January Continues it's Cold Ways

Have I already told you about my Bay's bonanza? If not, let's rectify that situation here and now. 

Many people like Thomas's English Muffins, but our family is not amongst those who do. Instead, we are big fans of Bay's, found in the refrigerator case in most grocery stores. They have great sized holes to catch your toppings in the nooks and crannies and the fact that they are pre-cut only adds to their allure.

Except of late, their standards seemed to have slipped, not unlike so many products post-Covid. Wait, we just had Covid, so it's still here, but I guess that is a topic for another day. Anyway, the halves were uneven, the muffins were flat with no crevices and in general, just not the muffins that we have known and grown to love over the years. So, I called them and they could not have been any nicer, responding immediately to my call with none of this, "we will call you back" business." Imagine my surprise when the mail arrived with not one, not two, but SIX coupons each worth $6.00. Presumably they cost that much in some markets, but where we shop it's worth almost two packages. So that my friends that is my Bay's bonanza story, And the good news is also that the quality has improved of late so a win-win that's for sure!

In other news, there is still some light in the sky after 6PM, so that's something else to celebrate!

Folks, this Florida blogger is going crazy what with all the new things I am seeing almost daily. Some days more than others but I am not complaining, rather I am celebrating the fact that we get to do this!! I hardly know where to start! A fair warning friends, there are plenty of birds up ahead! 

Before we delve into that, recently a friend posted an opinion piece on her fb page and it included the quote attributed to Alfred Einstein, wherein he states, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." I suppose you know which camp I fall into. How about you?

This would be a Pine Sisken that loves hanging out with the huge, and I mean huge flock of American Goldfinch that have been eating bird seed as if it were a miracle! 

I asked my darling husband some weeks ago about removing the window screen in order for my photographs to be better. As you well know, he does love pleasing me, but sometimes he chooses a funny time to do so, in this case when it was just beginning to snow!

Which means I am often to be found here watching the endless comings and goings of our winter birds.

Indeed it has snowed, albeit not very much. One morning, I can't even remember when it was but last week sometime, I went out at first light and was roaming around a bit when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a few white specks on my new burgundy jacket given to me by Fallon for my birthday. Running into the house, I was squealing with delight as I told Bruce what was happening. You better believe I had a camera at the ready.

It was mighty cold so it wasn't long before I found my perch and watched the action from inside.

Those colors! This cuteness!

This is our set up and it is Mr. Bruce who keeps those feeders filled; lately nearly every day!

I made a list of our birds and there are eleven regular visitors, including two Mourning Doves that only have come to the party in the last few days. For the most part, the birds share with dust-ups only occasionally. 

As we were leaving the transfer station which is at the top of a hill, I noticed snow on the mountain tops at a distance. Honey.....can we drive to see it better?

It wasn't much to most folks, but this Florida gal wants all the snow sights she can find. Actually, I believe I mentioned how there was a whole bunch of snow all around us, but to date ours has been enough to get me excited, yet in reality is very little. What is fascinating is that our weather apps show snow and there is none and then it snows when there is no warning. Technology is great most of the time, but miracles are still happening all around us.

How cold has it been? One night it was 7 degrees! Maybe when we were in Vancouver, but I really don't remember it getting that cold. One great thing here is that while it may be cold as the dickens, many of those kind of days have a gorgeous blue sky, like so, so blue. It's just wonderful.

The pond at the end of the driveway froze!

It has me wondering about the numerous frogs that live there. Wait, are they cold blooded and can withstand this kind of temperature? Let me check.....well duh! My science teacher friends are laughing right about now, that's for certain!

Another day when we came home from somewhere, John mentioned that he wished we had been here a little earlier when the pond was covered with fresh snow. While not still covered due to the wind, it still looked very cool. (no pun intended!) ***note bundled up Mr. Peck

It turns out that there is a lot about winter that I am liking including the light along the river walk,

as well as the long shadows.

So the above is the road to both our home away from home, and the mailbox. It is found about where I am standing to take the above photograph. The mailbox has been mostly empty and now we know why. Each year, for the last ten, Bruce has received a check from Darden restaurants which was his 401K divided by ten. A choice that has been a real blessing to us. For nine years they have mailed the check and it has all gone swimmingly. This year has been anything but. Despite the fact that Bruce filled out all of the paperwork in early December to change it to direct deposit, that did not happen. Instead, the post office thinks that our forwarding request is no longer needed, so it was mailed to Orlando. Bummer, but we do have available help in the form of my sister Nancy. She did all that we asked, which was go to Office Depot where they have a Fedex outpost and after checking that two day for $32 instead of one day for over $100 was our choice, she made it happen. Not so fast! Here it is five days later and no package has been received because it went through the post office instead of Fedex! Not to mention that the tracking refused to update and now we know why. It sat in Orlando for at least three of those days. Oh how I hate the post office right now!!! The nerve of them to charge such exorbitant rates and get away with it! We now know that it is in South Carolina and with any luck it will arrive tomorrow at the Murphy post office, something that remains to be seen. What an ordeal!

Thank goodness for my wonderful husband, who not only heated the string before he could undo the knot in order for him to fill the feeder,

but he also set up our new heated bird bath!!

I was telling Patti about it and she called it a hot tub, so now we are calling it that too! It took a day or so before we had any takers, and while they are not flocking to it, mostly it is for drinking at this time of year. The Carolina Wren gave it a go though.

I read somewhere that you can attract Bluebirds to your feeders with mealworms, as well as chopped apple. 

So far, no Bluebirds have even come close, but one of my new favorites was persuaded to try it out.

Believe it or not, and I would not blame you for being skeptical, we do get out of the house now, post- Covid and let me tell you it has been great! One day the pickleball ladies had an event that involved learning to make greeting cards. We met at the fellowship hall at our new church.

Crafting was followed up with pots of hot tea and homemade goodies, none cuter than this!

Oh my goodness everything was so tasty! Snow, snow! 

Is it any wonder that we are loving this experiment? At home we have one feeder that I cannot even see and while we do get birds, nothing like here. Already documented in this space is my disappointment about not seeing Northern Cardinals enough but maybe our luck is changing.

One thing, and this really boils down to expectations, is that I was hoping to see more stars. I know, I sound darn greedy don't I? Anyway, over the summer, in spite of living on ten acres with hardly anything around us, it was either rainy or cloudy, or both. And now it is crazy cold to go outside but this morning it was so worth it, seeing the beauty of diamonds in the sky. It was dark as could be at 6AM and actually this morning was far warmer than it was last week so in my robe, coat and slippers, turning my head upwards, in spite of my old neck I might add, it was glorious. Miracles are everywhere if you know where to look!

your friend,

Gail

p.s Thinking about our limited winter experience made me go back in time and look at my January posts from Vancouver. It is hard to believe that it has been six years since our Baxie died which I wrote about here.  Don't read that post from January 22, 2018 unless you feel like crying. :(