spanish Moss to 'embellish'.

I wanted a rock walk way and those tiny pebbles are settled into a bed of Elmer's Glue. It worked! The little stepping 'stones' are some Crayola Air Dry 'clay' material that is really easy to work with.

So here we are... done. I even made a little bed out of felt for LIL Bear to sleep in. For fun, I added a tiny light string.

Here is the tiny table near the back door. The little pinecone house was a purchase from the dollar store along with a the tiny bench. Those items will surely go outside when the spring/summer finally comes around for a short visit.

The original house was an experiment. I'm going to try again to make another one. After all, practice makes perfect.

In the mean time? The weather is dreary. We haven't seen the sun in what feels like ages. I will have my sunglasses near for when it does make an appearance.

Sorting must be something that is on everyone's mind lately. I got some items in the mail from my brother. He found an old windbreaker jacket of mine! Now normally one would not get excited about that.
However this was my Northbrook Softball League Championship jacket from 1977! Eek gads! I was 21 when our team won!
I was looking for a jacket just that weight and size...

And there it appeared in the mail.
My brother was cleaning up things and sorting. I imagine it was in my father's things.

Winter Thoughts

I've always said I've loved winter.
This week I am changing my mind.

Here is Charlie with his 'walking' rope going up the driveway after our last snow storm. My wonderful neighbor plowed us out again, and that night the winds blew portions of the lower driveway in. I shoveled part of it because I figured it wouldn't be a big deal.
Boy was that stuff packed in!

Let's face it. This one person with a little shovel wasn't going to clear it. I could use the skidsteer but I am a bit leery of it now. Machines and I don't like each other much.

So the neighbor said he'd come down and clean this up before he and his family left on their week long vacation.

I was all smiles about that until I just looked at the forecast for the next few days.
3-5 inches of snow and wintery mix on Sunday? Then additional 'stuff' on Monday eve through Tuesday. Um.
Rich has a PT appointment on Tuesday. It looks like the additional 'stuff' could be significant.

Plan A.
Plow with the skidsteer like crazy and make that appointment.
Plan B.
Don't go crazy and reschedule.

Plan C.
Call around and see if I can get someone to plow for me.
I like plan C.
I think I will mix up plan C with plan B.


Truthfully, I could probably get out with the big ol' Truck in most weather, but I prefer not to drive the truck. The 'Ru can handle most things.
But it is the driveway hill that strikes fear in my heart.

I guess I will just have to wait and see what comes at us this week.
My freezer is full and we have plenty of food and milk...well, I could use some more coffee.
Must always have coffee.
Right?

If I get stuck at home I can work on the calendar I was supposed to make for us. And one for the neighbor ... a small gift for all of their help.

I can practice some still life.

In fact. Things won't be that much different than they normally are.

Except ... well.
Except I will miss my neighbors dreadfully.

But I will be doing some chores each day. Feeding the goats and chickens. Checking on the snakes, rabbits, and the Madagascar Hissing Beetles.
Basil is staying with neighbor's mom.

I guess if the weather gets nasty I won't stress out. I'll reschedule the PT appointment and carry on as I always do.

Instead I will find ways to enjoy the winter weather.
The temperatures will be just about perfect for hiking and exploring, at least there will not be a Polar Vortex this week!

Can't go out to play so...

So I thought I'd get out the bathroom mirror that I saved for whatever reason when the guys gutted the bathroom.

I thought it would be fun to use them this winter in some of my Still Life work.
Again, this was an easy set up. I put the mirror down on top of a plastic tote and then simply began to arrange things around.

The egg was a wild idea. Yes, it is a raw egg and no, there was nothing holding it in place. It looks like the egg-s are suspended.
Rich wasn't feeling good so instead of taking the hike at the Kickapoo Reserve to see the unfinished dam, I decided to stick around the house.

I got out some of my cups, rings, and baubles and arranged them in different manners. I didn't use any other light than that which came in from the window behind me.

I would love to do some light experiments soon though.

I used old necklaces and other items I have in my 'junk' box. I used a doily I found at the flea market as a backdrop along with an old white table cloth.
The silver rings and ribbon came from a wedding invitation that my daughter in law made. Yes I sometimes keep odd things.

And not all are keepers. The photos were okay, but didn't really have any zip or WOW factor.

And then I did this.
And it made it worth it.

I was happy that I stayed inside and didn't go out ... to play.

Simple

I like things simple.

I like sunlight, snow, fresh cold air, and the blue jays and crows making a racket in the woods.  

The quieter birds like the chickadees can be heard in the valley where the winds aren't rattling the branches of trees and rustling the oak leaves that still cling to branches.

I enjoy the noises of the creek flowing of water across the rocks and ice.

Reading tracks of the hard to spot coyote or the trail of turkeys looking for food.

Or the tracks of mice running on top of the snow and around the base of a tree.

I note these things as I walk through the valley and hike through the woods.

Winter is the time of year that allows you to see what went on the night before, or the day before.

Animals leave their tracks in the snow.  I think I told the grand children last time they were visiting that the tracks are like stories imprinted in the snow and that is why I enjoyed snow shoeing and hiking so much especially in the winter.

Their 'highways' are shared by all when the snow gets deep or heavily crusted.

In the spring I look for wild flowers and interesting mushrooms or fungi.  In the summer I look for berries and wildflowers.

In the winter I love to follow tracks and see where they go or figure out who made them.

On this trip Morris stayed at home.  The snow had quite an ice crust on it and it would have been hard on his feet. 

I thought of taking Dixie, but I didn't want her to cut her big dog pads up either.  

Solo was fine.

I was able to stop and enjoy the noises of the forest and the bright sunshine.

It is mid February and by the end of March the snow will be gone.  I will miss the simplicity of just walking through the forest and finding so many tracks.

But then again, my mind will be on Spring and with that brings such wonders as migrating birds coming back, shedding mules and donkeys.

The Dexters should be calving then.

The world will be busy again until the next time we are in deep winter.

I like winter.

I know, I'm an odd one aren't I?

Tired of Winter yet?

After a 1/2" of rain yesterday afternoon that melted a lot of snow, the temps began to drop rapidly and by dark things were pretty quiet.

We'd apparently dodged the blizzard that hit just across the river.  But the gravel roads had turned into pure ice.
We like our isolation, but rain on cold gravel roads = instant ice.

My husband used the skid steer to try and chew some of the ice up on the driveway.  He has ice picks on his tracks and said there was no way a vehicle was going up our hill.

When I awoke this morning, it was because of the sounds of howling winds hitting the house.  Our house lays in a protected pocket. 

The snow is blowing sideways outside right now.  The winds are wicked and howling.

Most of our critters have gone down into the woods to avoid the winds and blowing snow.



I'm grateful for the snow that we did get this morning and overnight.  It will add a bit of stickiness to the glaze of ice in the pastures.

Our Dexters are laying on their fodder pile this morning, cozy, out of the wind and chewing their cud.

Seems the animals are taking the weather in stride.

I don't think I am.
I think I am tired of ice, snow, and the wicked winds.

Although it can make for some rather beautiful black and white photo ops.

Winter Dull-ish-ness

Even the deer are having issues with this weather, as well as the other wildlife.

I went out at 2pm yesterday to look for 'shots' that would qualify for my weekly assignment in my Google+ group 256SOG.  I'm doing this to better my photography skills and doing some interesting studies in black and white.

Oh, this winter world is SO black and white!

The milkweed seemed to be the only weeds standing in the Meadow.  Perhaps they were the only ones not blown down or weighed down by the deep snow.

I know they will drop their seeds when the time is right. 
They still make a beautiful plant even in the dead of winter.

[Also a very important plant to the Monarch Butterfly!]

As I headed home I did find a bright colorful spot.
Wild Rose Hips.

So there, the day was not a complete waste.

Another Round of Weather

I've gotten tired of trying to figure out what exactly the different weather people are doing here.  One weather service names the snowstorms, NOAA doesn't.

That doesn't change the fact that our winter this January has been fairly unusual even for Wisconsin.

We've had sleet/ice/rain/snow storms, bitter 'Artic Vortexes' [I keep waiting to get swept away in one of these Vortex's], snow, cold, bitter cold, and then nice winter days such as yesterday.

It isn't easy on our stock or on anyone else who has livestock.  While at the grocery store a friend told me that a friend of hers lost her elderly mare in this last cold spell.

So far all of our animals seem to be doing just fine.

Our Dexter Cattle seem very unperturbed at all by the weather.  They eat.  They lay down together out of the wind and chew their cud as if they have no worries in the world.

Fred, Dinah, and Siera, run and play or stand in the sun.  They are experts at getting shelter from the winds.

Although this last Sunday night the winds howled so hard that it blew whatever snow was left loose into a frenzy.
I couldn't see out my south window.  When I did I could see the snow moving across the ground in waves.

Yesterday I took a walk.  Well, a hike with my snow shoes on.  In places the snow is over knee deep.  I can vouch for snow shoes.  They really do help although you must learn to walk a bit differently in them.
At least I wasn't hip deep in some of the drifts.

I found animal trails in the woods.  Coyote, Deer, and all sorts of other animals are using the same trail to get around.

 

 Of course I had to break my own trail.  After that is done with a pair of snow shoes it gets easier as long as you follow the same path.

I guess I have a lot of walking to do then!

Winter blues or Cabin Fever?

I think it is beginning to feel as though Winter is dragging its feet. Days upon days of fog [pretty], then days of rain and sleet...and ice...
Our gravel road has turned into a nightmare of ice with a sprinkle of light gravel on the top from the town truck.

The recent rains and subsequent ice has made for treacherous walking even in the woods. I think part of the 'Cabin Fever' is because of the days of rain and sleet, which keeps even the hardiest of souls inside.

Morris really didn't even spend much time out in it!

I'll probably bundle up and take a walk in it today anyway. I need to get out and get some fresh air [that is not work related!].

The woods always seem to revive my sense of humor.

To keep myself busy these past few days of ugly weather, I've decided to view some of my archives from my visit in September-October with my brother and his family in Virginia.
Hump Back Rock...the walk and the view from the top.

Enjoy the views: