Back Home Again

Well, the shadows are back here in Meaford.  There isn't much new to report other than the continuing snow and cold temperatures.  We get a little snow every few days, and tonight there's an extreme cold weather alert with wind chills forecast to take the mercury down to near -30C.  My caregiver this morning said her car thermometer read -31C!  Seems like a pretty typical January to me!

We did have a bright sunny day yesterday, and it was glorious, even though the sun wasn't enough to raise the temperature much.  It did bring the shadows of the trees back for awhile and the sun is back today.

And those trees were outlined against a totally blue sky.

The view out back was beautiful, making me think of the next season to come.

But there's enough snow that our heron is still behaving like an ostrich.

Just as a reminder, our heron still had his head (mostly) above the snow only 6 days ago.

Just 24 hours before the bright sunny photos above, this was the view out back, with the snow coming down heavily.  We haven't had as much snow as some years, but it's plenty to make you feel that it's winter, and the continuous below freezing weather has been great for outdoor rinks and cross-country ski trails.

Not much else to report on here, but I'll see what I can come up with to keep you amused.  I've been stuck at home with a skin infection for longer than I'd like, missing both physio and church for several weeks now.  And our coffee group can't meet because of the current covid rules.  Hopefully that will end next week, and I am starting to feel better.  In fact I'm keeping happily busy with reading and writing as well as doing all my exercises.

I've just been looking back at posts from the past, and found we had a squirrel invasion 4 years ago on this date.  We had 6 squirrels clustered around the bird feeder at once!  In comparison I don't think I've seen a single squirrel for three weeks this year.  I have hardly seen a single bird in the yard either; it's a dull time of year for wildlife.

So I hope you're enjoying whatever weather the winter season is bringing you as we approach Groundhog Day and Candlemas next week.  Now only four days away, these festivals traditionally mark the middle of winter, 40 days after Christmas, on Feb. 2nd.  Hope that the groundhog does not see its shadow!