Polar Vortex ~ Day 2

We are in day 2 of a Polar Vortex.  Simply put, 

a polar vortex is when the freezing arctic air 

decides to head south for a while and thus sends

us into a state of cold that we rarely experience.

Thankfully, we are in a warm house that is well

stocked with food.  We have a bit of cabin fever

but have watched marathons of The Tudors and

Law & Order SVU.  When we send Mia the Wonder

Dog outside she starts to limp after a few minutes.

We feel so sorry for the poor animals who have to

suffer in the bitter cold and wind.  We give them food 

and hope they can keep warm enough to survive.  The 

photo above is of one of our birds who has fluffed up 

his feathers to conserve body heat.  

Looking forward to a warm up!

Leaving the Nest

 

It has been a long, cold winter here in the

American Midwest.  I have been cocooned

in my studio, hibernating from the blahs of

winter...  In two months from today we will be

 hiking up to castles along the Rhine, walking

 through the tulip fields in the Netherlands

and strolling along the cobblestones in Paris.

 

And I need to get ready.

I set today as the day I would start my training

for our European journey, I thought, it will be

March, certainly the weather will have improved.

Haha.

I was wrong, it was grey and cold and snowing.

 

Not a great day to leave the warm nest of my

home and venture out to the woods.

But I did it anyway and feel better for doing so.

 

At least, I am fairly certain that by the time I

leave for my European adventure it will be

Spring ~ and it can't come a moment too soon

as far as I am concerned.

 

Winter Wonderland

I Guess It Had To Happen Sometime...

Winter has finally come

to the American Midwest.

It is snowing, the temperature

went down to 13F last night and

the whipping wind makes it feel

like the temperature is in the

single digits.

I ventured out today to pick

up books and fabric and now

I think it's time to curl up in

front of the fireplace and bring

on the weekend!

A Walk in the Woods

It was 56 degrees F here yesterday in the

 American Midwest.  This is our Winter and

it should be freezing but we were given a

 hint of Spring ~ and it was wonderful!

Even in the dead of Winter there are

interesting things to see in nature.  I

love the vivid green of the moss and

the fungus on this fallen tree.

Look closely at this photo and you will

see the deer on the far right and far left.

I love that they never run away from me,

I talk to them and they stay very calm.

I like to think that they know I am as much

a part of these woods as they are.

There is still ice on part of the trail

that is blocked from the sun.

I enjoy the solitude of this time of year,

when it's just me and the trail.  This

beautiful weather has been a treat, but

alas, it is Indiana, and we will be having

snow in a few days...

First Snowfall ~ Indiana

Too Soon

My birthday is in late November and

every year since I have lived in the

Midwest we have had some snow, usually

just flurries, before that date.

Having survived ~ hated every minute of ~

endured, the freak October snow storm on

the East coast a few weeks ago, I have already

had enough of winter.

I have always loved the change of

seasons but now as each birthday

passes by I find winter to be a bore

and a chore.

I'm still out on my trail each day

but tromping through snow while

shivering just doesn't appeal to

me anymore.

I think this may be my new dream.



Ice Day!

We've all heard of snow days...

...but around here we have to be unique

and have an Ice Day.

We had round one of the storm last night

and still have power ~ yeah!

For those of you that are lucky enough

to have never experienced an ice storm,

the problem is the power goes out. 

The ice coats the power lines and trees

and eventually both of these break and

we lose power. 

No power means no heat,  no heat means

 water lines can break and that is a big mess.

So we are waiting for round two to

hit later this afternoon.  It is supposed

continue through the night.

Kate and I are the only ones here this week.

 The storm was so bad Kate's school, Burris,
closed today and that rarely happens. 

I would be happy to get the blizzard

instead of the ice...

This is a photo of the woods behind our house.

There will be no hiking today because the

trees may break and start dropping their

branches.  When you step outside, you can

hear the crackle of the ice on the trees.

This is the view across the back fields,

I can't wait until they are

green and beautiful again!