As Our Life Goes On

It is really cold Outside the freezing winds blow The sun shines brightly I stand there by my window The sun feels warm to me there -Caroline

The sun shone brightly today. A few puffy clouds did not interfere with this. It is surprising that the ferns in the garden behind the house retain a bright green color with no wilting or die back.  The recent rains have filled the swampy wetlands at the bottom of the hill with murky looking water. The water is up to a level higher than we have seen for a while.  A couple of young children walked along the bike trail with their mother. She stopped to show them things that they could look at as they went. What a good mom.  The tall dried decorative grasses made a dry swishing sound as I walked by. The yard is very wet and mushy. Boots are a requirement. The warm sun on my body imparted a peaceful feeling.  It was a good day. 

While rushing around preparing for the Winter storm and extreme cold temperatures it occurred to me that the snow that was already on the ground had just the right crunch and wetness to be of the right consistency to be good for making snowballs or a snowman. The wet leaves on the unfrozen ground underneath the snow rolled right along with the snow so cosmetically it is not pretty. My hands were getting a little cold from handling the snow so I choose not to put clean snow over the leaves.  This ugly snowman should last quite a few days as the weather will be very cold.  Yep! It brought out the kid in me. 

A thick coat of fluffy snow covers the ground and tree branches. The old homestead in front of the golf course down the street looks like a picture postcard. The extremely cold temperatures, cold air and icy roads make travel and shopping somewhat inconvenient. The roads may be passable but parking lots can be in very bad condition depending on the wealth of the store owner or whether they care enough to make it easy for shoppers. Russ was a trailblazer this morning as he traveled from our house to the golf course using the bike and hike behind our house. Apparently there were not enough people that thought that was a good idea as there were no worn down spots in thick snow for him to follow. It was a tiring trek. He traveled back home using the road. He just hoped that he would not have to hop into the deep plowed snow on the sides if somebody forced him to do that. Another storm is on the way.