As Our Life Goes On

Dark days sap my strength.  My incentive disappears Wonder where it goes -Caroline

A few daffodils started sprouting up around the yard in January but as I walked around the yard this afternoon I noticed that many more of the bulbs had sent up the knife-like leaves. It actually will be quite a few weeks before these plants have the familiar blooms on them. The warmth of the sun and the sight of the sprouts did get me into a Springlike mood. There are many twigs and sticks in the yard that will have to be picked up and raked. Not today though. I just walked around to soak up the sun rays and observe the things that are happening around the yard. 

A warm day every once in a while can lure you into a false sense that Spring may be coming tomorrow. Unfortunately the weather forecast says that it is not coming. It will be cold and somewhat Winter-like for at least the next 10 days. Our main stack of firewood is almost depleted. Russ is cutting some of the dead wood from the tree that we recently had cut down. The wood is quite dry as the limbs had been dead for a couple of years before the tree was finally downed.  The temperature has hovered around the freezing mark keeping the ground firm today. It is easier to push that loaded wheelbarrow on the hard surface. Ice remains on the wet areas below the hill and only few people have been seen on the bike trail. 

The day was dark but the sun peeked through the clouds this afternoon.  Spring is not that far off.  I am making plans for the renewal of the garden that is behind the house. Perhaps the brick walk will be extended a bit. Some large rocks will be added to the garden. Only a bit of snow and ice remains from the recent storms so it is easier to envision what could be done. It is a good day. 

Be nice to people They may be nicer to you Please try it today -Caroline

Some days things seem to go all wrong but today was not one of those. The post office was very busy after the holiday yesterday. The long line extended out of the door and into the lobby. I had a dozen packages to ship. The lady at the end of the line was quite emphatic as she told me that she was the end of the line. She expected me to fall in behind her but I quickly passed her and everyone else in the line and unloaded my packages onto the counter that displayed the NEXT WINDOW sign. I had printed out my postage at home so it was no waiting for me. The lady who had tried to stop me said "good idea" as I passed her going out the door.  I had bought new eyeglasses a couple of weeks ago and when I got home with them I found that they were definitely all wrong. I had trouble seeing near and far. I already knew that this happens sometimes so I went back to the store and was examined again and more measurements were taken. Some changes were made in the RX and they were r

We had to go through that quaint little town of Peninsula again yesterday. The usual speed trap did not seem to be evident at the time that we went through the touristy town. The sky had cleared and sun and clouds made it a pleasant trip. It was very cold though so a car trip in the warm car was just enough to satisfy my urge to get out of the house. 

There are only a few areas of snow in Ohio at this time. Cold air coming across Lake Erie has set up lake effect snow flurries that are very spotty around the area. Last night and today it was our turn to have the snow fall upon us. The depth varies around the yard. There are 2" to 3" of the white stuff in some places. The temperature is 18 degrees and a light breeze makes it feel very chilly. It is quite beautiful to look at but I long for Spring to arrive. 

We don't have a mechanical wood splitter. Therefore Russ is the wood splitter. The sawdust is flying as he cuts the heavy and hard to handle pieces of trees that are resistant to the ax and to easy handling. The weight of the pieces make them   too hard to move around without cutting them into smaller pieces.  These are the things that make bad backs suffer. 

Darkness comes early The sun hides behind the clouds Night is here again -Caroline

The swampy area at the bottom of the big hill looked very pretty and clean until I got closer. There I could see newspapers, plastic bags and other paper debris littering the ice. It appeared to be frozen under in a few places. We have had some windy days. Perhaps some trash blew from somewhere into this area. I really hate to see this. The ice is very thin so it is not safe to try to get to this mess. Maybe some of it will float to the sides where it can be retrieved. 

  The deer have avoided walking near the new piles of  wood created by cutting down the tall tree. They must be a bit fearful of the large piles. Russ has worked to clear these piles and move them slightly. Perhaps the deer will get used to them and walk by them soon to get to the other spots where food is being offered. The ground  has become very soft so some of this work will have to be delayed. The tractor has already made quite a few deep tracks in the yard.

Sad death of a tree Bright sunshine and clouded skies New life will start soon -Caroline

Mike surveys the situation as he deftly climbs to the higher branches.  One of the large Siberian Elms that rests very close to our house on the West side was cut down today. We had nursed it along for quite a few years by cutting out the dead growth as it died back from disease. Last year the tree  died back drastically.  It no longer gave any shade to the yard and large dead limbs fell from time to time. Yesterday afternoon the arborist, Mike, knocked on the door and said that he was ready to cut down the tree. We had him look at the tall tree last Summer and he said that he would contact us when he had time to cut it down.  The chipper machine and truck were parked in front of the kitchen window by 7:30 in the morning. The chain saw started up and the parts and pieces of the 70+ year old tree, which was at least 70 feet tall,  started to fall. The house shook as the heavy branches fell. It took four hours to bring down the tree and cut the trunk and branches i

Our friend K. stopped by at noon.We shared a lunch and then K. got the old mandolin out of the corner and treated us to a serenade of Irish and old time Appalachian mountain tunes. The time goes by fast when there is a bit of entertainment. Note the dust on the mandolin. The "maid" is not interested in dusting seldom used items that are usually in a closet somewhere. She thinks top cleaning is enough!  It is cold and very windy outside today so K. was a very welcome visitor. 

The Department of Environmental Services was just pulling up in front of the house as I was pulling out of the driveway yesterday. They had the manhole cover open in front of our house and more workers were stationed at the next manhole in front of the next property down. They had a large impressive truck with lots of gauges and a large silver hose which they extended through the manhole into the sewer line. They have been working throughout the neighborhood so I did not think much of it. When I came home from my trip to the store I noticed some scuffing around on the wood floors near the bathroom which is not too unusual. As I changed from my gym clothes into my street clothes I got just a whiff of a foul odor. This sent me sniffing about the bedroom but I could not isolate the odor except that it was in the air in a few places.  The mystery was solved when my husband arrived home. He said that he had heard a gurgling noise but discounted it until he went into the bathroom and

Dreaming Spring Flowers Could It be too long before Apple blossoms bloom -Caroline

As the dark day neared the end the sun came out brightly. It enlightened my mood for a while before slipping behind the gray cloud cover. Thoughts of Spring projects that had entered my mind during the brightness exited when the darkness of the cloudy day continued. 

It's a Winter wonderland.  The snow covers all that is dirty, unkempt and flawed. It is picturesque but I am still hoping for the early Spring that the groundhog at Gobbler's Knob in  Punxsutawney, PA  has predicted. The constant snowfall keeps piling up and the driveway and walk have to be cleared constantly. This fact makes my handy husband a bit grumpy. 

Several squirrels were chowing down at our wildlife feeding stations this morning. A few blue jays were able to feed harmoniously with the squirrels without being chased away.  Late last evening the crippled doe and her offspring from last year arrived to eat some of the corn. She is still limping and holding her right front leg up when at rest. Her two "babies" are almost as big as her now and they appear quite fit and healthy.  As they started eating four more deer arrived on the scene. This was a group that we had not observed before. Three large does and a runty looking yearling shared what food was left at the feeders. We had not replenished the feed during the day So none of them stayed for long. 

Feeding ducks was fun I can't recall that time though Past times remain dim  Old memories are absent The faded pictures remain  -Caroline