Footprints

Windy, cloudy, and cold, and the feeder well used.

And, in anticipation of the coming cold, iceboats out of the barn.

Welcome Winter?

Light snow coming down, thermometer dropping. Serious cold in the forecast.

When it became apparent that the level of seed was not dropping in the feeder, I went out and cleared the blockage caused by the recent freezing rain.

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awakened
as ice bursts
the water jar

—Bashō

Ben and James On Stage

Another Christmas program.

Catching Up…

…with old friends.

Nice time, dreary weather. Not a good night to be wildlife—moderately heavy and very cold rain, tossed around by a swirling wind.

Out To Watertown…

…with the neighbors, for coffee at the Berres Bro. HQ and coffee shop. On the way we stopped at the most famous octagonal house in Wisconsin.

Maddie Concert

Great choir singing fun, multi-part songs.

Bit of sunshine in otherwise gray day.

Needle and Nail

Quiet Sunday, mostly needlework and woodworking. A walk worked in too, though, as part of knee retraining.

a crust of bread

jumps with the sparrows

round the courtyard

Dina Franin

Damp and Dim

Not much daylight, and even darker with daylong mist. One nice retirement option is to not get up until morning has broken, but that’s now after 7.

Political Discussion…

…with friend, and failed state senate candidate, Steve, at Daddy Maxwell’s in Williams Bay. Horrendous drive in driving snow on the way there, so the meeting started late. Back roads were the way to go, as the main thoroughfares were crawling.

Several good ideas on how to improve the Wisconsin Democratic Party—in between bites of toast and marmalade. Drive home no problem as the roads were either melted or plowed.

All Decked Out

‘Tis the season.

And pie too!

Gallery Reception…

…for neighbor Sylvia. Q and A was good because Sylvia is a good storyteller, as in the story of her grandmother’s spirit inhabiting first, a stuffed owl, and later, after that was destroyed by a cat, real ones.

Warm…

…but still I ice on the ponds.

Brief snow shower early afternoon.

Another Day…

…that got away.

After a slow start, down to Santa’s workshop, where things did not speed up much.

Last night’s dinner of steak, peppers and onions, along with spinach/artichoke pasta was a hit.

Rare Event…

…steak on the Green Egg. But first I had to use a broom to encourage an opossum to get out from under, prior to ignition.

Much of the afternoon spent in Santa’s workshop.

Breakfast in Whitewater…

…(Arboretum stuff), dinner at Old Fashioned in Madison.

‘Tis The Season…

…for Christmas programs. Tonight, Becca on stage.

Fine Art

Neighbor Sylvia opened a one person show at the U which we and other neighbors walked over to see.

Flash Freeze

Big temp drop after last night’s deluge. The few remaining gutter leaves were flushed down the gutters and then flash frozen into hard wads at the end of the spouts. Lots of other little examples of frozen erosion on our afternoon walk around the block. (I made it all the way, though slowly.)

A Little Dry Rot…

…in the ship’s wheel.

Remedied with epoxy. The sanding of the intricate assembly not so easy.

Physical therapy and soccer rounding out the day.

Now being thrashed by heavy rain and strong winds.

Urban Forestry Commission…

…meeting. Two parts interesting, one part annoying, one part frustrating. In this world, there are people you want to work with and people you don’t.

Above, Clematis, again. The seeds are ripe and ready for dispersal. They are hard to examine without disrupting, but what I see are six seeds clumped in a star, fat ends touching, with each narrow end trailing a white feather. Will any make it safely to a new, hospitable home? Here’s hoping.