January 19th and it's balmy out today and the door is open. Won't last the weather prognosticators say as a cold front is coming in tonight and by Friday night it will get below freezing. In the meantime though a young male cardinal is sitting in the red tip photinia in the little backyard singing his love song, playing with a variation, adding in an extra trill I don't usually hear in their mating song. Wrens have been in and out the open door. And a red shouldered hawk is out screeing for love. Too early guys.
The next day was really cold and windy, barely got into the 40˚s, today really cold and supposed to dip below freezing tonight. I think every cardinal in the neighborhood is in my yard chasing each other off the bird feeder. After my morning at SHARE and dropping off the cardboard at the recycling center yesterday I did not venture out again. I could easily not venture out today even though the sun is out and as long as you're in the sun and out of the wind it's not too bad but I have to take a package containing the flicker feather to the post office.
All but my grandson's SO has recovered from covid but they and Paisleigh left for Arkansas on Wednesday so I didn't get a chance to hold that baby before they left. They'll be back in a few weeks for the rest of their stuff so one more chance.
I don't have much else to write. I'm hardly making any progress in the book I'm reading, not because I'm not enjoying it but because my usual dedicated reading time has been spent streaming different shows via the Fire stick. We finally got around to watching the last season of Game of Thrones. And I don't want to write about the two Democrat in name only senators who stood with the Republicans on the voting rights bill and limiting the filibuster or at the very least making it so that those that want to invoke the filibuster have to actually get up there and hold the floor and talk instead of just invoking it which would allow a vote once they ran out of steam. It just makes me too angry.
Not even any photos to post except for the stalwart gerbera daisy above and this winter sky over the fallow field.
Beautiful flower and skies there. This has been quite a winter. Today we sat in the sun wearing sleeveless teeshirts while my brother in Virginia was shoveling snow in freezing cold temps. I hope your weather warms up and your flowers bloom and all the birds find their mates and start the nesting season with the promise of a joyous future.
ReplyDeleteWe do have a big sky. Our winters usually don't last very long, mid-December to mid-February generally. It will be time to prune back the roses soon.
DeleteThat's a great sky. And I'm glad you'll see paisleigh soon. Also that she's well now.
ReplyDeleteI moan sometimes about living in such a flat place but the result is a big sky. The parents didn't test Paisleigh as far as I know but since they both had covid, she probably did too. At least it was the less severe Omicron.
DeleteAll I can add is it's cold in Ohio and that's all.
ReplyDeleteI would never get out of bed if I lived up there during the winter.
DeleteIt's not only cold here in Tehachapi, but very windy and expected to continue to be windy through tomorrow evening with gusts up to 40mph. Batten down the hatches! Love the daisy... and the sky. Wondering what they will plant in that field... take care...
ReplyDeleteCorn or cotton. Corn last year. Sometimes the same thing several years in a row, sometimes it alternates.
DeleteI stayed inside both Thursday and Friday. Rain and forty-degree temperatures just aren't working weather. Consequently, I'll be working this weekend, to try to get some hours in before the rain comes on Monday. I'll not grump about the rain, though; we need it. I did find some new buttercups last week, though --new species, as well as newly emerged. I'll be glad to see more flowers, although a couple of weeks of winter's not the worst thing in the world. It's nice to have January feeling like January: kind of a reset for my internal calendar.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty miserable though we didn't get much rain, maybe an inch. Yes, as much as I dislike the cold it is nice to have some winter weather. If it would just stay that way I think it would be easier to adjust to instead of up and down like a yo-yo. And the wildflowers wouldn't be so confused. That bluebonnet is still blooming.
DeleteThe sky is beautiful. Haven't been properly and purposefully outdoors for what seems ages, all rainy and grey here.
ReplyDeleteWe do have a big sky. It's sunny today too. Now if the north wind would just die down.
DeleteI got out for a walk yesterday but I see we have had some snow this morning so no walking out today. Maybe I can convince myself to ride my exercycle (or maybe not!) I've been getting lazier than I should be.
ReplyDeleteI did get out and take the dog for a short walk. She was all for doing the next leg but that part faces north and that's where the wind is coming from.
DeleteSame here and the skies are pewter today. Not going to get over fifty. I feel as dreary as the day.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how important the sun is for wellbeing, at least for me. Cold and dreary, I'm a slug, don't want to do anything.
DeleteThat daisy is really vibrant. It looks similar to an aster-type flower we have here called Stokesia, but it's purple.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful gerbera daisy and sky in these days of COVID and other major disturbances. Since I was a small child growing up in Northern California, I've loved color and the natural world. Although there is often a cloud cover here in the far northwestern corner of Washington State, the grey makes bright color look brighter. Georgia O'Keeffe used to paint her rooms grey to enhance the color in her paintings and everything else.
ReplyDeleteEven though it is still cold and usually cloudy here, we will soon be seeing crocuses and then all the brilliant colors of the bulbs that come after them, followed by flowering trees, azaleas and rhododendrons, all radiant on cloudy days.
And then there's my indoor Abutilon with its red blooms coming and going in all seasons.
I'm grateful to be able to see the blue sky, sunshine, and brilliant color in your photos throughout the year on your blog and the blogs of others. Looking forward to seeing more photos of Paisleigh as she grows up and comes to visit you. I see you and your home and garden as a future delight for Paisleigh.
Good to know that COVID has passed through part of your family without serious consequences. Given that a common cold has always presented a substantial challenge for me, I don't even want to get a mild case of COVID. I'm hoping the scientists are correct in predicting that COVID will eventually mutate itself out of existence and that it will no longer be life-threatening for so many vulnerable people throughout the world.
Gorgeous sky! I do miss that about Ohio (well, and Zambia - I definitely saw big skies there).
ReplyDelete