Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Fun Holidays!
Hi everyone! Well, this post was supposed to come out early this morning. I mean, most of my readers are from overseas and it is now evening or closing in on midnight, and everything in between. So, now most of you have missed the fun part of this fun post on fun holidays which are, well, fun. I like to publish some posts early, just for that reason, and this post was supposed to be early as well. But, the person who is in charge of doing that kind of messed up.
I am not up usually at 3am, but that is when some posts get published. Or at least close to that time. That would be around 10am in Europe, for example. So, I schedule the post to come out at that time. Like this one should have been, but I forgot to hit the schedule button. So I had to add this first part to the post explaining things. Sigh. There are fun holidays for most every day of the year it seems.
Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day, a little late, it was January 21.
Today is “Backwards Day”, but it is also my most fun holiday, “International Cabin Fever Day”! By this time of the year cabin fever is often in full swing. Yes, it is a real medical condition. The long nights and short daylight time can really affect people. Especially since most of the days are also cloudy, which makes things worse. So people can get very depressed during the winter. I do not think doctors actually use the name cabin fever though, however, they usually know what it is.
Then along comes Cabin Fever Day! A day of fun! Dress up differently, miss match clothes, especially socks of different colors. Weird and wild colors. That sort of thing. Plus cake and popcorn, French fries with maple syrup! People think that fries and maple syrup is weird. But they will eat something called poutine. That is fries with cheese curds and topped with gravy. It was invented in our province of Quebec. It is supposed to be good.
Happy Backwards Day! This chickadee seems to be getting on board with his head on backwards!
I tried it once. That was enough for me. I will stick with my fries and maple syrup, with salt of course. Salt first, then add the syrup. Delicious. Warm syrup is best. Then of course lots of games, fun times, paper hats. Muffin loves paper hats. She will even wear one. Though not for long, then she rips it to shreds. But that is part of the fun.
Also try some different food, either the main course for dinner, or a dessert. Something that maybe you normally eat, but made a different way, or perhaps something you have never eaten before. Be creative, be wild, be crazy. It breaks up the winter monotony a bit. Yeah, I am crazy, I admit it. Unfortunately I missed Squirrel Appreciation Day this month. That was terrible really. Especially since I do have one squirrel again.
Happy Cabin Fever Day from all of us crazy, upside down types!
Then in a couple of days there is the very important Ground Hog Day, but more on that one when it arrives. There is nothing for February 1st, which is odd. Maybe I should make up something for tomorrow. Hmm. Well, that’s it, time for lunch consisting of chicken, cheese, popcorn twists and mint tea. Then it is game time! Happy Cabin Fever Day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
Tuesday’s Tidbits. #5
Good morning everyone! Well, it is definitely another good coffee morning, so, why not grab a cup and visit with us for a few minutes? It is a beautiful, sunny morning with clear blue sky. There does not seem to be any wind out there at the moment and the temp this morning was a bit milder than yesterday at just -29F (-34C). Yesterday was just plain cold. I mean cold. At its coldest it was -47F (-44C).
Only someone crazy would go out in a temperature like that. That kind of temp means a person stays home and relaxes inside. I went shopping in the morning. Prior to that I put the bird feeders out. Taking that first breath of outside air is a shocker. It was just plain cold. Enough of that subject. It is nicer today, though tonight it is supposed to get colder again.
Although not the best photo, I still like it for the mirror image of this male Goldeneye duck.
But enough of that subject. I like warm weather and warm places. But you already know that. There are few birds around these days. Normally when it gets cold like this, the feeders are very busy. Birds like easy to get food when it is cold. But not so this winter. That is very strange. There are other birds around the area, which means someone else is getting them. So it must be someone close by, perhaps even the people across the street. They would be able to intercept the birds before they get here.
A friend of mine spotted a couple lynx the other day and got some nice pictures of them. That is an animal I would love to photograph. On my list of mammals, they are at the top, with moose being in second place. Lynx and bobcats live around here, even close by. I did have a bobcat on my deck at least once, but it was at night and I was inside. Sigh. Plus I have seen tracks along the trail to the river. Moose do not come anywhere close to town, but I have seen many moose over the years further from town.
This is the female Goldeneye, but her mirror image did not turn out so good.
But there are a lot of mammals on my list, fox, mink, beaver, otter, weasel. A person just needs to be in the right place at the right time of day to see some of these animals. That is where the problem enters. Oh well. For now I concentrate on birds, and there are a lot of birds still on my list. Like owls. There is a pair of Great Horned owls that live nearby.
I have heard them calling at night, even right out here in the birch tree. There is also a Barred owl that shows up now and then. This must be right on the edge of its territory, so it does not show up much. They are both large owls. I would love to get a picture of them and the best time for that is in the summer. That is when they show up more during the daylight hours, usually very early morning or in the evening.
Here is a pair of Goldeneyes next to a bit of ice along the river shore.
There is always something new to photograph, or perhaps getting a better photo of something I have already. Must be time for more coffee. I hope you enjoy the pictures of Goldeneye ducks at the river last winter. Have a wonderful day everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
