Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

January came in a hot mess and is going out a hot mess. Thankfully, in between we had some really lovely, sunny days. Just last week the sun made an appearance a couple of days, giving me and the boys a chance to get out and enjoy the warmth several times each day. Friday evening, though, straight through yesterday, rain fell. Overnight it turned to snow. The snow is still falling now, which is fine by me. If I had my druthers, I'd rather have snow to take walks in than rain. Snow is just more fun. But it's time to say so long to January. It's been a good month. Lovely Beautiful Daughter turned 29 and Angel Baby turned 22. We were going to celebrate both birthdays today, but out of an abundance of caution we decided to wait for a day when the roads aren't slick. That might not be until April or May, but we've become used to waiting to see each other. The last year has taught us to be patient. I've been working on my book. Not making a ton of progress because I...

Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to be able to call myself a writer. An author. When I was seven and eight years old, I wrote little stories about elves and fairies that lived near a stream. I wrote sappy poems. This continued until seventh grade when I departed from the usual and wrote a very weird story that involved a circus and death via high wire and trapeze. I gave it to my English teacher to read, hoping she'd give me some constructive feedback. That didn't happen. There was feedback, but it was simply "This isn't even plausible." Nothing more. I was disappointed, to say the least. And I stopped writing. Then, when I was in college, I started writing again. I found writing classes to take, both poetry and short fiction. I had one professor write me a note about how he truly enjoyed my poetry. I had another professor tell me one of my short stories was first-rate. They both gave me encouragement and hope that maybe one day I'd see my dream of b...

I have no clue as to what's going on at the USPS, but given the adventure a book I ordered back in December has been on, it appears there are individuals who need some geography lessons.  The book is a Christmas present for Funny Delightful Son's girlfriend, who is taking a graduate course this semester. She has several books on the reading list, so I ordered four of the books for her as I remember how it was to be a grad student with not a lot of money but a lot of books to buy. The other three books I ordered arrived well before Christmas. This one, though, has been on a journey. It started out in Maryland. From there it went to Pennsylvania then up near Chicago then to Champaign. For a week, it sat in the Champaign distribution center. Logically, it should have shown up in my mailbox a few days after arriving in Champaign. At the very least, if the post office didn't want to deliver the book, it could have just called and I would have driven to Champaign to pick it up. T...

Over the years, since Ado became an adult dog, we've had our share of run-ins with dogs off leash. It's always the other dog who starts the ruckus. From day one, I made sure to train Ado to behave while we're out. He's a large dog, weighing in at 120 pounds. He's also a breed many people fear. I'm of the mind that it's my job to make sure he doesn't hurt another dog or person. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing my dog, under my watch, hurt another creature.  So what ends up happening, because Ado is always on leash (as is the ordinance in this county and in this village) is other dogs that are not on leash or are not enclosed by a fence end up approaching and sometimes attacking Ado. A lot of the time, all Ado has to do is growl and the other dog backs away. A few times, the other dog decided to attack. This is what happened Monday.   I was out with Ado and Murphy for a late afternoon walk, like usual. As we were passing the church a few bl...

After months of anticipation, ta-da! It didn't go in without some hiccups, but in the end, all turned out well. It was absolutely wonderful being able to sit here last night with a fire going.  I'm still partial to a woodburning fireplace or woodburning stove, and maybe that might happen in a few years, but for now, this will do. This was the more financially feasible way to go since the firebox and chimney need quite a bit of repair in order to function without burning down the entire house. I certainly don't want that to happen. The vent free insert has a blower, so it heats the space very nicely, and it closes off the chimney that has no damper. Now the cold air of winter can't get into the house, and the cool air in the summer can't get out by way of the chimney. There is some clean-up to do around the surround. The old surround/doors had been caulked into place with the red caulk, and the brick underneath the old surround/doors is a different color than the res...

New Year's day we had an ice storm. Very early Saturday morning, around 3 am (I was outside with Murphy), big, beautiful snowflakes fell. By the time we got up later, around 7, we had nearly five inches of snow on the ground. Because the ice hadn't melted before it began snowing, and because there was no wind, the snow blanketed everything in a thick layer. The result? A gorgeous winter landscape like I haven't seen in many, many years.  The treeline behind my house. I love the almost sepia tone look my camera gave to the image. The maple at the back of my yard. So far it  seems like the maple trees are fairing best. My street as we head home on our walk. The downside is all the weight of ice and snow on the trees has taken a toll. Lots and lots of tree damage. I have two tall pines on the property, and one is decimated. The village in which I live has lovely old trees, and so many have taken a hit. Every time we go out for a walk, it seems like I see more damage than I saw...

Well, 2021 is starting off beautiful but menacing. Ice. And lots of it. The trees in this little village are taking a beating, including the ones on my property. The poor pines on my property and my neighbor's. Both taking a beating. The birch in the side yard is crumbling little by little. I was going to walk down the street to see how things are around town, but all the popping and creaking scared me. Getting conked on the head by a tree limb wouldn't be good. Mailbox ice. The ice is beautiful, though it is destructive. Thankfully, I have nowhere I need to be except right here in my cozy little house.