Varied Thrush, Ixoreus Naevius

Day 122: We're back among the living! Shortly after breakfast, my power went out and my cell phone lost service. Kevin managed to call in on my land line, but almost immediately after he hung up, that went out as well. Power came back on a little over two hours later, but both phones remained dead. I settled in with a good book, taking a break mid-day to make chocolate chip cookies. The mail still hadn't arrived by three and I was getting anxious, sure that trees were down somewhere up the line. I kept checking in between chapters, but got engrossed in the plot for a longer stint and the next time I looked out the window there were two men in my driveway, shovelling snow. Huh? The one furthest away seemed youngish. The other was behind one of my trees, and when I caught a quick glimpse, I noticed several days' growth of whiskers before realizing that it was Kevin. He and his youngest son had come up with a "care package" of milk, soup and banana bread and a pair of heavy duty snow shovels. In half an hour, they'd cleared my driveway.

That said, both Kevin and another friend had tried reporting my phone outage to CenturyLink, the worst phone company in the world. Kevin was told that since it was my service, I would be the person who needed to report the outage. He insisted, "She can't report it because, as I keep telling you, her service is out!" I don't know that he ever got the point across to the moron on the other end of the line, but at 8:30 PM, I still didn't have phone. At 8:45 PM, it was back, bringing my internet with it. Those cheery chirps you're hearing aren't the Varied Thrushes. They're a happy Crow!

Round Two

Day 120: The first flakes of Round Two have begun to fall, and there are at least two more storms moving in, the strongest scheduled to arrive on Tuesday. Temps got above freezing for a few hours today, and if I'd had half the brains of a rutabaga, I would have run down to the grocery store for milk while the roads were bare and wet. Hindsight is always so much clearer than foresight! But I was intent on finishing a tatting project and let the moment slip away. It may be June before I have another chance. The good news is that the forecast now shows warmer overnight lows for the most part, still below freezing but a vast improvement on temps in the teens. I'm digging in, 'cuz there's no hope of digging out!

Snowpocalypse 2019

Day 119: I trust these guys' prognostications more than any forecast from NOAA or Cliff Mass, but in this instance, all three agree: it's gonna be a doozy. Snowpocalypse 2019 has barely begun and already I have eight inches of white in my yard. Predicted snowfall amounts vary from mere showers some days to  substantial accumulation on others, the general theme interspersed with periods of gusty winds and bitter nighttime temperatures. The wind is keeping snow from weighing down tree branches and power lines, a plus for me but a factor which deprives my little avian friends of the igloo-like protection of the contorted filbert. They're gobbling the calories as fast as I can lay out seed, the larger birds at three feeders (including the Thrushes) and a ground crew of juncos, sparrows and of course the Towhees who prefer to scratch for their dinner. I may not have bought enough milk to see me through to the melt, but I'm well stocked with bird seed.

A Taste Of Summer

Day 118: For several months now, I've been digging into the foods I put by from the garden, savouring each little taste of summer. Ten pints of frozen raspberries are gone, the last of them nibbled to keep a sore throat at bay. The last jar of canned plums is chilling in the fridge, and while I still have a dozen pints of apple chunks, I got a surprise when I pulled out a jar and discovered it was actually pears. Likewise, going through the freezer, I unearthed a cup of blueberries this morning, just enough for a batch of muffins. Only a handful of dried tomatoes remain to augment vegetable soup. With Snowpocalypse just now beginning outside my windows, summer reigns in my kitchen.