Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Sunny Sunday. #4
Good morning everyone! It is another cold morning, with the temperature hovering around -40, which is the same for F and C. Stepping outside this morning with that stunning cold is quite an experience. Even though I have felt that several times this winter, and many times throughout my life, it is still hard to believe. People often think I should be used to these temps by now. I do not think a person ever gets used to such cold weather. It is there, we live through it, but we do not get used to it. It is just something we live with because it is part of where we live.
Please do not think I am complaining a lot because I talk about our weather. I am just trying to convey what it is like to live in the type of climate we have in this part of the world. The sun is just beginning to shine on the tops of the trees, the sky is maily blue with small wisps of clouds visible from my window. At least I can see out of one window, which is somewhat odd, because other winters this window beside my chair is usually frosted solid from top to bottom.
Unfortunately I cannot see the bird feeders from this window, but I can see the birds as they sit in the trees which are only about 7 feet (about 2 meters) away from the window. They are young trees, about 15 feet (about 4.5 meters) tall. There is a birch, two black walnut, and a black ash tree. And right across the fence from them is the neighbors cherry tree. The birds use them a lot since they are the closest trees to the feeders.
Watching those tiny birds on days like this is quite amazing. I think they are the toughest critters around. Forget bears, they hide away and hibernate all winter, and I am very thankful for that too. But these tiny birds do something the bears cannot, they survive outdoors in the most terrible of weather conditions. And they will still chirp and sing like they are quite happy.
There is a good lesson for us people. When things get tough for us, we grumble and complain. Be honest, it happens. And I’m not talking about the weather, but about problems that come into our lives. These little birds, like chickadees, go through amazingly hard problems of winter and still keep on, and will even sing through it all. We can learn a lot from birds and other animals. Thank you so much for joining Muffin and I this morning, have a great day, enjoy another cup of coffee and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2022 Steve McLeod.
Solitude For Saturday. #3
Good morning everyone on this sunny Saturday! The sun is shining beautifully on the tops of the trees as I write this. It is chilly though, –13F (-25C), but with that wind it feels more like -31F (-35C). So it was cold out there while I fed the birds this morning and shoveled the new snow off the deck. We did get another 2 inches (5cm) of snow, which is not much. We often just get smaller amounts like that, but it adds up after a while. We have had more than 45 inches (113cm) of snow so far this winter, which is about average for us, but more than we had all last winter.
We could get a lot more snow yet, the next two months usually give us the most snow of the winter. Unless we get a very warm spring, it will take a long time for the snow to melt along the path to the river. That puts an end to my river walking for a while until the snow has melted. Last Saturday I told of my walk to the river, today we will look at the walk back. It was sunny while I was at the river, sitting on that tree stump, enjoying the peaceful view out onto the river. Watching the ducks have fun on the water.
There was a couple ravens flying around. But it was quiet, calm and peaceful. Now it was time to walk home, which has a couple of long uphill sections to the path. Because of the loose snow my feet kept slipping. It was impossible to get good traction on that kind of snow walking uphill on that first part of the path leaving the river. Finally it wasn’t so steep and walking was easier. It was now cloudy with just a few lazy snowflakes falling. And it was incredibly quiet. I stopped.
There was no sound at all, except me breathing. It was dark along that part of the path through the trees, more so now that it was cloudy. I was completely alone on that path. Far from any sound of people and not even any birds or other animals were around. Being totally by myself. It was quite a feeling. Alone, yet so breathtaking in the beauty around me. I kept walking and left some peanuts for Scramble. I called him but he was not around anywhere. He did show up on my next walk however.
I kept going, it was snowing more now, but still not much, but it gave that extra beauty to the scene around me. As I got to the next uphill portion I could hear a few chickadees, but they were not close by. At the top of the hill all was silent once again. Once I crossed the small open field there were more chickadees and a few nuthatches as well, but still not many of either. Soon I was out of the trees and by our street once more. I was close to home so I could hear a lot of bird activity. It was such a beautiful walk. Beautiful solitude. Thank you for reading today, have a wonderful Saturday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin. (top image is crossing the small field area)
©2022 Steve McLeod.
