Ready For Anything…

…as long as it’s indoors.

Walking Is Rough

Single digit temperature, slashing wind, treacherous substrate.

Long zoom chat with the Spalding’s.

Such Weather

Been out shoveling four times (although shallow accumulation) and still the precip continues.

And the forecast is…off-putting? Cold, and getting colder.

Footprints…

…in the snow. Plus, another shot in the arm.

Sue got her first Pfizer dose today, which is a relief, because I was worried that the two of us might be a month or more apart in terms of immunization. In an ironic twist, she gets her second shot a day before I get mine.

And now for the footprint quiz. The first photo has one print, the second photo has prints of three different creatures. In order to win the prize identify all four. Pls. post your answer in “Comments.”

Addendum: today we saw a red-tailed hawk and a bald eagle circling Starin Park for quite a long time. The birds almost seemed to be working as a team (which is hard to believe). “Turning and turning in the widening gyre.”

Well, There’s Snow…

…and then there’s snow.

Quick trip to Cedarburg to drop off a few items, and to say hello. Snow too deep in Cedarburg for even biggish dogs, but fun for outdoor kids.

900 Pounds…

…of books delivered this morning.

Each individual copy is quite hefty thanks to high quality paper. Now the challenge is selling more than a few of the 500. This evening Tom and Mary and Sue and I had a celebratory chat, glad of progress, and looking forward to the next phase. Mary reminded me that Tom and I met for the first time, at SweetSpot, almost exactly a year ago (pre-covid).

And, in case anyone didn’t notice, today is the first of February. While February is the month you most want to avoid, it does have the twin benefits of being attached to March and being relatively short.

PhD…

…Piled high and Deep. Less snow than forecast, more than we need.

The hemlock bows but shrugs it off

Waiting For Snow…

…which, with a roaring wind, seems to be arriving just about now.

Quiet, in-house kind of day. Squash soup and pork chops for dinner.

Not Only Birds…

…but other wildlife as well. It seems apparent that the birds are well fed, and we suspect that the neighbor behind us is putting out corn for the deer (which is not advisable, but might keep them from chewing the cedars.)

Photo by neighbor Anna

Mostly Indoors

Very chilly outside, though Pax seems to find it agreeable.

Lot of time spent trying to remember how to build a website, along with a bit of Whitewter GroCo work. While no sign of COVID, a little flare up of spring fever.

It’s Beginning To Feel…

…a lot like winter.

Cold and snow, snow and cold. But, the day is 45 minutes longer than it was back at solstice time, and 5 o’clock is no longer a time of darkness.

Inoculated, Immunized, Vaccinated...

…and needled in the left arm with Pfizer.

Left arm a wee bit sore, but otherwise, no problem. Shot at 8:15 A.M., in Janesville, in the middle of a raging snowstorm. But, quite a crowd of old folks that early and with that weather. Vaccination is a complex operation and here it was very well organized. Mercy Health system is now providing a shot a minute for its patients at two locations in southern Wisconsin.

Arboretum At Starin Park…

…one step closer to reality.

Plan completed, approved, and submitted to ArbNet for certification. It has taken only 10 years to get to this point, and the future looks green.

Iceboat Work

Canting the runners inward so they are not splayed out when under load.

Quite a complex project involving measurement, substrate removal, epoxy, and, ultimately, precise alignment. Luckily, lots of help. (N.B. the guy with the gray hair and no mittens is not Bernie.) Thanks to Renee for the photos.

Nighthawks

I have long been drawn to Edward Hopper’s surprisingly attractive portrait of urban loneliness, almost wishing to sit in, with burger and a milkshake, and being part of the conversation.

(I can’t take credit for the Photoshopping, unfortunately.)

Also, can’t wait to actually go to a pub.

A Cold One…

…in fact, coldest day of the winter so far.

But, record low ice cover on the Great Lakes, and no usable ice for sailing.

Photo by Sue

Do Icicles Really Grow Up?

No. It’s a conspiracy theory.

But this bit of crystal has been sitting on this ledge for days, giving the impression that it is actually growing in place.

Here is last Sunday’s arboretum post.

A Great Day

Glued to the tube, and drawing solace from it.

I think recent events are actually conspiring in support of the U.S.of A. Once again able to feel pride.

Just before noon (eastern time) Bob Habes and I were texting real-time, and counting down the seconds to a better future.

Extreme wind (and cold) ripping through this part of the country today, but overcome by the warm feeling of good things to come.

The Clouds Are Lifting

It may be snowing here, but the clouds are lifting all across the land.

I remember reading, on the advice of my father, the Thurber essay “If Grant Had Been Drinking at Appomattox.”

Of course Grant wasn’t drunk except in the story, and he did not surrender to the confederacy. But Thurber anticipated Trump.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
… here in the United States we come now to the end of a four-year experiment to answer the question: What would happen if we were led by the worst of us? What if we searched the land and plucked out literally the most repugnant human being we could find, a walking collection of character flaws, and put him in charge? What damage would he do, and what version of America would be left in his wake?

Not a Bad Routine…

…as long as a good book is part of it.

American beech tree

So, after naps, it’s out somewhere for a long dog walk. Then back home, and dinner prep. Next a half an hour or so of tooting my own horn (key of b-flat). Then time to feed the dog and pour a cocktail. When Pax is done with his chow we all retire to the breezeway, the fake woodstove fires up, and Pax chews his bully-stick while I do a blog. (The two operations have remarkable similarities.) Time passes and then dinner is served (often accompanied by CNN on the laptop), after which Pax goes briefly to the backyard, and then we all retire to the living room and an episode of something via Apple TV, Prime, or Netflix. (We are now watching Lupin.) When the episode finishes I grab my book, a wee bit of cheese, and a few pretzels, and move to someplace less comfortable to read. Currently a Donna Leon book (#27) that I somehow missed when reading the whole wonderful series.

Without the book as a digestif, the whole routine would collapse. There is no frigate like a book.