February 1, 2023

 January, traditionally Wisconsin's coldest month is now behind us once again. There wasn't a whole lot to complain about this year as far as temperatures went, I was able to walk the road and even the farm almost every day as most of the snow melted mid-month.  It wasn't until a week ago we had enough snow to cross-country ski since December.  Bitterly cold temperatures were back for a few days last week, but moderated to 17 above zero today.

Trekking around the Back Eight on my skis, I found myself huffing and puffing more than I'd like.  Apparently too many chocolate covered peanut balls at Christmas wasn't too bright an idea after all. 

A few days of being cooped up with cold weather and high winds takes a toll on this old gal.  Watching the birds gather at the feeders is always entertaining, though.  The amount of bird seed we go through in a season is amazing.

Sometimes I perch in the upstairs window to watch the flurry of activity, especially when a snowstorm is in progress.

 T

Not much else is going on around here.  We've been working on going through decades of 'stuff' that has accumulated over the years.  Carl has always been the optimistic person in this marriage and his collection of assorted things needs thinning.  He's working on it daily, but letting go is not his strong suit.  It's a daily battle for me to keep my mouth shut out of frustration and I admit, I fail more than I win.  That's why it's important I get outside to exercise every day for as long as my hands and feet can stand the cold.  Curbs the ol' tongue.

Every new snowfall has a different effect on the view.  The normally all brown woods across the road transformed into look-alike birch trees for a few days last week.  I like to walk a mile before noon or so and then again at sunset for a total of five miles a day.  

 For a few weeks, it seemed every day was cloudy.  My geraniums in the windows upstairs were suffering from the lack of light, dropping leaves. 

On January 9, we had a beautiful reprieve from the gloom.  Sunny days are very welcomed after so much darkness.

 

On nights like these, I never want to quit walking west into the sunset.  My cellphone cannot capture the beauty of the sight, though.
 

 

The blizzard in December left us with some very high and extremely hard drifts which almost all melted in January.  The tractor weighs over five thousand pounds.

Sadly, the 574 was making some strange noises, so she is now in for repairs with our mechanic friend, Adam.  He picked the tractor up last week Friday.  It's always melancholy watching her go down the road on a trailer, but I know she'll be back in better shape than ever.  The preliminary diagnosis is a possible water pump in need of replacement, but whatever it is, let's hope the next snowstorm holds off until we have her home again.  (Hey, isn't it normal to refer to ships as 'she'?  Well, my tractor is my ship, we sail around the farm together.)

 Tonight after skiing around the backyard, I walked on the road, pacing back and forth in front of the house for over an hour.  I am in yet another Fitbit challenge this week and since I missed going for my morning walk due to working on some tax paperwork (ugh) I had to make up for my sedentary nature in the afternoon by walking after dark.

 Tonight's sunset was very different with a large column of sunlight reflecting straight up for a few minutes. 

Once I hit the 10,000 step mark, I headed in to make supper.  Standing on the front porch, I took a picture of the stained glass silliness in the house with all the paperwork strewn on the table.  Hmmmm, perhaps we have gone a bit overboard.

February always goes by quickly.  I hope we have some time for a little creativity before spring.  All work and no playing with stained glass is no fun.

After all, eating too many peanut butter balls may be bad for the waistline, but is there ever such a thing as too much stained glass?

 

They are really a lot like potato chips, it's hard to stop at just one.