Winter Grays And Blues

Red Shouldered Hawk

7:46

It's 8:30 as I start this on a 7º morning, the lake frozen and snow-covered although open towards the reeds because hundreds of ducks are there, huddled to keep warm. It's still windy and  I doubt if I can get in a hike although it's tempting to be out in the woods. 

Yesterday was not our favorite Christmas because we were not with family but we still had a good day, mostly of watching football and prepping dinner. It was actually nice to not have to do much because Evie had started to get dinner organized the day before. So she could relax, and enjoy the morning. After the blog and breakfast, I went out and cleared out the parking area of maybe six inches of snow. It felt good to be doing something physical. 

Scary Eyes

When I was done Evie made us breakfast, an omelet with tomato and feta cheese and a bagel. We enjoyed it while watching another great CBS Sunday Morning show. After breakfast, Evie was doing something in the kitchen and looked out the window and saw a hawk sitting on a wire, right next to our willow. I got out my camera, went outside, and was able to get some decent photos of him until he flew off. I took a photo of my photo, sent it to my new bird app, Merlin, from Cornell, and it identified it as a red-shouldered hawk, a rare sighting for us. 

Keeping Warm

The rest of the afternoon was reading, some football, a nap, and then getting ready for our neighbors, Barb and Jim, who were coming to our home for dinner at 5:00. I looked back and we had Christmas dinner at their house in 2019 because Jill and family were coming to visit after Christmas. 

Christmas, 2019

Anyways, once they arrived, I made Old Fashioneds and we sat in the living room, enjoying our drinks, appetizers and the warmth of the house. Around 6:30, we adjourned to the dinner table, had a bowl of cauliflower soup, then did some coloring on our new Christmas-themed tablecloth. Dinner was an Evie special, making use of whatever we had in the fridge. Basically, it was chicken thighs, on top of roasted sweet potatoes and spinach, topped with a tasty tomato sauce, Not quite a Christmas goose but we already had that once in Istanbul and it was one skinny bird. 

Jim And Barb

We then sat around talking until 9:15, enjoying a large piece of Evie's carrot cake, a perfect way to end the evening. They headed home in the dark and cold, just a short walk, fortunately, and we did up the dishes before watching some TV and going up to bed.

Fools On Thin Ice