Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Coffee Time! #3
Good morning everyone! It is cloudy once again and a bit milder today. It is also snowing lightly, a very fine type of snow. And it has been snowing for about 4 hours now, but it is not adding up to much snow on the ground. There might be an inch so far (about 2.5cm). We could get as much as two inches (5cm) today. I see the sun is almost breaking through the clouds at the moment, but I think that will be short lived.
Yes, I was right, the sun is no longer visible, but it has stopped snowing. Do you remember when I shared how someone had broken into my home a couple of times? It was different people each time, and that was just two of the times I had problems with break-ins. Another time, during the fall of that year, I was in bed sleeping and my two cats were with me. It was about 2am when I woke up and noticed a strong breeze blowing through the bedroom.
Female Hairy Woodpecker on my birdfeeder looking for sunflower seeds.
That was odd since I did not have any windows open. My cats were now under the blankets. Nice watch cats they are! I sat up on the edge of the bed and that is when I thought I heard something out in the kitchen. I got up quietly and walked over to the bedroom door and even though there were no lights on, I could still see that my exterior door was wide open. That explains the strong breeze, it is windy outside, but a very mild, fall night.
White-Breasted Nuthatch on the feeder, with a sunflower seed in it’s beak.
I then saw someone moving around in the kitchen and yelled at him, or her, to leave. And he, or she, did leave, rather quickly running out the door and down the lane. I never got to see his, or her, face. The person did have long hair, down past the shoulders, but that doesn’t tell much. Lots of guys around this town have long hair like that, so it really doesn’t help.
My landlord had a new, and much better, lock put on the door and I never had any more problems at that place. That was a different apartment than where I lived the last time my place was broken into. Amazing really, that is three different places now. But, sadly, it doesn’t end there, more such stories on the way. I know people that have lived in the same place for many years and have never had a break-in.
Another White-Breasted Nuthatch.
They must be doing something wrong. Oh well, minor details. Well, guess it’s time for another cup of coffee. I also need to plant more oat grass for Muffin, her last pot is almost at the end of it’s life, so I need to get some new grass growing before the other dies off. Have a great day everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2025 Steve McLeod.
Coffee Time! #2
Hello everyone! Here I sit by my window, with my cup of coffee, surveying the cold landscape below. It is cloudy once more, but that also means it is milder. When the sun shines, the temperature drops fast into that very cold realm. But, when the clouds move in, the temperature rises until it becomes quite mild. We have now entered the mild part which will stay with us for a few days, but starting next week we will be back into those colder days again.
Though still not too bad considering it is January. Personally I think we should change the name of January to something more appropriate. Like Cold. After all, it is traditionally the coldest month of the year for us here in the north. But that does make for a big problem since in most of the world January is a warm month. So, we will toss my idea out the window where it will immediately freeze. Along with my fingers.
Black-Capped Chickadee on my hand.
Actually, my fingers are used to freezing, or nearly freezing anyway. I would sit, or stand, for long periods of time, when I fed the birds prior to moving here, with food on my hands waiting for birds to land on my hands and take the food. Which they did. Until I could no longer feel their little feet clinging to my fingers. That was when I knew it was time to go back inside and warm up for a while. The pain in my fingers when they started to warm up was, well, very painful. Terribly so at times.
Then, when the feeling returned to my fingers, I went back outside and did it all over again. Some people suggested that I should wear gloves to keep my hands warm. I did that a few times, but it just wasn’t the same. I liked feeling their little feet on my hands and fingers. That was part of the fun. But I did take some precautions finally.
Black-Capped Chickadee again.
If the temperature was -20F to -30F (-28 to -35C), then I wouldn’t stay outside any longer than 20 to 30 minutes. If it was colder than -30F (-35C), then I normally wouldn’t try it at all. Except sometimes. So, I did have limits for myself. It was better that way. However, doing that might have something to do with the arthritis I now have in my hands. Therefore, feeding the birds with bare hands like I did is not something that I recommend to people.
It does come with dangers. Including frostbite and the possible loss of fingers. It is a lot of fun to have birds landing on one’s hands, but milder weather is a better time to do it. Even then, if the temperature is below freezing, be careful. Over the years I have done, for lack of a better word, stupid, things. Even things that were quite literally dangerous.
Another Black-Capped Chickadee.
During the night, beginning around 1am until after 3am, the town crews were out on our street doing snow removal. It woke me up due to the fact it was rather noisy. And it kept me awake, due to the fact it was rather noisy. I’m glad they remove the snow, however, because when they plow the streets all that snow gets pushed to the side. That means the street gets narrower and narrower through the winter, which is not good.
But it was noisy, and it did disrupt my sleep for a couple of hours. It woke up Muffin too, so she figured it must be time to play. I didn’t agree. So, we played for a while. Then we went back to bed. She fell asleep right away, I wish I could say the same for me. Oh well, minor details. Right now, here I sit by my window, with my cup of coffee, surveying a cold, white landscape below. I hope you all have a most wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2025 Steve McLeod.
