Icy Wonderland

February has come in with a bang!! We woke this morning to an icy winter wonderland. Everything looks shiny and glossy and glassy and I just couldn't resist going outside with the camera. It was still raining and so I snuck outside while the girls were engrossed with a movie and Hubby could intercept them and distract them away from the windows if needed. If the girls saw me outside, they would run around in a frenzy, putting on pants and shoes and coats and wanting to come outside too!

It's beautiful out there, though I wouldn't want to be driving on twisty mountain roads if I didn't have to. We anticipated this weather and we have plenty of milk and food to tide us over.

This shot, above, is the view from the side/front yard. If I look out my bedroom window, this is what I see. Lots of dogwoods and maples, 2 pear trees and a peach tree. Then beyond the tree line is forest and trees of all description. I wanted to plant our garden here when we first moved, but this is our septic field, so that's out. If we ever got a pool, I think here would be good.

This shot is of an old picnic table the previous owners left behind. I thought it was neat to see with 2 rows of iclces hanging down. I was excited they left behind the picnic table, until I realized it was nearly rotted through and would probably fall to pieces with my weight if I sat down on it. Hubby snapped off a piece of the table easily and it is now where we scatter old bread and crackers for the birdies. The bird table is what we call it. We sort our table scraps into 3 piles: compost, cats and birds.

We feed the cats right outside our kitchen door, and place our leftover meats in their bowls. We can watch them eat from the sliding glass doors in the dining room. It amazes us when birds are brave enough to steal the scraps from the cats not 5 feet from where the cat is napping. We will have bluejays and chickadees that come around to scavenge and even fly away with bits of cat kibble! You think the baby birds will start to meow one day??

One of the outdoor cats has moved back in the house. Lucy, the only girl, looked so cold one day, I took pity on her and held the door open. She quickly took advantage of the open door and rushed inside. I put her into the litterbox, to remind her where the bathroom is, and showed her where the cat food bowls are. She has made herself at home ever since, and has claimed my blue rocking chair for her own. She makes no move to head back outdoors or stares out the windows longingly. She ended up outdoors when she started to use one of the girl's bed as her bathroom. Every day would be a pile of poo and pee and everyday I had to change the sheets and wash the blanket. It got so that I would shut the door, but the girls would forget to keep it closed. Finally I caught the culprit and tossed her outside. We let her back in after a week, and she resumed using the bed as her litterbox. Back out she went! She seemed to thrive outdoors and became an excellent mouser. Her coat grew nice and thick when the cold weather came around and she looked overall healthy and happy. Over a year later, she is back in the house again, and I am waiting for her to poop or pee elsewheres, but so far, so good. It's been 2 weeks since she came back in, and Hubby reports the extra cleaning he has to do in the litterbox. (there is an advantage to being pregnant and not having to clean the litter box!)

Tonight seems a good night for cooking dinner in the oven or the slow-cooker. Weather like this always makes me want to bake so I think that's what I'll be doing, too! Stay warm and cozy if there is snow or ice where you are!