Cold Ontario Morning

It was an Early To Rise Day today. I was fortunate to see this lovely sunrise as I raised the blinds in the living room to let the early sunlight stream in. A Sundog is always a sign of cold, so checking the thermometer as I went out, I saw it was -18.4C, and grabbing my camera, I went out to see if I could capture this natural phenomena. The dark triangle at the base of the tree is a dog house that stands 38 inches off the ground, but now is almost completely submerged in the waves of frosty white that were blowing thru the farm for the past few days.

Sometimes looking out over the fields, its like looking out on a cold icy ocean, the snowdrifts appear as moving waves and they shift and form, sifting across the frozen open spaces. The poll question on the CTV news referred to people having winter vacations and would they consider or avoid Mexico as a destination. Well, for me, I'd say forget Mexico, the smog, the poverty, overt opulence of the resorts, the crime wave against tourists (kinda like biting the hand that feeds them, huh?), the over-crowded and crime ridden markets...for me there's no place like the clean, open, air of home.

A Sundog is a sign of very cold weather, but its clean, its sunny, and every day that you wake up safe at home is a very good day! By all means, have your resort vacations, your ice-free

drinks on the beach, malaria vaccinations and hepatitis warnings...you can send me a post card, or tell me all about it when you get home!

Maybe I'll just go knit me another pair of Ruby Slippers while you're away...

December Snow

December snows are great! All that muddy crap gets covered up, no more squishy grass to leave big deep boot prints in, just clean and fresh and white and sparkly! Watching the birds at my feeders reminds me of hyper children at recess! They scurry and flutter around, chasing each other away from that coveted big sunflower seed on the ground, or that freshly fallen peanut dropped by a screaming jay. The Mourning Doves huddle in red-footed clumps under the Clematis by the Nijer feeder, picking at the leftovers dropped by the flock of squabbling Goldfinches. Our two inside cats, Mike and Missylou perch on the cat platform at the window, watching all the activity with great anticipation, taking the odd leap at the glass only to shake their heads in pain at the contact with the hard, cold glass. Yet, they know that window is there and still try to leap through it! Its like a big screen Cat TV. Hours of activity keeping them awake during daylight, and letting us sleep at night. No midnight mat surfing these days! They don't have the strength left after a day of bird watching!

They even watch the slowly drifting flakes, as squalls move thru, dropping more fluffiness on our yard. The footprints of ground-searching birds pack down the snow at the base of the tree and feeder pole. The hopping Chickadees peek curious eyes into the living room from the safety of the outside of the glass, mere millimeters away from certain death by Cat Attack- goading yet another leap into glassy pain! So, December snow is great, from the inside looking out, and even enjoyable as it squeaks under booted feet, as I go out to check the mailbox for another delivery of Christmas cards.

The dogs chase snowballs, and run along with snuffles buried in the fluffy stuff, sneezing great steamy, flakey, clouds when they come up to the surface! Watching these antics takes my mind off scraping the ice particles off the car windows, shovelling the mound of white off the deck and that the wind is cold blowing down my neck cause I forgot to put my newly knitted scarf on!

Time to brave the elements cause the Woodpecker has a new trick- he pecks at the window when he wants another suet block! Then he sits on the pole as I put it into the suet cage, and even sometimes on my sleeve as I work, filling the feeders as Cheepers excitedly serenade from the treetop. The Doves lumber along up on the roof, the Chickadee chirps from the Christmas lights as he waits his turn, the Sparrows flutter and chase each other thru the Lilac bush as they play "who gets to go first" games.

Yep, December Snow is Great! A great time to take pleasure in the little things and let the bigger issues take care of themselves, as they are wont to do anyway.

Have a wonderful, snowy, and entertaining December, everyone! Play safe and keep smiling.