SQUIRREL!

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On my walk today I distubed a family of squirrels (honestly, it doesn't take much to get them worked up) and I spent several minutes trying to get some photos of them running around the tree tops, jumping from branch to branch, and making one hell of a racket. At some point I gave up and leaned against a nearby tree to just watch them. After a few minutes something bounced off my head... I looked up and saw... squirrel

I'm pretty sure he was threatening to drop something heavier on me if I didn't move on.

Getting Outside

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I can't explain how good it felt to get outside for a decent woodswalk today. First I tried to  walk in the field across the road, I hadn't really attempted it since it flooded and froze. It was not fun, and I turned around after investigating the ice shelf where the field seemed to "buckle" — and while I wouldn't have fallen in a raging river — a twisted ankle or a sliced leg seemed a possibility so I carefully made my way back. A deer and I spotted each other and stared for a while. I whispered it was okay, I was heading home, and she settled down. I think walking on this ice has been pretty exhausting for the local herd.

Then I headed into the woods, following the stream. My camera and I disagreed about what settings to use for shooting ice and snow against a dark stream, so I didn't get as many photos as I hoped. But it was so nice being out there, and just BEING. Many deep breathes later I wandered along home. I did try and creep out into the middle of the stream to take some photos, but decided my Mom would kill me if I fell in stream and drowned so I moved back to the bank.

One cool bit of nature, a self-made snow roll. It reminded me of a hag stone. I looked through it and nothing looked any different, so I assume that means I already have fairy sight :-)

hag-snowball

Winter Work

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My work load increases substantially during the winter months. I juggle a few jobs – like a lot of people – a little design, a little page comp, and now a lot of time each day is spent doing database work... which on a good day is pretty interesting, and on a bad day is several hours of clicking the same boxes over and over again. In my head though, I picture my character from a game called Neverwinter Nights, which I binged on (zero regrets) several years ago... and hack and slash my way through the work day  :-) warrior

New and Shiny!

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A friend of mine has been raving about an app called "Procreate" (nothing to do with having children, although it has spawned several jokes along those lines)... $9.99 and would work on my older ipad... It's a drawing app, and I watched a few videos (it takes time lapse photos while you are working!) and decided I needed something bright and shiny to play with. I have an old chunky stylus and several middle-aged fingers (plus my ipad is too old to use the fancy Apple Pencil with, even if I felt like splurging) so I jumped right in... and oh, yes, this is chasing away the winter blahs!

PC-reading

I've also been watching videos about character development for childrens books, and learning to draw environments... one of the suggestions is to work with 3 adjectives that describe yourself and work up a character comp which is based on that... So, yeah, you might be seeing a lot of ME on here the next month or so!

PC_binocs

Warmth, Flooding, Freezing

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It's been an interesting few days around here weather-wise... the temperatures soared to 48°F, it rained, things melted... and our little stream began to rage. This morning we awoke to 2" of snow and the news that our town's grocery store, post office, and library were flooded, and the main road through town was closed. The field where I walk is flooded, similar to how it looks in late March. Tonight we are rapidly descending to -14° according the NOAA weather forecast. We're staying off the roads, and have plenty to keep busy with. Buckets and jugs are filled with water in case we lose power. I made banana bread and pumpkin butter, and hauled in enough wood to keep us cozy(ish) during this upcoming cold snap. The birds are mobbing the feeder, and the woodpeckers seem satisfied with the homemade suet I put out. All is well enough in our little corner of the world, hope it is with you, too... streamculvertfinch

"Excuse me...

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... do I have something stuck in my teeth?" excuse

It's still cold. We ended up with 8-10 inches of snow from the storm, depending on where the wind blew it. The temperature is hovering around -7 degrees F with a warning of it dropping to -21 tonight, and dangerous wind chills. Our woodstove is keeping our place warm enough, and we've no need to travel anywhere. The squirrels have tunnels from beneath one feeder to the other, and pop up once in a while to get their bearings, and to yell at one another to get out of the way. The finches look grumpy and the juncos are stoic (as always) politely hopping around in their little suits. I'm updating my planner with projects that have due dates in May, which makes summer feel closer than not...