Snow, Again

This time I woke up to a few inches, maybe 4", of fluffy snow but the plow had been by so I had to go out and clear the driveway.  It's a good thing I did because the plow deposited all of the chunks I hacked off of the iceberg he knocked off the drift the other day back into the driveway.  The snowblower wasn't thrilled to have to deal with them but it mostly managed to fling them.



I noticed this morning that the level of the snow on the patio has risen to about 6" below the birdbath.  Any more snow and the bunnies will be able to stand up there and drink along with the birds.




 
Speaking of birds, this House Finch has been getting pinker lately.  I take heart when the males start becoming more vivid which means they're putting on their mating plumage so maybe spring really is on the way.  The Juncos haven't moved back to the arctic so I know it isn't happening next week but soon.  There are more bird songs to. The other day I heard a Red-tailed Hawk, didn't see it but I heard it, and I also heard a Cardinal.  A few stay the winter but they don't sing much.





This Bluejay had a grand time swooping in on a squawk to nab a peanut and then get right back into the apple tree to pound the shell and eat the nut.





 
My assistant and I went to the (indoor) Farmer's Market this morning because I was almost out of eggs and I figured I could get a dozen really fresh eggs there and I did, along with carrots, mushrooms, radish sprouts, a couple kids' books, a couple bags, and 2 sugar donuts from Lucia who makes wonderful tamales too.



I didn't have much knitting time today but I did add an inch or so of foot to the Zauber Campfire sock.  Pretty soon I'll get to 6", add waste yarn, and switch yarns, then work my way back up to the other cuff.




2 March--Tropical Obsession. 

The stars hang closer in the tropics. Santiago steered the Santa Marta out of the little bay on the north coast of Venezuela he called home. The stink of the aging diesel was pulled out of the cabin when he reached the open ocean and pushed the throttles to their stops. He took one last glance over his shoulder to bid farewell to the orange spot that was the fire his wife Marta always lit on the beach when he left, but he had waited too long to turn, he couldn't see it. A bolt of panic shot through his guts, the superstition of bad luck at the change in routine churned his stomach and made his knees feel loose. "Stupid peasant," he said, running his fingers over the religious medal he wore around his neck and making a little bow to the statue of the Virgin duct taped to the console. He pictured the warm orange light of Marta's fire as he looked out at the waves painted pale blue and white by the cold light of the stars. Manning would be waiting and he, Santiago, would soon be rich enough to buy a new engine for his boat, with a bit left over for a few sparkly things for his Marta.

I heard from DS this morning that this was the snowiest February on record in parts of Wisconsin but we didn't get as much snow last month as we got in that 3-day blizzard last April.  I think we got 24" in that storm, we got "only" 20.9" last month.  It's enough.
--Barbara