Warm Days And Cabin Fever.

Posted on January 21, 2019 by

24 Comments

Greetings everyone on this third Monday of January and that means…it’s Squirrel Appreciation Day!  No, I didn’t make that up.  Someone else did.  But it’s a good time of year for it.  Brightens the cold January days.  And everyone likes squirrels.

chipper
This is Chipper, she was my favorite squirrel.

  Okay, maybe not everyone.  But they are cute.  And they can be very friendly.  And they can be annoying.  Like LB, my squirrel.  He took over this territory and chased away all the other squirrels.  That means 6 females and their little ones.  Five of those females had four young each, one had 3, which included LB and his 2 brothers, Jasper and Whitey. I have talked about them before.

mama chip enjoying breakfast
This is mama chip enjoying breakfast. She was LB’s mother.

  Now, LB thought he was smart chasing everyone away. Except right now he should have a mate.  He doesn’t.  No females now.  Turned out he wasn’t so smart.  He is still not very friendly.  Strange squirrel.

IT’S HERE!

It has been very cold here lately, -34F, colder with the windchill.  Too cold for me. And when weather like this arrives that means that, that…CABIN FEVER really hits!  And hits hard.  No energy.  Don’t even feel like doing anything.  Muffin and I stand at the window, staring

img_0527
That staring squirrel.

outside…looking…looking…nothing but snow and cold.  And we are only half way through winter.  Real time winter.  Not calendar winter.  Winter started back in October, not December.  Sigh.  And it’s not even International Cabin Fever Day yet.  Sigh.

Warm Sunny Days

I think both Muffin and I were thinking the same thing the other as we gazed out the window at the frozen surroundings.  Summer.  Green.  Flowers blooming.  Warm sunshine.  And it doesn’t take half an hour to dress to go outside.  After all that I say to myself, ‘Why bother?’.  Sigh.  Muffin wants the door open.  I open the door.  She feels that blast of cold air and retreats to a warmer location.  Which is not easy to find sometimes.  Even inside.  This floor is like walking on ice.  Amazing.  So I dream.  Of warmer places. Looking at pics of tropical locales.  Sitting under a palm tree.  Muffin climbing the palm tree.  And not being able to get back down.  And I have to go up and get her.  Okay, maybe it’s not quite so much fun.  But it is fun looking at the pics.  Or just pics of our summer days.  It is very beautiful here in summer.  Looking across the lake.  The amazing variety of birds.  I am trying to get photos of as many of our birds as possible.

evening grosbeak
Male evening grosbeak.

  Quite a task since I am mostly just around my apartment.  There is a great variety here however, but many are quite shy.  Others are very small and stay mainly in the shrubs.  Others stay higher in the trees.  So it is a challenge.  But if it was all easy, it wouldn’t really be much fun.  Still, a little easier would be nice.  Sigh.

Birds

The poor little, and not so little, birds in this cold weather.  Their legs and feet disappear.  Just balls of fluff bouncing around on their stomachs.  But they don’t complain.  Just go on with life as normal.  Those little chickadees, bouncing through the air, chirping and singing out their name.  Just like on warmer days.  And yes, they really do look like they are bouncing through the air when they fly.  People like to complain about things.  All kinds of things.  All the time.  We should be like the chickadees.  Enjoying the day.  Instead of grumbling and complaining.  After all, each day is a gift from God.  Even the cold, gray days.

Sigh

I was reading.  I like to read.  I turned the page.  It ripped.  Not a tiny rip.  A big rip. Don’t make paper like the used to.  Was putting veggies on my plate for supper.  Phone rings.  I turned.  Dumped the veggies on the floor.  On my foot as well.  Rats.  No, not rats.  Rats.  It’s what I say when things go wrong.  If things go really wrong it’s, rats, gnats and blueberry bats.  Yes, I know.  I’m strange.  But Muffin likes me anyway.  It’s cold.  So when I came in the other day I closed the door as quickly as I could.  My fingers were in the way.  It hurt.  It’s enough to make a person bang their head against the wall, jump up and down and, and…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It’s okay.  I’m fine.  I’m calm.  Like I said, CABIN FEVER is here.  Sigh.

Okay.  It’s not my best post.  It’s one of those days.  Watch for changes coming to Steve’s Country.  Real soon.  And hopefully my fingers will be better soon too.  They are cracked and bleeding on the tips.  I notice it when I type.  It’s the cold weather.  Would likely help if I wore gloves more.  Sigh.  I hope everyone enjoys their week and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2019 Steve McLeod (except featured image which is not mine)

 

Category: Birds, Cold, Country, Country Living, Squirrels, Uncategorized, WinterTags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

24 Comments on “Warm Days And Cabin Fever.”

  1. Mixed thoughts reading your post. You do have strong hope, so keep it alive among the grey of the winter. Your photos are beautiful too. Keep remembering the happy summer moments. God bless you and Keep writing. By the way, the Squirrel story is also very funny. I mean, I think he wants his whole world for himself. 😦

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  2. Love the post! The squirrels I can relate to. Had a similar situation only it was 4 mothers, 3 young ones, zero babies, and 4 chipmunks, all peppeR colored. Seems once they stake a territory they can be very mean.. Keep your spirits up! Along with your chin! Warmer sunnier days not too far ahead. Love the pictures!

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    • You should check out the email address. The number of the squirrels and the color have a lot to do with how successful you can be at keeping that one mean squirrel from catching the others.

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      • I love to use my first two initials followed by my last name name when I send the mail. But I think you knew that already. The rest is just a security code or password to get the mail read. You really should try it sometime. The messages never seem to go anywhere. They just sit there and wait to be read and updated. Kind of cool… No tracks to lead to your cabin.

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  3. I must say the description of the birds flying and the bloody fingers gave me a mental picture that I won’t forget.. I remember those types of days as a child.

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  5. Crazy squirrel! I guess he’d rather be alone. We made it to 33 degrees today. I thought it was summer! 😀 I hope your fingers feel better. Hopefully it’ll warm up so cabin fever will go away soon.

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    • Below normal temps are supposed to continue for us for at least the next 2 weeks! The beginning of February can be terribly cold but usually milder later in the month. Usually.

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  8. Very beautifully written. It is absolutely beautiful there. Your photographs have captured the natural essence of nature, God’s handiwork. It is just Lovely
    😊🙏💜

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