Weekend

It wasn't a bad weekend. Pretty chilly. The volunteer clean-up at Asylum Lake went really well on Saturday. It was sunny but bitterly cold. About 40 people showed up though! It was lovely to see people of all ages, from really young children to teens to adults then to seniors. A great mix of people. 20 big bags of rubbish were picked up. I can't believe there was that much! By the time I got back home I was ready to have a nice warm bath. 

On Sunday we decided to go to Kensington Metropark which has a lovely nature walk in it. We were hoping it was going to be warmer, but at least it was dry! It's over closer to some cities and they have a series of what are called Metroparks. Kensington has 4,481 acres of land. There are golf courses, boating, running, biking, farm centre and more. They also have a great nature centre which is what we like to go to. There's lot of trails in that area for walkers. No dogs or bikes allowed (there are plenty of other areas of the park where these are allowed). It's really great for birdwatching. At this time of year, the herons are building their nests up in the rookery, which is what we were going to look for. 

They were up in their nests. It's really fun to watch one of them brings sticks for the nests to the other one. I think it's part of their mating ritual. 

Today the weather was still colder, and it snowed! Not sure Mother Nature has got the message yet that it's supposed to be Spring. My friend had texted early to say she had forgotten that she had a dentist appointment and wouldn't be walking. I was glad! I did a really short walk and headed off to go to the shops. I've had enough of snow. Sigh. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be better! 

Okay Saturday

It's been an okay sort of day. Nothing spectacular. I woke up this morning and there were a few inches of new wet, heavy snow. The snow ploughs came through on our road fairly early and because we weren't a lot below freezing the salt they dropped cleared off the road by about 11am. I hadn't gone out early. It was grey and dull, one of those days when the sky is a flat colour with no contrast at all. With the extra overnight snow, I didn't fancy trying to trudge through more snow. 

Husband was still coughing but did manage to get out and snowblow the driveway. I had got out yesterday and shovelled a path along the side of the house, to the front porch and around my car but with the extra snowfall and the ploughs coming through (they end up shoving a pile in front of the driveway) it really needed to be done. He was out of breath when it was done. The inhaler he was given seems to help. 

We did get out for a bit. He usually cooks on the weekend and although I had planned quick things I could do instead of him, we decided to treat ourselves to a takeaway from a place in a neighbouring town. I persuaded him to stop at a park there and I took a quick walk even though the snow was quite deep!

It was nice just to get out. I like this park. There are some fairly big hills there and there were people out with their children sledding down the hills. There was even a place you could borrow one! How good is that? 

I had forgotten how much I like this park. There are lots of really interesting trees there. It was actually quite peaceful. I certainly felt better getting out. It was nice to hear the children laughing as they played in the snow. 

There is more snow coming. Maybe. Perhaps. At some time. Lol. It's a running joke with husband and I as the forecast never seems to be right!  We haven't got a lot extra today, but we're still under a Winter Weather Advisory until 7pm tomorrow night so we shall see. We are going out tomorrow. Husband probably won't be walking, but he is up to driving me somewhere. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

Tuesday - snow, snow, go away

We went out for a bit on Sunday, but it was snowing so we didn't get out of the car for long. There is ice starting to form along Lake Michigan and with the cold weather we're having I'm sure there will be more building. 

Monday was more of the same - snow. I was hoping the weather was going to be okay as middle son was coming into town and he was going to sign for his new flat/apartment. We checked at a couple of thrift shops for furniture but no luck. He did the signing though and got keys so we will be moving him in next weekend. It wasn't the one he really really wanted (the funky priced one that seemed to change day to day) but it was something similar and he really likes it.  Fingers crossed the weather will cooperate! The snow made me really anxious, but he did okay driving in it and made it back home okay. It was funny, as he said that as soon as he got outside of our town the snow stopped, and he had a clear drive home! It must just have been dumping on us. 

More snow today. I did manage to drive so I could take a quick walk. I didn't stay long. It looked as though the beavers were giving up on trying to keep the water open as there was a layer of ice over the open water. It was snowing quite hard too and I didn't want to get stuck. I took a quick walk around and then went back home and that was where I stayed! I was glad of it. 

When husband got home, he had to rake the snow from the roof again and do the driveway again. It's supposed to be a snow-free day tomorrow - here's hoping!

On the home front, I did get a bit more sorting done. Slow and steady seems to be the way. If I look at the big picture, it is rather overwhelming. I'm trying to focus on what I can get done, rather than on what I can't. I also think that, at some point, I am going to have to take a hard look at what projects I can realistically do and what I need to let go of. For now, I'm still working on letting go of things that I find not difficult at all. As I get rid of things I am keeping a tally that I'll share at the end of the month. 

Snow on Thursday/End of the Week

I thought I'd posted after Wednesday, but time must be flying this week as it's Saturday again and no post since Wednesday.

Thursday, we had snow. I did manage to get out for a walk. The roads were still warm enough that none of the snow stuck to the surface. It did stick to trees and grass, at least until Friday morning. It was really peaceful out walking as there weren't many people around, but with the snow gently falling it was really quite lovely. 

Some phone photos 

It's really quite beautiful when everything is covered in white. Now we are back to the horrible grey clouds and brown landscape. Not that I'm wishing for more snow, unless it can only fall on the landscape and not the roads lol. 

I've been plodding along. As well as the boxes taken to the library, three more boxes were dropped off this morning at the charity shop. I have a total of things donated and I'll do another post tomorrow. 

I saw on my Instagram (I follow mainly photographers!) that some people had snow in England. Sister says they got a dusting but nothing that lasted. Sister was glad as she (like me) doesn't like driving in it and she picks up her Grandchildren from school some days. 

Hope everyone is keeping well

Back tomorrow with those decluttering totals!

Is it Friday?

Strange sort of day today.  My oldest son, who lives with us, is working four ten-hour days so has Fridays off currently and husband took today off so he could take the car in. Halfway through the day I realised I didn't know whether it is Friday or Saturday! I always message with my sister on Fridays, so had to keep reminding myself. Added to that, I had the remember that, at the moment, she's only four hours ahead as her clocks haven't changed. Sigh. Can't wait until it gets back to the regular 5 hours! I forgot last week and ended up messaging her early. 

Husband did take me to the shops today to pick up a couple of things, but other than that I stayed home. It wasn't the sort of day I wanted to be out in. We had snow. Yes, snow. Sigh. It doesn't feel quite like spring here yet. My sister was sharing photos of blossom and flowers and I shared snow lol. 

Thankfully, it won't stick around for long

82/366

I was glad husband drove when we went out. The roads were slick and icy in spots.

 

I was hoping we would at least hear from the car place today, but we didn't. Sigh. Husband says it will now be Monday at the earliest we'll hear from them. I was hoping we could at least make plans for the car rental, but now - who knows? It will be strange being without the car. There isn't a lot of public transport around here. Sigh.

On the plus side, I did work in the craft room today. I have more space to work and have started to go through some things. At some point I'll have to make some tough decisions so I can have the space I want. I also need to make sure that I don't bring anything else into the house! Isn't that part of decluttering or at least stopping the clutter from coming back in? 

Later in the afternoon I was sad to hear the news about Kate. I've felt so bad lately with all the fuss going on around her. A diagnosis of cancer is a shock for anyone but having to put it out there in the public with everyone speculating and gossiping has to be extra hard. I know that when Mum had cancer she really didn't want anyone to know. She didn't tell most people though once she started losing her hair I'm sure people knew. It was just the way she was, private about certain things. 

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Are you up to anything fun? EDIT - see I'm thinking it's Saturday again!

Snow to Start the Week

Spring? What Spring? 

I think Mother Nature decided we needed another little burst of winter just to remind us that, although it's been rather mild this winter, there is still some cold to come! Yesterday on our Sunday adventure it was really windy and cold and well, there was either ice or snow blowing in our faces as we stood on the lakeshore when we stopped in Michigan City, Indiana lol. This morning when I went for my walk it was snowing and cold. It's been like that most of the day. Sigh. 

Yesterday we had thought about going to watch the herons nesting at a faraway Metropark, but the weather didn't look great, so we decided to take another (sort of) longish drive down the coast of Michigan over into Indiana, through Michigan City (stopping at the lighthouses there) and going to the Indiana Dunes National Park to renew our National Park Pass. The other year when we stopped at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park we were getting ready to pay and the man on the gate asked if we were certain things (you know students, oaps etc). He got to veteran and my husband says yes and he lets us know that we can get a free membership to the National Parks. At the time it was just for a year but they were bringing out a lifetime one so we could upgrade when it was available. 

There aren't that many National Parks near us but we do stop at Sleeping Bear Dunes once in a while and up at Pictured Rocks, so we thought we'd go to the one closest to us and get husband's lifetime membership. We've been down to Indiana Dunes National Park a few times. There are quite a few trails there to walk and a lovely homestead to see. 

We found a trail at the back of the property but didn't walk that one as we had plans to walk another. We've added it to our to-walk list lol. We saw a lovey pileated woodpecker drumming against a dead tree making a really loud noise, some bluebirds and robins flitting around. There were actually quite a few birds about. 

These are a few I caught while using my Merlin App. It's a great way to identify bird songs and is available everywhere, I think. My sister downloaded it to her phone and tells me what birds she hears while out walking at her local parks. 

I think I'll leave the lighthouse and beach visit photos until tomorrow.  It will give me something to talk about lol. 

Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 77/366

A few little flowers peeking through the leaves! Made me smile. Despite the cold and windy weather, spring is around the corner!

78/366

Snow in the woods, but I think - maybe - just maybe - the daffodils will survive. It can only get warmer. Right? 

Is it Spring or still Winter where you are? 

Behind as Usual - Snow and Antics on the Hill

 It's been a week of ups and downs. Tuesday we ended up with about 5 inches of snow! I didn't go out for a walk. I thought about it a little later on and looked out the window to see someone struggling up the hill (video later below) and decided not to. Husband says my car can easily make it and he's probably right as I have four-wheel drive, but honestly, I just didn't want to stress myself out just to go for a walk! When he came home after work he took me to the post office and to do my food shop. By then the roads, at least were clear. 

Wednesday, I did go for a walk. Almost slipped over a couple of times as some of the snow had heated up, started to melt and then refrozen into ice. I was glad I went as it was quite pretty. 

A couple of phone photos from my walk

I love that stream in the winter. In the summer the light always hits it the wrong way and it just looks...plain. In winter, the light hits at the right angle and it's always pretty. 

I did manage to get a few things done on Wednesday. Not as much as I had hoped though!

This morning was a bit warmer - just below freezing when I went for a walk. As yesterday when I went it was a little slippery and icy I wore my Yaktrax today. They are things that go on the bottom of my boots to help grip in the ice. The temps yesterday got up above freezing, things melted and then froze again so I knew it would be quite icy. I was glad I wore them! I didn't slip once despite the ice. 

The beavers had been at another tree. It was halfway down, balanced precariously against another tree so it hadn't hit the ground. Another walker took photos and was emailing the man in charge to let him know about it. 

It's pretty close to the beavers' lodge (you can see it to the left of the photo). They have started chewing on the tree behind too! The wire you see around the other trees is to protect the oak trees. Busy beavers. 

It warmed up this afternoon (a high of 51f/11c) so most of the snow is gone. Tomorrow looks like rain then maybe some mixture and snow at the weekend. Temps are going up and down. Tomorrow a high of 39F/4C.

All the ups and downs drive me crazy. I'm battling a cold and seem to go between boiling hot and freezing cold. Sigh. 

Lastly, the promised video. Little back story, we live on a hill. People cut through our neighbourhood - especially since they redid the main road at the top of our street (and messed it all up but that's another story). They don't know the roads. They obviously don't know that if you go two streets over the road is flat. When it's icy out our road can be really slippery. 

He's on his way back down at this point. After this he did try to turn in our driveway and back down the hill. Thought he would get stuck, but he gave up and ended up backing down the hill where the saga continues. 

After this he did try coming up the hill again, but finally gave up and went along the flat road. I'm really glad that wasn't me! I am also glad that he wasn't hurt and other cars that did pass by did so carefully. 

Back tomorrow!

Tuesday

Feeling a little bit off today. It's back to cold weather. Yesterday we had snow. I'll include some phone photos below. Today was cold and windy. I think I might have been out in the cold too long as I've been feeling off all day. I hope that's all it is and that I didn't eat until noon! I'm going to have an early night and hopefully feel better tomorrow. 

I am so over snow. 

Thankfully it didn't hang around long, though today actually felt colder than yesterday. 

I think I'm caught up on blogs. Sigh. Trying. Has anyone heard from Eileen at A Bracelet of Days ? She usually posts pretty regularly, and I haven't seen her post for a while. Hope she's okay!

Today

Well, it did snow. Maybe 5-6 inches. It was wet and heavy snow. The trees were heavy with snow and the roads were covered until it got to daylight (notice I did not say until the sun came up - it wasn't visible) and then the roads turned to slush. I actually procrastinated (is that a surprise?) bundled up and watched the birds for a while. They were fun to watch. Husband got off work early as he had worked over the other day. He said the roads were just wet so then I went for a quick walk. I felt better for it. It was pretty, but it's tough to walk through the snow!

On my walk

And in the garden

One of my chipmunks was out in the garden today. He has a hole in the ground - he must have dug his way through the snow! I did throw him peanut.

Did I actually get anything done today? 

I have almost finished working on the problem area I was working on. Actually, I have sorted through it but am not completely happy with it, so I'm going to take another quick look tomorrow and see if there is anything else I can reorganise or get rid of. I did not get up into the craft room. I did work on another problem area I want to tackle. On the plus side, I did manage to take another look through a bookcase and get rid of another eleven books! If you've been reading this a while, you know how tough I find it to let go of books. 

Tomorrow we are going out somewhere. Not sure where. It's looking like the best day of the weekend as there are forecast snow showers for Sunday. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend. 

Friday - Did it Snow?

Thanks for all the comments on the last post! I shall let you know which one falls first. They all looked the same today. 

That Midwest forecast I posted rang a little true today. The snow that was predicted to start at 10am didn't. It didn't start at 11 or 12 or 1 or 2. It must have started about 2.30pm. There's about 5 inches on the bird table from what I can see. As I look out of my window before writing this (10.49pm) there are two deer out there trying to dig through the snow and eat the seed that has gathered on the table. 

As the snow started this afternoon the birds were out in numbers trying to beat the rapidly falling snow to get some food before sheltering for the night. There was even a rabbit out under the table. For most of the winter they have been coming out at night - to stay away from prey I suspect - but this one was out this afternoon. 

I did manage to get out my walk today. It was okay. Cloudy and windy and we didn't see a lot, but the exercise was good. I came home, did the usual and texted with my sister. We always check in on Fridays. I listed a few more lighthouses on Ebay. I am almost done with them now. 

Not sure what weekend plans are. I suppose we shall get up in the morning and see how the roads are. It will be above freezing tomorrow so the snow won't be around too long. Hopefully we can get out somewhere. 

After Christmas

Well, another one over. It's been tough this year (again) getting into the Christmas mood. I was sad that daughter couldn't make it, but glad she stayed safely home. I would have worried no end as they were driving here. Luckily, husband was able to drive down and get son on Christmas Day. The roads were pretty lousy, but husband is used to driving on bad roads. Son does drive but his car isn't the greatest in snow (long distances) so it was safer for husband to go get him and take him home after. 

It was rather a quiet affair. I got some lovely photos and videos sent to me from Sister's Christmas. Her youngest grandson started walking on Christmas Day! It was lovely to see. 

We exchanged presents, went to MIL's to eat and then came back home. I chatted with daughter a couple of times. I got lots of goodies - enough chocolate to last until Easter ha ha and plenty of alcohol. Not sure what it says about me when I end up with about 6 bottles of things lol. I received some lovely nature books that I hope to share photos from in future posts as well as other goodies. I am feeling very thankful for all that I received. 

Day 359 (Sunday)

One of my gifts. Really makes me smile. 

Yesterday, Boxing Day, the weather had cleared a bit so we decided to take a trip to the lakeshore and check out the ice. Wow. That's all I can. We stopped at South Haven first. The winds had been pretty wild over the weekend and it showed!

These are some photos I took with my camera

From there we drove down to St Joesph lighthouse. Oh my. The roof on the lighthouse is usually red. It was covered in ice. 

Would have loved to stay out there longer taking photos but it was so cold!

Day 360 (Monday)

Of course, it has to be an ice photo. I had to take it with my phone. 

Eye-level icicles. Wow. Just Wow

Today it was back to normal. A walk and a little tidying up. This is always the in-between week. 

Day 361 

It was cold out today on my walk and oh-so-snowy! We stuck to the main paths. Most of the big lake was frozen, but this stream is sort of the run-off and water flows through it so it mostly stays unfrozen all winter. Good for the animals in the woods. It is really beautiful at this time of year, the sun glowing golden first thing in the morning. Made me smile. 

Ugh Winter Weather Blues

Happy Solstice! I am excited that the days will start getting longer. It's a long time until Spring - we still have the worst of the winter to go - but just the thought of longer days comforts me. 

Sad to say that daughter and son-in-law will not be coming to visit for Christmas. They have a Winter Storm Warning, and we have a Blizzard Warning. There are 600 miles in between us. It's the sensible thing to do but will miss having them here for Christmas. We're not sure what we will do yet for Christmas. Son lives right by the lakeshore and might not be able to get here and the other person MIL was having lives about an hour away to the north. We are hoping that the snow and wind won't be as bad as they are saying. Daughter has had snow today, ours starts late afternoon tomorrow. We shall see from there. 

Went for my walk this morning. I saw two beavers. I wonder whether they know that the bad weather is coming. I saw them a lot before the last bout of snow and they were around a lot today. Beautiful to see. One found a branch, went to some shallow water and sat there and munched. Was beautiful to watch. 

Sometimes they are a little shy and go under water as soon as they see someone watching. This one didn't seem to mind at all. You can see that he looked right at me as I was taking photos. 

After that I braved the shops. Not a good idea. Lol. Not only is it really close to Christmas, but the local news is going on and on about the snow and that makes people panic. I had to get things for Christmas - in case we do actually have it. Everyday food we have enough and always keep some extra things on hand. 

What's the plan for tomorrow? I shall go for a walk in the morning as things aren't supposed to start until the afternoon. Then I am coming home, cleaning house and finishing up getting things ready for Christmas. If there is a lot of snow on Friday I plan on reading, stitching or just watching tv - that's IF I have everything done. It's a good incentive to get things done!

Day 354 (Tuesday)

There was actually a lovely sunrise yesterday. It's that low winter sun that gives off a lot of yellow. 

Day 355 (Wednesday)

The calm before the storm. It's been cold enough that the lake is beginning to freeze. The beavers have been keeping holes open to pop up in. It's always funny to hear the ice breaking and see them pop through with ice on top of their heads. 

Okay - What Happened to Spring??!!

 Woke up this morning to several inches of snow. Yes, you've read that right - snow! I think Mother Nature is sleeping in and has forgotten that it's supposed to be spring!

I must admit that it was quite beautiful. The snow had stuck to the grass and the trees, but the roads have been too warm for it to lay too much and so those, and the pavements were clear. I did go out. Just to the local park as husband was helping middle son look for a car again. I wanted to at least get out for a little walk, just to break the day up. I'm also doing a Big Project for my online camera club - A Year at Asylum Lake - so I wanted to take some late snow photos for my project. I don't think the snow will stick around for long. It is supposed to be cold tomorrow - some artic thing (don't they always say that now?) - but warmer at the beginning of next week. 

There was hardly anyone around - just two runners, one I recognise from being a regular. So it was lovely and quiet. 

I went to look at the daffodils. Poor things were mostly buried. 

I had to look really hard to see these ones. Most were buried beneath the snow so I hope they survive! They are pretty hardy, I think.

Back home I don't think the birds were too happy about the snow. They were awfully hungry most of the day. 

Don't these photos look like winter, rather than spring?

The rest of the day I stayed inside. I thought about sitting out and enjoying the birds and taking some photos (bundled up of course) but, in reality, I am a little tired of the snow, so I stayed inside. I got (mostly) caught up with my online Camera Club Project. I sorted out a few things. 

Oh, by the way. Son did find a new-to-him car. He bought it today! They did a little... well, a lot of running around, but he has the car and he is so excited! 

Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 85/365

I'm not liking the snow, but just the peacefulness of my walk made me smile. It's amazing how much joy nature brings me. Even though it's a tough weekend I find joy in the little things.