oh the fickle weather!

 If I didn't know it was February, yesterday's weather would have me absolutely believing it was April. I woke up to bright, cheery sunshine and a breeze so warm that I found myself opening windows. Before long, the temperature was 67 degrees - unheard of in a month that has an average snowfall of 6-10 inches and is the second snowiest month. 

It was the kind of day that tempts me to forget indoor chores and decide to get my hands and knees dirty tinkering in the garden, plotting and planning on changes to make, while dreaming of sun-kissed tomatoes. Yes, it would have been a terrific jump-start on the garden to-do list, but I resisted.

Yesterday my plan was to finish sorting the computer room closet...and when I say closet, I'm being generous. It's one of those tiny spaces tucked under the stairs in old homes, where the ceiling gradually gets lower and lower - no standing up in the back! And while it's small, and truly, can't hold much, it was certainly overflowing with paperwork. I ended the day with most of it done, happy that on Wednesday I'd wrap it up for certain.

Except that today I'm a bit sluggish...there's nothing like the adrenaline surge from a 5:30 AM Emergency Alert for a Tornado Warning - in February? Shaking the cobwebs out I read the words, "TAKE COVER NOW!" and quickly made a mental checklist: blankets, ID, flashlights, phone chargers, etc. ready to move to the basement? And while we were spared any damage, unfortunately some areas saw winds gusting at 60-110 mph and weren't as fortunate.

And so yesterday's hint of Spring is now long gone...today it is bleak with icy winds finding every way possible inside a house built 160 years ago. Tonight the low is expected to be 21 degrees, but here, surrounded by acres of open fields, it will be colder...I'd say Winter will linger just a bit longer. 

Ahhh February - somehow it seems to teach us patience as it teeters between seasons. 

Well, we might as well make it an event then, I'm planning on toasting marshmallows over the fire tonight - it's always a good time for s'mores! 

Thursday thoughts...

These slow-moving February days...somehow they seem just right for contemplating common sense:

 and nonsense!

Leaving home to run errands can sometimes feel like a change in cultures as we leave behind the pleasant, bucolic scenes of country life,

friendly cows

a fella who has earned the name
Acro-Cat

peaceful sunsets beside the lake.

And head to the "big city"

This week alone we've dodged drivers running red lights, running stop signs, passing on a double-yellow line, and as witnessed above, a truck toting WAY too many pallets (once upon a time we found ourselves in this same scene, and yes, the pallets came off right in front of us.)

Don't get me wrong, there are lovely and exciting things to be found in the city...ballet performances in gorgeous historical buildings, an amazing zoo, a beautiful conservatory with botanical gardens, and the best-ever souffled egg sandwich.

And many times, this saying rings true;

 

Do I dream of faraway places? Sure...the rugged Yorkshire Dales, the beautiful landscapes of Wales, the glacier lakes in New Zealand. However; I have to admit, I'm most comfortable settling in at home. To hear and feel the quiet is calming. 

The familiar sights and sounds remind me, as the saying goes, that "home" is more than where we hang our hats.

I have a feeling that Gladys Taber and I would have been friends!