Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Solitude For Saturday. #5 Winter.
Hello everyone and Happy Saturday to you! I hope your weekend is off to a great start. It was a bit cold again this morning, with a terrible wind that just blew right through me. That is what it felt like anyway. I did not look at the temperature before going out this morning to feed the birds. I was a bit late getting out there, so I was in a hurry. That cold just blasted me, I was not quite expecting that today.
It is a bit colder than normal these days, but that will begin to change tomorrow and for the next 2 weeks things are looking much better. Providing the forecast is right. Sometimes it is not. Frequently it is not. But that is a whole post in itself. Which I do not want for this morning. But I have done some ‘informal studies’ about that very thing. Anyway, today is about solitude. I believe that we all need times of solitude. Some may need more solitude than others.
The type of solitude will be different from person to person. The length of time for our periods of solitude will vary as well. But it can be a good thing to have regular times of solitude. For me it is getting away into a wilderness setting to enjoy the beauty of nature, the quietness, the singing of birds, watching the squirrels play or gather pine cones. Yes, squirrels do deliberately play. I have watched Jasper out here, alone and with Jasmine, playing in the snow, running up and down trees.
They will deliberately get on a big branch that is loaded with snow and act like a snowplow pushing that snow off the branch and really making it fly! That is solitude. They will run down trees fast and when they get close to the bottom they will jump off into the deep snow and disappear. Then their little heads will pop up out of the snow several feet away, wearing a little ‘snow cap’. Then down they go once more, coming up again close to a tree and run up that tree as close to the top as they can get.
Then down again to do it all over. That is solitude. I love to walk the trail to the river. It is quiet. Trees are covered with snow. Often the only sound is me walking. At the river I sit and watch the goldeneye ducks swimming and diving for their lunch. That is solitude. The river is often very calm, but still flowing constantly with a strong current which keeps it from freezing no matter how cold it gets.
The pictures today are from last January just after some cold temps of -30F (-35C) and colder. Just a bit of ice showing along the shoreline. Chickadees were singing. Two squirrels were chattering at each other. Then it was silent. Just the sound of the ducks diving could be heard. It was beautiful. It was solitude. It was an interesting walk.
It was a cloudy day, but once I got near the river the clouds cleared away and the sun was shining beautifully. On the way back home, the clouds returned. Beautiful solitude. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin. (Muffin is sleeping on a wool blanket on top of one of my tallest shelf units)
©2022 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
Muffin’s a very sensible cat
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Yes, she has the warmest place in the apartment! Plus she can still see out the window from there as well. At the moment she is kind of hanging over the edge a little! 😁😺
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Snow already ? Bon dimanche, Steve and Muffin, amitiés 🙂
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Yes indeed! We have 27cm of snow now. Not so bad really, it could be worse this time of the year. Thank you Francefougere and a very happy weekend to you! 😊😺❄️❄️☕☕
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Muffin found a perfect spot it seems 😉🐱😸😸🐾..that right the length of solitude differs person to person and their committments with . Stay warm with your cold friends 😉. Have a lovely weekend
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Thank you Simon! Yes, Muffin loves her new spot up near the ceiling. Heat rises, so it would be the warmest place in the apartment. And with a nice wool blanket, she is all set to hibernate! 😻😃😂
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😂😂 perfect spot. If we could get a place 😜 we could hibernate for some hours too 😂😂. Well, don’t even think about it, fitting ourselves there is kind of challenging 🤣
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But getting down again would be fast and easy!🙄😃😃 Maybe a little too fast. 😲🙄And painful. And not so fun. 😲🙄🤔
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That must a bad idea of getting down 😸 Muffin should help us and train how to land safely 🐾🐱
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Only problem is, I don’t have 4 feet to land on! 😂😂😹😹
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Oh i thought we are four legged mammals 😱😱 cats don’t have hands 🤔 yeah thts a point. How did I missed it 😳🙄🤔😜😜😜😜
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Yep, hands don’t work as good as feet when landing, just might end up with your face in the mud! 😲😬🙄😂😹
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Yeah, we don’t train hands as legs 😜😀😂Maybe muffin would help us 😜😜😜
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I would prefer to keep my hands for hands and not go jumping on them! 😲😲😂😹
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🐾🐾🐾
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There is nothing like a walk at -30 F, -33 C. You have to dress in layers and cover up. The snow crunches so loudly but the scenery is beautiful. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy your solitude! Blessings of health and goodness, flowing from God to you, Steve!
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Yes, a cold walk can be quite nice and invigorating. I have gone out for long walks when the temperature has been between -50 and -55F. I couldn’t do it now, but years ago I did it and did not even think twice about it. Dressing properly is the key, as you mentioned. Thank you so much! God bless! 😊😺❄️❄️☕☕
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Yes, a walk outdoors at -50 F to -60 F, in heavy ice fog, is memorable. Used to walk to work when my car would not start. It certainly gets your blood moving and releases endorphins! ❄️🤪
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Hmm, and here I thought it froze my blood! On one such walk my camera froze about half way through my walk. That ended my photography for the day. 😂😹📷
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Yes, extreme cold and photography do not work well. 🙁 Hope you stay warm and enjoy the rest of your weekend. God bless you!
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I LOVE your snowy pics! We actually got our first dusting a couple days ago! Maybe 1/4″ or less, but it covered our deck for the morning.
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My deck has a permanent covering of snow now. It is so hard to keep the snow from getting packed on nice and hard. I need to get some sand now to put on it. Thank you so much C. A.!😊😺❄️❄️☕☕
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How do the ducks survive the cold temperatures ! Especially at night ! Where do they sleep ? The pics are great ! Sleep well tonight ! 🙂😻😴🥶
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The ducks are no different than other birds, those feathers keep them toasty warm. Plus they put on extra fat in the fall to help as well. So they are fine in cold temps. They sleep on the water, but usually on the lake. There are places where the lake never freezes and the ducks sleep in those places. Some probably stay on the river too. Have a good night Sharon! 😁😻❄️❄️☕☕
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Love your ‘Solitude’ posts, Steve! Muffin’s got the right idea, like most cats she is smart. Stay warm and enjoy your solitude. 😻🧣 🧤 🧥❄️❄️☕️☕️
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Thank you so much Eugenia! Yes, we are not getting much sunshine these days, so Muffin has discovered other ways to stay warm and cozy! Have a great week! 😊😻❄️❄️☕☕
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Most welcome, Steve. 😸🌞
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