Snowed in

backyard through the back windows

A bit clearer from the porch window

A pair of Carolina wrens have been showing up at the feeder

I thought wrens migrated in the winter but not this kind. According to my bird book, this is the northern most edge of the range but birds keep moving northward no thanks to global warning

Allie and Santa

I moved the pink cactus to the dining room

I ran into this red cactus in the basement where it was being hidden for our anniversary. Goes better with the red pot, though it doesn't quite fit

Today I was supposed to host The Moms Christmas party but the snow is making that impossible. Too bad. We can't reschedule it until January due to conflicting travel schedules. All my decorations should still be up. Hate winter. I did bake the Brussels sprouts in a mix of sugar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and lots of garlic. I ate the little ones but am freezing the big ones for when we have the party later. Some of the stuff I will serve at the family X-mas which I am also hosting.

When we only had 3 inches on the ground, I went for a run running on the few tire tracks in our neighborhood. Fortunately cold snow is not slippery and I was well bundled up. Extra bonus, no wind. Will we have enough gas to run the snow blower? I sent Steve out on unplowed slippery roads for some. Of course this should have been taken care of yesterday. But a moot point as he can't get the thing to start. Too much gas? Old gas gumming up the carburetor? Bad plugs? Who knows? We mechanically inept people have no business being out in the country dependent on all these devices. Josh will come by and help in a couple of days but in the meantime, I guess shoveling will be my aerobic activity if we want to leave our house. I think we will get around 10 inches.

I put out some more feeders as the snow is too deep for the squirrel to raid things and the birds need them. I have a flock of 20 juncos here but only one pair of cardinals (had 3 pairs last winter), a pair of  downies, a single red bellied woodpecker, numerous chickadees and a pair of nut hatches.

Three months until spring.