Winter...Down But Not Out

6:41

7:25

8:00

It's 7:15 and I have been up for a half hour as a light snow is falling.  Once again, our yard is covered with an inch of snow and the temperature has dropped precipitously to 21º, almost a 50º change from Friday's 70º.  The lake is still open, as a raft of bufflehead ducks have floated by and I doubt if it will freeze again this winter.  As I finish writing my blog, it's 9:15 and it has snowed on and off for the past couple of hours, a nice way to start the day.

Cruising Buffleheads 

9:15

Saturday began with rain and cloudy skies, a typical gray, spring like day.  Neither of us felt much like doing anything, matching the weather.  We started moving around 10:00, as we cleaned out the refrigerator, gathered the trash and off I went to the Transfer Station.  By the time I got home, we were both more together.  Evie decided she wanted to go to the gym in the early afternoon.  I was tempted but opted instead for an hour hike around the woods of Woodlawn and Victoria.

Woodlawn Creek

Fortunately, the rain has stopped, the wood brown and devoid of snow, so it was easy to bush whack wherever I wanted.  My only problem was figuring out how to ford the Woodlawn Creek without getting a soaker.  I managed to pile a few rocks in the middle of the current, so I could step over the water.  Even though it was overcast, I really enjoyed the hike, walking in areas usually covered by bushes and undergrowth.

Hiking Woodlawn Yesterday

Cross Country Skiing Woodlawn Two Weeks Earlier

When I got home, Evie was ready to head to the gym, so I made my lunch, a reheated hot dog from Friday's lunch and some cauliflower soup.  I watched basketball for a half hour, then turned to another episode of Wallander before heading to the couch, to read for 15 minutes before taking a nap.
Around 3:00, I began to notice snowflakes and was a little worried about Evie on icy roads but she had no problem and was home around 4:00.  

Dusk Begins To Hit Long Point

She had a good, long walk on the treadmill so she came home wanting to get something she dislikes to do done...like giving me a trim.  So we adjourned to the TV room (in warm weather, we go outside) and she cut my hair and trimmed my beard, reminding me how much money we have saved since she started cutting my hair in 1967.  I have been to a barber only once since then!  And that was a disaster as everyone laughed at me when I came home with a coiffed hair cut.

Evening Snow Through Our Window

It proved to be a nasty night, so we ended up having a Manhattan or two, with appetizers, hummus and pita, cheese and crackers, and watched the wind blow the snow almost horizontally at times.  The gusts were in the 50 mph range, or so the weather man suggested.  Before we sat down, Evie had put together a scalloped potato and ham casserole so dinner was easy after our relaxing cocktail hour. We watched Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher, then some of James Carden's Late Night show before heading up to bed.  It turned out to be a better day than we thought, with workouts, an easy dinner, and an enjoyable, snowy cocktail hour.