Blustery Beginnings

On a 12-degree morning, Bill was preparing a proper comfort food breakfast----hot oatmeal with brown sugar.  

We've had a cold, blustery start to this new year, and it's gonna get colder by mid-week.  

Yesterday the wind blew snow all over the place for most of the day.  After each play time in their field, dogs came back to the house with powdery white masks.

Turned out to be a good day for reading my book about shepherding, watching sporting events and planning for a few warmer days, maybe someplace else during the next three months. 

My daughter Annie gave me a nice ticket out of the winter as a Christmas gift----an airplane itinerary to LA.  

We'll be doing that soon, and I'm sure that the six layers of tops along with snow pants,which kept me warm for morning chores today, will be staying behind. 

Of course, the upcoming travel opportunity means digging through the piles of winter clothes in search of capries, maybe even shorts (probably not with my white legs) and lighter tops.  

I won't mind.

Actually, winter hasn't really done its usual number on my moods this time around.  I haven't really minded too much about it yet.  It's been clean, relatively dry and so pretty that nobody really needs to complain. 

Still, a short break in January will make it pass by that much easier. 

Bill mentioned snow shoeing this afternoon, at the Ginter or Trout Creek Wildlife Management Areas.  I said that sounded like a good idea.  

So, the snow shoes will come out for the first time in 2017, and could be they'll get a lot of use since we have a substantial amount of the white stuff.

Anywho, we're staying warm, especially as we think back about the 30 years of winters over on Great Northern Road where yesterday's winds surely created some substantial drifts, plugging that long driveway.  

We don't miss crawling or rolling through waist deep snow to get in or out of our place, not one bit. 

So, Day Two of January, 2017 looks like a good one.  Happy Monday.  Stay warm.   

 Does this cartoon, which I saw in this morning's Spokesman-Review, indicate that we're having an early "multiple groundhog day," or could it be suggesting to the 2016 haters that they're in for a good year?  

Hmmm! Just curious. :)