Hi blogger-buds. I'm just checking in and touching base and all those touchy feely buzz words. I don't know about you but I'm jonesing for spring. I'm tired of winter. Just plain tired of it.
The older I get the less I like being cold, so making winter fun isn't much of an option. One of these days I WILL get back on my cross-country skis tho. I was going to try it when we had the very first snow of the season, but it was so windy I didn't do it. The conditions have to be just about perfect to be able to enjoy that sport...at least 4-6" of powdery snow, calm conditions, and 25°. That happens about once per winter, if we're lucky. The problem is, it usually happens in the dark hours and who wants to go cross-country skiing at night??
I've found indoor projects to keep me busy. I'm taken to drawing on those plain, white, canvas tennies with colorful, indelible Sharpies. I almost typed "Inedible Sharpies"...I guess they are that too. When I get a chance I'll show you some pix of the pair I've made so far. Kinda cute and creative but most of all they are summery. But winter seems to be biting me again...it's VERY tough to find those kind of tennis shoes this time of the year. I had to buy a men's pair of white canvas slip-on tennies...only pair of any kind of canvas tennis shoes I could find, but they fit me...men's 7 1/2. I'll have to remember that!
I've been watching the birds from my dining room window too. Andy set up a bunch of my bird feeders where we could see them from the window. It's amazing that we went from no birds to so many we have to fill the numerous feeders almost every day. I'm loving it...pricey but worth it. We've seen some really cool birds...numerous kinds of sparrows, juncoes, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, blue jays, cardinals, a Carolina wren, house finches, gold finches and finally a couple days ago we got the red-bellied woodpecker I've been hoping for. The same day we had another kind of bird...I'm sure he wasn't looking for seeds, but he was hoping to feed nonetheless...it was a big old hawk sitting right on the fence the bird feeders are on. He sat and looked in the window at me for a few seconds and then took off before I could get a photo. Drat! I hope he didn't dine on any of my little peeps...but I guess even hawks need to eat in the winter time and it probably looked like a hawk smorgasbord out there. I did notice one thing lately...the gold finches and house finches are getting more and more of their spring breeding colors now. Spring can't be far off, can it?
I'm trying not to buy boatloads of roses this winter. I think I'll just see what survives and not plant any new roses unless I need to. Altho there are a few beauties for this coming season in the Edmund's catalog. I may give in and buy a couple. Sigh...it's a disease, I tell ya!
I'll leave you with this upbeat thought...
"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an infinite summer." Albert Camus
Hey Gin, so nice to see you now and again. I'm sorry the winter has been long. You'll have to schedule your visits to warmer climes during the worst of it. We are in the midst of kind of a heat spell -- temps in the high 70s and warm Santa Ana winds. Sounds like you may have had some opportunities to practice your bird photography, though challenging from indoors.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, I think I've kicked the rose buying habit. Haven't bought anything in three years or so. Most everything is planted (little tiny pot ghetto left). Interesting to watch the roses mature. They're going on six years in the garden now, most of them. Some improve dramatically with age, some have their ups and downs, some stayed kind of mediocre.
Was at a luncheon when the subject of roses came up. One gal said she missed giving her roses their annual dose of epsom salts, and did I put that on my roses. It was fun to talk about roses again, trying to remember all the stuff I'd learned while on the forums.
What a nice surprise!!! So good to hear from you. It sounds like you're really enjoying retirement.
ReplyDeleteWe've got some feeders out there, too. Once in a while a hawk or owl swoop down and 'feast', but you're right: everyone's got to eat. Hard to watch, though.
I'm going to buy roses and put them in containers like George and Betsy do. (Do you read their blogs?)
I love your updates, and I'm ready for spring too! PAST ready!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get a peek at your cute shoes!
XOXO