Bluster and snow

Adrift on the snow

If it’s zero degrees outside today and it’s supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold is it going to be?

~ Steven Wright

Jack Frost’s signature

Old Man Winter stopped by last night.  He’s in a blustery mood, blowing snow all over the place.

Steps to the front porch

I know my friends to the north, and those in the Midwest, have had a brutal time of it so I won’t whine about the cold.  I don’t mind it too much, to be honest, although I find it easier to take the cold when I’ve acclimated to it.  All this back and forth between cold and warm makes it difficult to get used to one way or the other.  (Was that a whine?  If it was, I’ll take it back.)

Sunrise through the kitchen window

Today’s walk was a brisk one in all ways.  This kind of cold bites right through the layers of clothing, and it doesn’t pay to spend too much time in it.

Sunrise outside

I was surprised to see Construction John here early this morning.  That man works in all kinds of weather.  The electricians were here, too.  I expected the snow and cold to keep them away for a day.

A walk in the woods

The birds, who have been ignoring the bird feeders, apparently took the time to locate the feeders before the storm hit, and have been out there chowing down on seed today.  Some of the little birds found the grass seed that M and I planted on the woodland path over the weekend, and I am wondering how much seed they left behind.

Lobollies

When the foundation for the addition was dug up, there was a big pile of dirt left over.  John the Construction Guy was kind enough to move and spread the dirt over the woodland trail which was in need of fill dirt.  The previous owners didn’t walk the woodland path.  They took a Jeep.  The Jeep left deep ruts.  The ruts fill with water during the summer months, the water stands, the mosquitoes lay eggs in the standing water, and the mosquito population increases as a result.  Nobody wants that.  Filling in the ruts was on our long list of projects, and it was wonderful to have someone with a small bulldozer take care of it.  Otherwise, we’d have been hauling it out there in the wheelbarrow and shoveling it onto the path.

Where the marsh meets the woods.

We discovered early on a problem with the dirt.  It’s clay, you see.  And clay, when it’s wet, is mucky, muddy, sticky stuff.  To solve the problem of bringing half the clay back with us on our boots, we decided to try planting grass.  Hopefully it will grow and make the trail less gloppy and sloppy.

Ice on the edge of Back Creek

If the little birds didn’t eat all the seeds, that is.  Surely they left a few behind.

Ice in the middle of Back Creek

That should do it from the Wabi-Sabi Ranch for today.  Thank you for visiting on this cold and blustery day.  I’ll be heading out to watch the sunset from the platform soon.  You’re welcome to join me, but be sure to really bundle up.  The low tonight is expected to be around 14°F (which is probably warm to those of you in the midst of the deep freeze).

Leaving the dock

Stop by tomorrow for my review of The Beauty Experiment as part of the TLC Book Tour.  Those of us who are taking part as stops on the blog tour were asked to do something a little different this time around.  You might find it interesting.

Snow on the magnolia

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂