Nine Degrees In The Shade---Warming Up

Buddha Boy Says: Let Go

7:30

8:00

Up at 6:30, warmer out than I expected because when I went to bed last night about 10:30, it was 7 below, as cold as I have seen it up here.  It's supposed to get in the 30's the next couple of days then drop precipitously on Tuesday, down to single digits again.  It's a blue sky at this time, 7:41, and a single ice fisherman sits out on the ice, about ten yards beyond the reeds, a hardy guy.  I did walk on the ice yesterday and there was a couple inches of slush, then ice, making it an unpleasant jaunt.

Fishing at 6:30 AM

Yesterday, like many places in both the Midwest and East, was bitterly cold, in the single digits all day long, making any kind of outdoor activity difficult if not dangerous.  We did not venture out in the car for that reason, though we had no need to.  I did shovel the parking area once again, staying out for about fifteen minutes and it did not seem too bad.

Cosy Home

We obviously stayed inside most of the day, another 'do little' day at the lake.  Evie, however, is starting to feel more like herself though she tires quickly if she becomes too ambitious.  She is going to have to go slow, realizing that it's going to take awhile to get her mojo back.  Perhaps we can take a short walk today if it is not too cold.  I expanded my mid afternoon ritual of making a pot of tea by adding hot chocolate to the list of beverages to brighten the afternoon.  I don't know why I never think of making it because it is so good.  Now I have to find the top rated instant chocolate and see if Wegman's carries it.  Decadent!

White Capped Chickadee and Finch

Late afternoon, I ignored the cold and took a brief snow shoe hike through the Victoria woods, bushwhacking my way, walking on the lake as well.  It was bitterly cold, so that I cut my hike short because of it.  I did notice, for the first time, a group of ice fishermen walking out on to the lake in bright orange bibs, near the Victoria stream, but they did not stay long, obviously deciding the ice was not yet ready.

Checking Ice, Later Afternoon Off Of Victoria

For dinner, we had scallops on linguine, a dinner which is fast becoming one of our favorites.  Evie sears them, then makes a sauce with white wine, broth, garlic, parsley and shallots, tossing it with the scallops and linguine.  With a salad, of course, we had another great dinner, perfect for a cold, windy Friday night.  We watched another couple of episodes of Orange Is The New Black, none very interesting from the point of view of character development or story, just some gratuitous violence and sex, at least we thought so.  Still, we stick with it so we must like it.  I am getting pulled in to my new digital book, Wolf Hall, as Cardinal Woolsey had just been relieved of his title, forced to flee to Putney in disgrace with his friend, Thomas Cromwell.