The Big Chill

7:51

8:04

8:13

It's 7:45 and I have been awake since 7:00, wondering if anyone would be crazy enough to walk out on the lake and fish in this morning's 4º temperature.  So far, I haven't noticed anyone, just a black-capped chickadee at our feeder.  And some blue is beginning to fill the overcast sky.  As the fear of the cold weather continues, schools are closed for two days and a couple of restaurants announced last evening on Facebook that they would be closed today.  I think the coldest morning we have had since retiring here in 2010 was a minus 17º, so compared to then, today is toasty.

Red Tailed Hawk

Yesterday was cold, with snow flurries on and off during the day but it did not get in the way of our doing things.  I made it to yoga at 9:30, despite the snow flurries and wet roads, to a good yoga class.  Most of the regulars were there. I skipped savasana and came straight home because Evie had a PT class at 11:30. While I was gone, Evie spotted a huge red-tailed hawk in our backyard and spent 10 minutes trying to get good photographs of him.  We think he might be one of the reasons are bird feeders have not been busy lately.

Keeping Warm

After Evie left, I cleared the parking area of a couple of inches of snow then came in for lunch.  It was easy, just heat up the chili, add cheese and oyster crackers and I had a good lunch. I watch FNL of course, read some of my book on the Great Lakes and took a nap.  Evie returned home around 1:00, having had a good PT experience.  She may go back.  Neither one of us did much the rest of the afternoon but at 4:00, I decided to give the lake a try and got out my cross country skis.  It was the right choice because the lake was perfect for skiing, no slush and a few inches of fresh snow so I could glide easily.  I went as far as Wells Bay, as fishermen walked out on to the lake, joining me.  The wind was negligible so I was never cold unless there was a gust.  I was a happy guy.

Cross Country Skiing In White

When I returned, we had wine/beer time with appetizers, pretzels and dip  Dinner was the leftover turkey dinner.  Evie put together as a salad, filled the plates with turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing, put them in the microwave and we had dinner.  We watched some news and were happy to know we had another Colbert saved to watch.  We ended the night watching another episode of The Great British Baking Show.