Shoveling Snow

 

Tufted Titmouse At Our Feeder

8:33

More Snow

It's almost 9:00 as I start this because I slept in again until 8:15. As I look out our window, it is snowing again, although it does not seem to bother the birds at our feeder. It's a chilly 21º, and I can still see movement on the lake, so it has not yet frozen. We must have gotten another five inches overnight, so I will be back out there after I write the blog. 

Thursday began with a breakfast in Bemus on another snowy morning. Fortunately, I took the Outback in the garage so I didn't have to clean it off. When I returned home, I came in and with Evie, finished the blog went outside and cleaned the driveway and car for a good half hour, at least 8 inches of snow. It felt good to relax for a while. By 11:00, I was hiking with our neighbors, through the spectacular Woodlawn/Victoria woods. We were out for a good forty-five minutes. It was quite arduous as the snow was at least a foot deep most of the way. When I returned, it had snowed enough so that I cleared the driveway and car once again. 

Hiking In The Woods

Kinney's Field

While I was gone, Evie was prepping our chicken parm dinner and making some turkey meatballs to freeze and bring out when needed. I had a bowl of lentil soup and another meatloaf sandwich for lunch. Since I finished my Kristin Hannah book, True Colors, I started another Shanghai by Joseph Kanon. It's set in the late 1930s as Jews flee Hitler's Germany for Shanghai which became a haven for over 20,000 Jews during the 1930's. I took a decent nap, then joined Evie and watched some TV as it snowed and snowed. By 4:00, we had another seven or eight inches so I went back out for the third time and shoveled the driveway and cleared the car. It took me close to a half hour.

Afternoon Snow

Silence

It felt good to come back in a warm house and have a glass of wine and, as I looked out the window, it had stopped snowing. We had dinner around 6:15, a delicious chicken parm and a salad and we decided to watch a much-ballyhooed film called Aftersun on Netflix. It follows an 11-year-old girl on a vacation in Turkey with her father. It was slow, with long, boring shots and not much happened. We were bored but stuck with it. We read numerous comments about how great it was, how it brought some filmgoers to tears so we must have missed its subtlety. After the film, Evie went up to bed and I watched some basketball before going upstairs to read and sleep.

Gray Skies And Snow

7:15

9:23

I was up early, 6:45, to six inches of freshly fallen snow and a cold 25º morning. It looks like I will have to shovel before driving over to Bemus for breakfast with friends at 8:00. 

Yesterday was a quiet but enjoyable January 1st for Evie and me. It was our usual routine despite the first day of the year. We both slept in some and had our coffee at 8:15, enjoying a second cup while listening to the news and having breakfast, my usual yogurt with granola and blueberries. It was snowing some, a wet snow but I decided to go for a walk around the Woodlawn/Victoria woods. It ended up being enjoyable, a good choice as the woods, the trees, were frosted with snow, making it a winter wonderland. I was out for a little over a half hour and returned home to shovel before coming in to warm up.

Hiking Path

Trees

Woods

Around 11:50, Evie received a text inviting us to our neighbors for a swim. Evie wrote back we would swim over. We watched five of them jump in from our house although Evie wanted to join them. Around 1:00, I had a couple of meatloaf sandwiches for lunch and watched the first quarter of the Texas/Arizona State bowl game, By 1:30, I had enough and decided to read and take a nap, waking up at 2:15, refreshed and ready to have a leisurely afternoon. Evie had been busy much of the morning, making lentil soup and putting together our dinner, what else on New Year's Day, pork and sauerkraut. 

Late Afternoon

It was a nasty afternoon, threatening, dark skies and wet snow and Evie loved it. We did little the rest of the afternoon other than play on our devices, read, or watch TV. At 5:00 we had wine time and listened to the horrible news about New Orleans for the fourth or fifth time. We had our dinner around 6:30, the pork and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes, and watched the first half hour of a highly recommended film called Lucky Logan. And as usual, we didn't like it and watched some HGTV and Cheers until Evie went to bed. I had recorded the Ohio State game so I watched quite a bit of their lopsided victory over Oregon and then some NBA before going up to bed. 

A Snowy New Year's Morning

7:39

9:10

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A Winter’s Tale

At 8:30, the snow begins to fall,
A dusting first, then a thicker sprawl.
The lake lies wrinkled, stirred by the breeze,
Gray meets gray where sky and water freeze.

Tuesday unfolded in leisure’s embrace,
With paddles at dawn on the lake’s still face.
The morning was filled with a soft delight,
A blog to finish, a meal to write.

The freezer we sorted, a task now done,
Through treasures of ribs, lamb, and chicken won.
Books in my lap, the hours slipped past,
A sandwich at noon, the day held fast.

Evie ventured to Wegmans’ crowded store,
Returning as daylight began to pour.
Together we worked to set things right,
Groceries unpacked in the fading light.

At five, she prepared for an evening away,
While I watched football to pass the gray.
By six, with friends, we ventured to dine,
A restaurant warm with chatter and wine.

Exotic cocktails raised to the air,
Salmon, sea bass, and pasta to share.
The bar alive with laughter and cheer,
A bustling joy at the end of the year.

By nine-fifteen, we were back at our place,
Home’s quiet warmth, a welcome embrace.
Evie retired, her eyes heavy with sleep,
While I watched the Cavs in the silence deep.

Midnight’s chime, no longer our goal,
But comfort and peace filled up the soul.
A New Year’s Eve, unexciting to some,
Yet perfect in how the moments had come.

Ron And Linda

Happy New Year