Friday, January 7, 2022

Winter showed up wearing its finest

Winter has made its appearance the last few days, dressed up in cold temperatures and a snowy outfit. On Saturday, it was 78 degrees, a new record high. On Monday, five inches of snow fell and stayed through Wednesday. This morning, we woke up to a new dusting of about an inch but it is accompanied by that dreaded ice this go-around. For that reason alone, it's a work from home day, per the directive of my employer. I'm glad to not have to go out in it, I don't mind snow at all. But ice is altogether different. You can't see it in the road until your car is skidding, and even then, you don't really see it. You just know that you hit a patch of it because, well . . . you're car is skidding! Pictures below are from last Monday. And yes, it was as cold as it looks in the pictures. Brrrr. The high today is only 26. 






We are deep diving into that in-between time. The landscape looks like a toilet scrub brush. It's beautiful when it snows, but when it's just cold and gray, it really is not a feast for the eyes. The sunlight this time of year is thin and watery, and just when you think you're going to get that first truly warm day like, say in April, BAM! You get a couple of days of hard freezes. Then comes spring and the bad weather that goes with it. Lord, help limp me along until summer shows up. 

I've been mulling over one particular garden area repeatedly. Still unsure what to do with it. Last year's efforts weren't good for that particular spot. I may go back to what was really successful the year before, but I'd kind of like to try something different again. Problem with planting experiments is that if they don't work out, you're stuck until next year to try something different. Growing seasons have a planting window. If whatever you planted doesn't work out, then the window to try something different has generally closed since there's not enough time to begin another round of growing something.

It's definitely a morning for toast topped with butter, crumbled sausage, colby cheese, and cranberry-pear compote alongside a giant mug of strong coffee. I generally butter the bread, crumble the already cooked vegan sausage over top of that, then put the colby cheddar over all of that. Toast it until the cheese is completely melted and slightly browned, then top it with the compote and eat it all with a fork. I know it sounds odd, but the sweet and savory together is wonderful. I DO heat a big scoop of the compote before I top the toast with it so that it doesn't make my breakfast cold. If I have pancakes or waffles, I also heat my maple syrup. Trust me, it helps a lot! Your breakfast stays nice and warm that way.

Enough about food, this isn't getting my snack made. Our upcoming temperatures look much nicer - cold, but not too terribly cold. Looks like we'll have our normal highs in the 40s for a while and maybe even some sun here and there. It's not "time to go get a Sonic Ocean Water and tater tots" kind of warm, but it's better than 26 degrees for sure! 

Love to you on this very cold day in January. I hope it's beautiful where you are!
 

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