Wind Season

38*, 68% humidity, N 15 mph wind, cloudy, FLOOD WARNING

It's wind season here in Porter County. I've said many times before that the wind blows here like a freight train constantly. Today is no exception. It's blowing, howling really, through the neighborhood and it's a cold wind at that. Last year I had 3 close calls with twisters, I wonder how many will go down our road this year?

Despite the wind, Mr. Hyper and I took the pup out for a nice long walk along the duneland trail this afternoon. We were the only ones on it today which was nice. Brandi had a good time and I saw some early wildflowers. Purple violets caught my eye first, then the long tassels of a blooming hazel, and the silky soft blooms of willow delighted me. Oh how I love spring!

The rest of the day we've spent spring cleaning and moving furniture around. We got rid of a lot of clutter that we didn't need. Extra furniture that was just making it crowded got set out by the street. Someone will pick it up, I put a notice on free cycle. Living in a trailer, a single wide, means any extra clutter makes it over crowded! Now that it's out, the place looks much bigger, cleaner and brighter. All I have to do now is make some new curtains (thanks to the pup) as I have HOLES in most of the curtains....

Naughty Brandi!

But how can you get mad at such a sweet dog as Brandi? This pup sure has wormed her way into our hearts. Sure she keeps us on our toes all the time. But she'll grow out of that. Even Sasha acted similar when she was this young.

Spring Morning!

36*, feels like 34*, 76% humidity, WNW 5 mph wind, fair

I wake up reluctantly. I've had a lot of extra exercise lately between the new job and Brandi so I sleep like a log. Brandi sleeps like a log as well. When I wake she reluctantly wakes too, groaning like a person, stretching, not standing up but slithering across Mr. Hyper until she makes it to the floor, stretching as she goes, sleepy eyed. Its time for the walkie. Too many distractions outside this morning for Brandi...she gets loud and I'm afraid she'll bug the neighbors, so we throw ourselves in the car and we go to the park. We get to see some wood ducks in trees along the river and the most exciting of all (to Brandi anyway) were a couple of squirrels. With some energy used up, we come home and had our breakfasts. I go out and feed and water the cats, leaving Brandi inside then do a tour of my garden. There are daffodils coming up now, and I saw some green in my flower bed and had to take a closer look. It's my Splish Splash hardy geraniums coming up. I had forgotten about them over winter! I hope they bloom this year, I'm excited to see them, after all, I've grown them from seed. I think spring is most certainly here. The signs are everywhere!

A Post From Brandi

Hi i am Brandi the tricolor coon hound. I am a great hunter or I would have been had my first daddy not taken me out to hunt too soon. I got distracted and lost and somebody found me and took me to the pound. I waited but my daddy never came to get me. So the good people at Robdar's Houndsong Rescue and Sanctuary came and took me to a nice place to live for a while with other hounds and some kids and people. Then my next daddy adopted me but his first furkid did not like me and tried to kill me, taking a big bite out of my throat and i am still taking pills for this. I could not stay with my second daddy. Then, yesterday my new mommy and daddy showed up. We were all so excited, all us hounds wanted to go to our forever home forever.

They chose me because I am a special girl and very sweet and I love everybody especially kids, though I still have to work on manners around cats. I cannot be around rabbits because I was trained to hunt coon and rabbit they think and I howl and howl at the cage so I have to be kept away from the one they call Buttons. Mommy and daddy have taken me for walkies, and I am pretty good on a leash until I see other dogs or kids cause i want to go meet them and play then I get loud! So they say I need to learn a few more manners. I am trying though and I was so happy to be allowed to sleep in the bed last night. I parked myself right between them all night long. Once I even kicked my daddy off the bed! Heeheehee. I am a quick learner, yesterday they taught me to sit and shake paws, silly people! and I did it very well this morning, twice! I am very good when I am not distracted by smells or cats. Mommy says we have to work on that but she also says I am a very good girl too. Now If I would only eat my breakfast like a good girl she will be happy. I don't know why I won't eat, maybe I will be hungry later!

Sasha, AGAIN! Bless her heart.

(A Summertime Sasha Picture)

I have folks tell me that "She's just a dog" and that they would put their own down if their care cost more then the cost of buying a new dog. Seriously, that gives me a bad feeling about folks like that. Sure if the dog had cancer or something painful and incurable, I could see putting an animal down. But to me, when you take on an animal into your life its a commitment, not just with love or time, but with money as well. If you are NOT fully committed to the care of a creature wholly dependent on you for it's well being, then you DON'T need an animal companion in your life! This is just a sick symptom of our throw away society, when our loyal dogs get put down for being inconveniently expensive. Sasha has been a costly dog since day one. All kinds of medical issues but none were incurable. Right now she has a hematoma in her ear which causes her ear to puff up like a pillow full of blood. Once more she wears a lampshade, just days from getting her stitches out from her last big surgery. She's pouting. She has a funky bandage on her ear. Sasha was given to my husband as a year old pup, not wanted by her previous family. She had heart worms and bad skin and ear infections. She had anxiety. She was treated for her medical problems, given lots of love and she truly is a sweet heart of a dog. She is the love of the neighborhood kids who love to play with her or walk her. She is a loyal dog, who wants nothing but to shake paws with you and to sit out in the sunshine. 10 years old now she still gets bad ear infections constantly, gets mysterious rashes and lumps that all have to be treated. However, you can't be in a room with her without falling instantly in love and this coming from some one (me) who isn't a dog person. All the dogs of the world could be golden retrievers, and I would be happy.

Virginia Wild Rose and Fun at Work

28*, 83% humidity, calm wind, mostly cloudy, FLOOD WARNING

I've been pleasantly worn out the past couple of days. Not the kind of worn out that comes from sitting at a desk for 16 hour stretches at work, brain dead, wishing to be anywhere but there and then not being able to sleep. But the kind of worn feeling you get after a good day of hiking, where your body is moving, that makes you sleep like a baby come hell or high water. Its my new job. Yesterday everything started sinking in (it was only my second day but the first day had my head spinning). Now every time I close my eyes I see peons, krilies, allisis, russians, and a billion other kinds of forceps I had to learn to recognize last night along with a billion other kinds of surgical tools and set ups. I was kept busy and on my feet all night. I love it. I was right, I'm not easily going to get bored in this new department. Finally my brain and my body are enjoying the new challenge. I am NOT a desk job kinda girl. It was the same way with school for me. I was always SO BORED. I could do the work just fine, I got mainly A's and really didn't need to study, "creative" spelling being my only problem child as well as punctuation and the like, though I can read very well. When I was in 1st grade, I took a billion tests and they shuffled me off to a more advanced program where I and a few other students dissected cow eyes and studied things like light refraction. In high school I took engineering classes and I was going to graduate early but I wanted to walk with my friends at graduation so I took some extra classes with them, and was bored out of my mind. I loved my friends, but I just could not see the sense of sitting there in a desk listening to a teacher drone on about the same thing for a week or two before moving on. Some teachers understood this, two come to mind, who allowed me more of a free rein in class to read ahead, and wright essays instead of hanging back. I especially excelled in those classes and I enjoyed them and the mix of independent and guided study worked well for me. So it makes sense to me that this new job is fun and something I can truly appreciate. New co-workers are there to train me when I need answers, but at the same time, I am free to handle and learn and and experience the tools for surgery. That is just how I learn well. Everyone learns differently.

Under the grow lights I am trying to hatch my Virginia wild rose seeds now. I have one sprout as of yesterday but the rest of the seeds are proving stubborn. If I see no more sprouts by Friday, it goes back into the fridge again. Virginia roses love wet soil, more then any other rose I've learned about which is PERFECT for my front part of the yard, the swamp as I call it. I have high hopes for these and I want more then one, JUST in case they DON'T like damp soil as much as I've read about.

Look what I found. Just a bit of Americana.

I think it is an Oliver Corn Picker, but I'm not a farmer so I don't know about farm equipment. I found it off trail in the woods round here on my morning walk. Its been here a little while as trees and brier roses have grown up around it.

Monkey Brains Mystery

I was taking a walk at the park this morning when I came across this interesting fruit scattered about on the ground. to me, they look rather like brains. I had seen this over at the farm store sold as "Hedge Apple" and reputed to keep spiders and fleas out of your house. It has no odor and I doubt it could keep anything away.

On further inspection I discovered that it doesn't come from a shrub which I thought it would since it was called 'Hedge Apple' but that it comes from a fairly tall tree with orange stringy bark and simple leaves.
Looking in my tree book when I got home, I identified this as Osage-Orange. Mystery solved. I had never seen these before.

More pictures from my walk here: http://tiredsoles.blogspot.com/2007/11/morning-walk-fall-in-full-force.html

A very nice day!

50*, 54% humidity, NW 6 mph wind, High Wind Advisory

Energy is a good thing to have! I have been so low on energy that even 50-year-olds comment on my tiredness. So I decided maybe vitamins were in order. I found a one-a-day vitamin for boosting energy, with plenty of b vitamins and iron and now I have more energy then I know how to handle! Brain fog has lifted, and I can think so clearly all of a sudden. I had grown used to feeling tired and foggy all the time. Today, I got an amazing amount of housework done. Stuff that I usually dread so it piles up. I cooked dinner, helped Mr. Hyper under the house putting on heat tape and pipe insulation, and scratched a lot of garden stuff off my to do list, without dreading any of it. I even got around to repotting succulents and cactus, cleaning the grow light stand, tossing out old pots and soil, and deciding which plants I no longer wanted and tossing those too (into the compost bin of course). And to top it off, I had enough energy to take a nice little walk at the park for some fall colors. ( http://tiredsoles.blogspot.com/ ) Energy, in abundance is a blessing.

A summer's walk.

Memorial Day----Have a good one!

76*, 44% humidity, ESE 3 mph wind, partly cloudy

Today I started the morning off with a walk on the bike trail since I haven't been able to do that in a while. I have been so busy with the garden and everything else this year my free time has gone out the window in the mornings. I didn't go far, about 2 miles as my lungs still give me trouble. I saw some native plants and flowers along the trail and took plenty of pictures.

When I came home, I decided it was time to fertilize the acid lovers, so I mixed some organic acid fertilizer and watered it in. But once you start gardening it's hard to stop. At least it is for me. I decided it was time to turn the compost and in doing so discovered the easiest method of removing sod ever! Just plop the compost bin down, fill it up a few weeks, then move it. You get something just like this:
Well since I wanted to expand my kitchen garden for next year anyway I am thinking this will be a great way to do it. Its the most environmentally sound and easiest way yet for me. So I tilled this little bit in:

Now its ready for planting! What should I plant? Hmmmmm? Well I have been lamenting the fact that I didn't make space for beans this year even though I had wanted to. So I checked in my seed box for what could be perfect for this spot. AHA! Dragon Langerie Yellow Bush Beans!

I didn't have a lot of seed left, so I can use this plot to grow more seeds as they are an heirloom variety. They don't need a lot of room (only 2" apart) and so they fit just perfectly in here. My crop in Hammond failed when I tried to grow them due to beetles eating all the leaves. Hopefully with the big brown bats (Mr. Eptesicus fuscus)
flying around the neighborhood (I spotted one last night that flew right through the yard) beetles wont be so much of a problem as that is there favorite food.

Home Sick

90*, feels like 87*, 23% humidity, SSW 17 mph gusting to 24 mph wind, fair

I hate this. I can't go to work and I can't work in the garden. Its not a flu like illness, where at least you KNOW you are sick. Rather its a respiratory thing. I went to the Doctor yesterday morning, and I was given a whole pharmacy of meds to take. I declined the chest x-ray that the Dr. wanted me to take, thinking it really was not all that bad. Also, I have an ear infection. I'd take the meds, rest and get better. I was told to stay home from work and given a note. Well, I rested yesterday and I'm still not any better although my ears don't hurt as much but that could be the pain meds keeping that at bay. My garden is screaming at me to work in it but I can't except to water a bit to keep the garden from dying in this heat and dry wind. And as I just found out, doing anything that requires exertion is where I find out I really am sick.

I walked down to the mailbox and I realized that my lungs are messed up as I can hardly get enough air even for such a short walk down the road. It left me breathless and coughing non stop. A deep down cough that is unproductive at best. I simply cannot get enough air! It's like I have weights on my chest and it royally SUCKS.

Especially since I have so much to do in the garden! My swapper plants arrived in the post, a butterfly bush (royal red just like the one I bought..now I have two that need to be planted!) a fern leaf dicentra (bare root) which i stuck in the ground for now and will move it later when I have a proper bed dug...if I can ever get out there and dig again (grrrrrrr stupid germs), a Blueray blueberry (bare root) which will just have to go into a pot until I can dig...., and a poker primrose that was DOA---crispy and dry beyond reviving. (Replacement hopefully will arrive soon). All this needs to be done PLUS I still have my rhodie to plant, my hosta and several other things. And the weeds...they are going apes!
But I can't take care of any of that. So I'll bide my time and watch the hummingbird feeder which for the first time ever, was visited this morning.

Lazy Day

80*, feels like 79*, 20% humidity, WSW 11 mph gusting to 20 mph wind, fair

I didn't do much of anything today but COUGH. I coughed so hard my back is killing me now. I can't do a thing, I can hardly walk. This morning it hurt but not so bad. It was a beautiful morning and it was Garage Sale day in the community (We can have it one day a year) but I was sore then and didn't walk like I normally would of done and used the car to look. I bought only one thing, a peony division from some old woman for a quarter. But my real mission of the morning was to go to the farmstead to purchase a rhododendron for the garden.
I chose out Nova Zembla, a red with dark spots in the flower. I usually see the purple ones blooming around and this color struck a chord with me. I normally will not spend that much on a plant, I don't think I've EVER spent that much on a plant, but I think it is worth it. It is the last of my purchases for the year of the garden. I have WAY gone over the garden budget.

Yesterday I found a box on the patio, it is the Forever Pink Hydrangea I had ordered from Audubon Workshop when they had sent me the free coupon to try them out. I had already received one of the plants from them, it arrived dead. This one was poorly packed, but at least it is alive. It is tiny for the price they had listed it for......but maybe it will grow.

I have them all on the patio waiting to be planted, which I would have done if my back wasn't hurting. So they will have to sit in their pots until I am feeling better.

Do You Stare?

60*, 39% humidity, NNW 5 mph wind, sunny

I woke up dreading the worst. Well, actually I woke up with a coughing fit and my ear hurting but I still woke up dreading the worst outside. Who cares if I felt like I was dying, was my garden OK?

I imagined 112 petunias withered and dead, potato plants blackened, tomatoes limp and brown. I imagined a layer of ice three inches thick covering everything. My worst nightmare in May. Instead everything looked rather perky and fresh, the sun beamed, dew glistened on the grass. Birds sang. The Apocalypse had not taken it's toll on my garden. I suppose the big lake helped to mediate temperatures and I watched as the ducks that live near the little drainage creek 2 houses down waddled around. It was rather a nice morning. Too bad I felt like crud. No gardening for me today, I told myself. Yeah, like I ever listen. There is simply too much to do this time of year in the garden. Too much to do that I haven't even been able to find time to take my usual walks! But I am sure it will settle down to easy tasks during the summer. Deadheading, weeding and watering. Less planting and digging. I kept to a few easy tasks this morning. I planted my Sea Thrifts I'd started from seed into the garden. I'll move them again once they are bigger probably. I planted a few giant sunflower seeds. They are Mammoths that Mr. Hyper is always fascinated by, and I brought out the rest of my seedlings from under the grow light to harden off. Then I watered a bit. Just light stuff today. But mostly I stood on the patio and starred. I do this a lot in the garden. I stand there starring at it. I'm sure my neighbors must think I'm loopy just standing there starring but really, sometimes I have to stand back and look at what I have accomplished and to decide what's next, where will the next bed go? Where do I need to add plants, color, of focus? I can't be the ONLY gardener who stands there starring, can I? Do you stare?

GGG's Severe Storm Report

44*, feels like 37*, N 13 mph gusting to 25 mph wind, partly cloudy

Tuesday: there were chances for thunderstorms in the weather report. Some may be severe it the sources said, but like most severe storms, we expected it to give us an impressive light show, some rain maybe some wind and move on. Mr. Hyper and I went to work in the early afternoon and there was barely any cloud cover. It was warm and a bit breezy. We were not too worried about it, just another day of crazy weather around here.

From my office window in Hammond, the sky darkened quickly, I saw some lightning and some rain but nothing all that impressive and it moved on pretty quickly with light rain for most of the evening. I heard nothing about any kind of bad storm. There were no tornado watches or warnings and I was feeling pretty much like crap with my ear ache and cough. Mr. Hyper called me and said he'd heard a rumor that a tornado was in the area. I checked the news sources and could not confirm this. The radar weather maps didn't look that impressive either.

11 p.m. came around and I could finally go home. I picked Mr. Hyper up and we headed home. Once we got off the toll road we were going to the 24 hour Walgreen's to get me something for my ear ache. As we drove through town on Central it became an eerie world. It was dark, with no lights and no traffic lights. There were trees down everywhere in the roads, by the roads, on houses even. We began to worry. The 24 hour Walgreen's by the Town and Country market had power though so we went in. Later we would find out the roof of the bowling alley right next door in that shopping center had been ripped off. We waited in line and someone was telling the cashier about a man driving down the road being decapitated by a falling tree. I asked about what happened around here. "A tornado!" the woman told me. On the way home we saw fires on power poles.

Mr. Hyper and I had hurried home then (there was nothing on the radio about any tornadoes or severe storm damages). As we drove into the park, trees were on homes, in yards, all over the place. Tree parts were all over our lawn and some things in my garden were blown around. Strange though, as the things that normally blow over in high winds hadn't moved a bit and things you wouldn't expect to have been blown around were!

By flashlight we did a quick look around the outside of the house to make sure there was no major damage. The power was on, but the fridge was warm so it hadn't been on for long. Nor would it stay on long either. In the morning it went out again. I got up to asses the damage to the place in the light, as I could not get on the net to see if there was any news. I had my weather radio and listened for any impending storms. It was cold out, and I wasn't feeling well, and it was getting cold inside too. So I couldn't just lay there. I took a drive as I was going to get some things from the market and some bedding flowers for my newly made flower beds.

In light I could see much more damage. Some homes were damaged by just the wind, others had large cotton woods on them, most people were lucky though, as the trees landed right next to them incurring only minor damage. The car radio said the Mayor's house had been hit by a large tree, the bedroom was crushed but nobody had been home. Down County Line road 60-70 foot trees were on farmhouses. It was a miracle nobody but the man in the truck driving was killed and odd that I wasn't getting any news about the event on the radio in the car. I guess the media wont pick up these things much unless a lot of people die.

I made it to County Line Greenhouse which was open for business for the year (its open from April 15Th-June 15Th) and has an awesome selection of unusual alpine/fairy garden plants, boasts NW Indiana's largest selection of water garden plants, and has a lot of cool container plants I have never even heard of before. My mission was to find flowers for the 2 front beds. My husband suggested marigolds but i wasn't going to go that route this time! I found flats of a Patriot Mix petunias which are white, red and dark purple that I thought would be nice. Plus, petunias spread more then marigolds and would fill in nice with less plants. I was going to plant seeds but my husband insisted on instant gratification. So.....that was fine by me! (although I am way over my garden budget for the year and I still need to order fall bulbs for my new beds)
Of course while I was there I had to look around inside the green houses. And things started jumping left and right onto the wagon. Plants that were pretty exciting to me that I had never grown before leaped at me for attention. My husband didn't protest either when I brought them home. In fact he wants me to get some potting soil pronto and plant them in the urns. Like I need any more encouragement for my addiction! I payed for my plants (don't ask how much, it's embarrassing...I'm supposed to be a cheapskate after all) and went home. That had been a happy distraction for me.

It was getting colder in the house because of the cold wind and no heat. It was cold outside too. I wore my handmade wool socks because they made me feel better. No bare footing around for me yesterday! It was dark inside and there was not enough light to do much and I didn't feel like napping so I went outside to plant the flowers though I hadn't planned on doing that yesterday with me not feeling well. It was better then sitting around doing nothing. It did not take long to plant all the petunias.

I spent the rest of the day in boredom. I took a walk around the neighborhood to see the damages, and to lend some help in the clean up if I could. I came back and still no power so I cleaned up all the tree parts from my own lawn and put the leafy stuff in my compost. I played with the ferrets, took their cage apart and washed it all up for them. Banjo really likes stinky old garden shoes and to wrestle with Freya. Neighbors hung outside once it warmed up. We discussed having a bar-b-q because the food was thawing big time. The power had been out for about 7 hours the afternoon before. Some people had just gone grocery shopping too. I am cleaning out my fridge today, as it has an odor now. UGH. We didn't have much in there thank goodness as I hadn't gone shopping yet.

Still bored. Its amazing how much you can rely on power for entertainment....

So I put the first couple of base coasts of paint on my snake gourds outside. It was warmer outside, while it was still freezing inside the house. I was worrying about the reptiles and tarantulas. Their room was down in the low 60's, and they have to be kept around 80*.
there had been the slight possibility that we would have storms again that evening according to the wind up weather radio but it had cleared up and none came around.

Falling asleep, I woke around 8:30 when the power finally came on. Even then I could find very little about the storm online (we don't have a TV remember) though there was a blurb about the driving man who'd been killed) . My neighbors swear they saw a tornado and seeing the damage, I can believe it. Some hoses were all torn up, and then houses right next to them didn't have a blade of grass out of place. Tree parts were everywhere around my house and I have no big trees nearby. they had come quite the distance yet my hanging pots which always fall during strong winds were still all hanging, and my tall iris was standing perky and perfect.

So what is GGG's storm survival technique? Go shopping.

A snowy morning walk

Cattail Marsh

Walking/ Biking path leads to Hobart.

Winter Reflections

A wonderful morning for a walk.

16*, feels like 7*, 80% humidity, SSW 6 mph wind, sunny

Nary a Flake

35*, feels like 29*, 93% humidity, NNE 9 mph wind, cloudy

Two days ago the weather people promised us flakes. That same day those same people changed their mind and predicted freezing rain. Nada frozen drops although we got plenty of the liquid form of H2O.

Yesterday they promised us first rain, then a wintry mix, and THEN snow as the night wore on. Again, nada. Nary a frozen drop. I even got up early to see the white wonderland we were promised.

Nothing but wet rain. Not even ice. However I am not disappointed by what I saw on my early morning walk. I was greeted by beavers at the pond. They have constructed three homes since last I looked, and they have taken down some pretty good sized trees as well. I am pleased! I then watched a hawk (I'm not sure which kind as it all happened so fast) chasing a sparrow in an attempt to find breakfast. Lastly, a rabbit decided to share my path and I got a nice good look at him, though of course he hurried on his way before I could pull out my camera.

The Sandy Barrens

48*, feels like 41*, 75% humidity, NE 16 mph wind

Lets go for a walk and explore some of the natural terrain we have here in NW Indiana. We will walk along the bike path about a half mile, the path is strewn with fallen leaves, you can't see the path there are so many of them. What had once been a green tunnel in the summer, is now grey and the views go farther into the now leafless trees and brush. We take a turn off the paved bike path onto a thin path created by kids on dirt bikes, we then enter the sandy barrens. You are surrounded by mostly oaks, which grow tall and gnarly, with a few shag bark hickories thrown in.

If you scruff up the ground with your shoe, you see a very sandy soil. All in all it seems like a pretty neat place when the leaves are off and you can walk through the undergrowth easier. However, not all is as it should be.

You see, go back and imagine yourself standing there before the area was discovered, before building encroached and before roads were built. Imagine an oak grassland savanna, with big widespread oaks, with predominately native grass as the understory. Now and then fires would sweep through, keeping the underbrush and smaller weedy trees at bay.

Then open your eyes and look at the sandy barrens as they are now, as protected land. "Protected" means "ignore". It is protected from logging and bulldozing yes, but it is also protected from the natural forces that created it. No fire, means underbrush takes over. And to make matters worse, they are invasive non-natives taking over. Rambling roses and bush honeysuckles. So thick, nothing else can grow. The land is ignored, making it prime habitat for these invasives and for kids on dirt bikes and high school drunks who hang out and dump their beer cans around small campfires. The sandy barrens are riddled with small dirt bike trails, it has become a dumping site for garbage by locals, and the streams that wander through have been eroded and filled with garbage. We may as well not even bother "protecting" it at all....

The Woods Of November

With most of the leaves off the trees, a walk through the woods is strikingly different then a summer walk. The forest seems a lot more open and filled with light....Not to mention there is a lack of blood sucking insects.

But there are a few green spots holding out, like this one. I wonder if the lady in the tree has anything to do with that.
It looks like a face to me.....

First Snow

39*, 56% humidity, WSW 20 mph wind, feels like 29*, Cloudy
I can't believe I've got everything I intended to do done today, including a nice long walk. Could our new coffee maker have anything to do with that, I wonder? I've not had a dull moment all day today from the moment I've woken up to the time I have sat down to update my journal and my blog.

I got up around 7 ish this morning to see if we had received our promised snow and frost. Though it was bitter cold at the time, it wasn't quite at freezing, there was no snow, and hardly any clouds. But as I've learned well, wait five minutes around here. Inside the house is being perfumed by the brugmansia, which seems to have perked up considerably. I couldn't identify the rosy perfume at first, but as I was feeding my birds over towards that corner of the house, I discovered the source. Delightful! And even now, as it's dark outside again, the house smells like a huge bouquet of old musk roses.

After feeding the critters, and my self, I went to take some exercise along the bike trail. As soon as I stepped out the door, bundled in a heavy fleece, hat, and gloves with the cold air stinging my nose as I breathed it in, the snow began to whip around. It didn't stick at all, they were just light flurries, but this is the earliest snow yet for me in Indiana. On my walk, I enjoyed the excitingly brisk wind which would be just a breeze one moment then gusting strongly enough to steal your breath away and pelting me with snow pellets. (Not hail, I don't know if there is a name for that kind of snow, but I bet there is.)

Snow Pellets

The clouds looked enormous today. Though Indiana is fairly flat, the sky rarely is and is constantly changing from moment to moment. (So if you get tired of looking at soybeans, look up!)

Geese and ducks in the sky.
BIG clouds

On my walk I took a detour around the "Secret" pond, bushwhacking around the other shore. I've never done this before though I've thought about it. To my surprise and delight I found MORE secret ponds! These ponds are deep and fairly big, and seem to be in a string.

Bushwhacking
Old Rusty. Deep water and beaver tree.

One pond even had signs of beaver living there. And to think, it was all so close and I had no clue. I love discoveries like this.

When I got home, Mr. Hyper went off to work and I began on my To Do list. I started with making a big pot of Use-it-or-lose-it Stew, in which I tossed in Yukon gold potatoes (local grown), carrots, and acorn squash (also local) that needed to be used. If anyone ever tried to convince you that acorn squash is easy to peel, ignore them. They are obviously sent by the devil and want to see you cut your fingers off. If you should happen to have to peel said type of squash, make sure hubby is around to be conscripted to service.

While that was stewing away on the stove, I made some simple white bread loaves to go with dinner and for eating until my next day off.
I then hit all the household chores (as it was bitter outside, and the thought of doing yard work was unmentionable). Laundry, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom....IT'S ALL DONE. It's a miracle!

And a word to the wise about housework and kittens. Cats are NO HELP at all when it comes to folding and ironing laundry, or when trying to make the bed.

I can relax now. Perhaps I will work on my current pair of socks or my cross-stitch project. Or maybe, I'll do nothing at all and just enjoy another cup of coffee and read blogs.