A few days ago I wrote about the tantalizing signs of spring’s approach; today winter is puffing its chest to prove it still has things to accomplish. The morning broke with temperatures in the teens and heavy white flakes falling fast. The cat has chosen to watch the world from the table under the picture window, angry that the birds are also staying snug in their bush houses. Winter and summer the hedges are filled with wrens and sparrows, so that seemingly empty hedges twitter and tweet as you walk by.
Tired of the cold I finally put a small heater in my room to use during the day when I am the only one here. We keep the thermostat down to 55F most of the time which leaves me too tempted to stay curled up under a blanket reading.

Speaking of reading. 

Every morning I get up, walk the dog and feed the pets, and sit down in front of the computer with a cup of coffee. My intention is to buzz through my emails, sift through Facebook, read a few relevant news articles shared by FB friends, and then write. It hasn’t worked so well this year. By the time I have finished scrolling through FB, I usually have innumerable tabs open to news reports I should read, and I have seen numerous posts on how crazy and sick the country has become. Then of course there are the posts by some of my friends that just make me shake my head in disbelief. Depression also tends to send me back under the covers.

However I have one friend whose posts are a bright spot to my day. She tends to peruse sites that inform about unusual birds and bugs. There are some really odd and gorgeous insects and spiders and other crawly things out there, and of course, voluptuously beautiful birds. What a bright spot to the day.

And then there are my friends who enjoy winter sports and send wonderful photos of mountains and lakes, sunrise and sunsets, and dogs playing in the powder. What a wonderful world.