The Snowy Owl

I was heading out the front door when my former neighbor Elaine walked by.  She lives in an apartment now, but on this unexpectedly warm day she walked over to talk to her daughter.

I asked if she wanted to go with me for a ride and she sure did!  The day was sunny and warm and the snow was gleaming over the hills.  We got organized and off we went to the area east of Freedom, Wisconsin in pursuit of snowy owls.

We get a sprinkling of snowy owls coming down from the Arctic Circle every winter but this winter there is an irruption.  At least 200 have been spotted in Wisconsin since November.  There now is a map from e-bird that helps birders find them.  http://ebird.org/content/wi/news/another-snowy-owl-winter-in-wisconsin/

However, Elaine and I didn't need any maps since the snowies come to the same place every year.  We drove up and down roads looking across. Once I thought we had one but it was just a piece of white fabric blowing in a field.  A snowy in the snow is not that easy to spot.

Then we drove by the dairy on Van Astin Road and found four cars parked beside the road a sure sign of crazy birders who had found something.  Sure enough, there was a snowy owl on top of a farm silo. I had two pairs of binoculars in the car so we got a good look.  One of the birders had a big camera and later she posted a photo of the bird in flight. It was a juvenile, a first year owl. Adult snowy owls spend their windows in the tundra.  It is the young birds who come here for easy hunting. After they turn three, they won't be back.

It was the first time Elaine had seen a snowy owl.  I've seen dozens but what a thrill to see those beautiful birds.

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I've set a goal of reaching 20,000 "hits" by midnight on New Year's Eve at our short story blog. We have only 51 to go. http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com/2013/12/they-might-be-monsters.html  Take a look!

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Only 81 days until spring.  Today's summer song is "A Summer Song" by Chad and Jeremy  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D2XD341xHo  It's a sad song about love lost, but the description of summer days is nice.

I like hunting for snowy owls, but I like summer even better.

Reaching a Goal

The Black Coffee Fiction blog Wade Peterson, Bettyann Moore and I write is only 99 "hits" before we reach 20,000.  We sure would like to reach our goal by the end of 2013. 

This week's short story by Bettyann Moore is about old women standing their ground. http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com/2013/12/they-might-be-monsters.html  I suggested to Betty that she was channeling this old woman when she wrote it.  

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I spent an afternoon with my best friend Norma in Oshkosh. She lives in Chicago but comes up a couple of times for visits with her family ... and with me.  After we had lunch at Primo, one of the best restaurants in the area, we went off on our favorite past times, checking out the St.Vincent de Paul store. 

I explained to Norma that Gary and I may have money now but I still prefer shopping at re-sale stores. The reason is simple.  If I went to an expensive shop, I would have to try things on for proper fit. If I were to buy something that costs over $50, I certainly would want it to fit well and look good on me.

When I go to a re-sale store, I spend $2 tops. Therefore, I don't bother trying it on in the store.  I take it home.  If I've guessed right, I haven't wasted time.  If I guessed wrong, I sell the item at my next rummage sale and recoup the loss. 

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Only 82 more days until the spring equinox.  Today we in this part of Wisconsin added 30 seconds to the day.  In another week we'll be speeding up. Today I was listening to one of my favorite songs, Bob Seger's Roll Me Away.  Whenever I go on tour in the summer, I begin a trip with this song. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlmyndFlkGA

So the song sings to me of summer days on the road.  And like Bob Seger, when I see a "young hawk flying" my soul begins to rise.  

Cookies and Soup

By the end of Christmas Day, the three platters of cookies I baked and Evan frosted were almost gone and I have two more celebrations to go.  Tonight I am baking another batch of snickerdoodles, so the cinnamon is scenting the house once again.

Gary is at a meeting in Appleton.  One of his good friends is bringing cookies. It is my hope that some will make it here for my next gathering tomorrow.

It is also soup making time using the ham left over from our Christmas Eve feast.  Yesterday, on Christmas Day, I made a pot of a rich bean soup that I will serve topped with grated cheddar cheese.  Today, I made a potato soup.

Now I am out of containers for the soup.  Tomorrow I will be shopping for more because on Monday, after Sunday's gathering with Gary's family, I will be making split pea soup.  By New Year's Eve, it will be time for another batch of vegetable soup.

By the end of January, I will have to roast the turkey that resides in the freezer in the basement.  That will lead to turkey dumpling soup.  All told, I figure to have enough soup stored up to take us through the Equinox.

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Speaking of the Equinox, we now have added a full minute to our day. It is yet 83 days until we have twelve hours of daylight.

Today I was listening to "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Croft.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsW8rXPcnM0

I love the video of summer time.  I am so, so anxious for blue water and green forests.

A Lazy Christmas Day.

No big post today. It's a lazy day here at Mathom House. We're napping or reading.  Leftovers from yesterday for our meals.

Just a note to let my readers know it's only 84 days until spring. We've added about half a minute to our day.

Gary shared this summer song with me because he thinks it describes the two of us.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmVNEYV04q4

Best Christmas Ever

What sets this Christmas apart was my increasing appreciation for my amazing daughter-in-law.

Just a few things I love about her.

Every Christmas I put a candle on my parents' graves. Not a morbid thing, it is remembrance. Years ago it was a real candle but when the snow was deep and the wind strong, that no longer worked. Now it is a battery operated LED candle. This year, the cemetery was full of snow drifts. The last time I was there I took a tumble down a bank.  I told Tisha and Chris that perhaps we could skip this little ceremony.

No way!  Tisha took the candle and leaped through the snow like a gazelle. First, she picked up the wreath where it had fallen and set it in place. I may not stay up, but for this night, it stands erect. Then she cleared the snow away from the headstones.  Finally, she set the candle in its proper place.

We came back some hours later and found that little beacon still shining through the night.

Later, we talked in the tree lit living room.Tisha told me about raising my grandson. When Evan was only a year old, Tisha undertook a promise to me, to read to him every night.  They still have that routine every night, though Evan at eight does some of the reading.

One of the thing he has read three times from cover to cover is a children's Bible. This has led him to an interest in religion of all things. He has been thinking lately about whether God is male or female. So far he is on the male side in the discussion. I find having a budding theologian in the family a hoot.

Tisha is raising an interesting boy and along the way growing herself.  Isn't that the best part of raising children.

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There are two days I do no work whatsoever:  Christmas and my birthday.  I doubt I will write this blog tomorrow unless I have some great story to tell. 

Christmas Greetings

Another five Christmas cards arrived today.  Four of them had letters.

One was from Gary's great-aunt Alice who wrote a lovely and newsy letter detailing all the activities she has been involved in.  She reported on her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She wrote about her Bible Study group, her card group, and going to a coffee shop with her live in boyfriend. She has a busier  life than I do. She is 98 years old.

Beth in Texas wrote about Christmas trees, both the ones in her house and the trees of relatives.  I see what I started writing about my trees and ornaments.

Mary Ann has been told she can no longer live alone so has to decide what to do. For the moment she is still in her house.

For the first time, my daughter-in-law wrote a Christmas letter , a really good one.  I figured I knew everything about their year but I learned a few things about Tisha's job (I didn't know that she was learning a new role), Chris's work on his MBA, and above all, what's up with that grandson of mine. He's been getting into trouble for reading during all his subjects, even during a fire drill, went  up two levels in his swim class, and having the same problem Chris had in his music lessons by learning the music before he learns the notes.

This is what I love about Christmas cards, learning what's going on with friends and family. Those e-cards I'll be getting over the next few days have lots of interesting graphics, but I don't learn anything from them.

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It's eighty-six days to the equinox. We've added seven seconds to the day length. We won't really notice any change until the second week in January.

Today I was listening to Jimmy Buffet. There's no one better to make me think of summer days at the edge of an ocean.  My friend Nikki will be at Key West next month and will be at Buffet's Margaritaville restaurant eating a cheeseburger.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohac8ufjFM8

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Today I baked Christmas cookies that Evan will help me frost.  Tisha gave me the cookie dough which is sold as a fund raiser at Evan's school. The container said the dough would make 4 dozen cookies but instead I wound up with 6 dozen.  That will be some decorating tomorrow afternoon.

Christmas Cards

I re-evaluated the days to the spring equinox. It varies by location. I've decided to declare it March 20, though a 12 hour day will occur three days earlier here in Seymour.  So I am now saying spring is 87 days away.  Today I am thinking of Buffy Ste Marie's song, "Still This Love Goes On" which makes me think of the hot days of the Oneida powwow at the beginning of July.  Drums will be beating, songs will be sung, jingle dancers will be jingling, and Gary and I will be pigging out on fry bread.  You can hear the song at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pZyJCdH_u8

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Today, I was writing out Christmas cards, something I theoretically finished at Thanksgiving. But each year the same thing happens.  Just two or three days before Christmas cards begin arriving from people I didn't send a card to.

I keep a Christmas card list of cards sent and received. They come to my mailbox, I check off the names. If I haven't received a card from someone after two years, the name is crossed off for the next year. After all, postage is expensive.  But those are the people that suddenly send me a card ... late.  They are often accompanied by long letters that I know I will have to respond to by New Year's Day.

One year an irate friend sent me such a letter and said she had not gotten one from me.  I replied that she hadn't send me one in five years.  Oh, she said.

Well, it is fun to get these cards anyhow, thirty so far.  I guess I will have a few days before 2014 to answer the letters.  It is good to know friends are still out there in the world.