Lately the weather has fluctuated between bitter cold and right-around-freezing, the latter feeling downright balmy by comparison. And after a Sunday composed entirely of rain, I am relieved to report most of the vegetation has been freed from that dangerous coating of ice seen in the image above.
The ground, however, is another story.
These are paths leading to chores:
The ice cleats are getting quite a workout.
Someone mentioned seeing a bobcat the other day.
It's not exactly common to see a bobcat here, but this is the time of year when it's somewhat more likely. They are focused less on being invisible to humans and more on socializing with other bobcats.
I have no bobcat to show you, but here is some local wildlife.
Very local.
A little too local.
This squirrel was taking a brief break from trying to chew it's way into the attic. It is perched snugly between two Barnyard Theatre floodlights, on the power line that runs between the porch gable and the workshop. Surrounded by wiring, in other words. And this squirrel was unimpressed by the woman standing in her slippers on the ice below, shouting crossly and waving her arms because she had been awoken by the awful sound of something chewing the wall.
The little ventilation opening at the peak of the gable is blocked with wire screen, but clearly more must be done and very soon; I cannot allow squirrels into the attic again. Maybe this one raised babies here before. Or maybe this one was born in my attic. Well, squirrel, it's true what that fellow said: you can never go home again. I watched a squirrel carrying leaves - one mouthful at a time - up an oak the other day, making a proper squirrel nest. Kindly choose a nice tree and do the same.
When not shouting at squirrels, I am continuing my daily markmaking efforts.
This was last night, #42:
This was last night, #42:
Painting was a nice distraction while backing up tens of thousands of image files to external drives. I later fell asleep during the backing up - midway through 2015 - and had to finish this morning. Because...tomorrow the laptop is going back to rehab for another "7 to 10 days." Not everything was fixed on the recent visit, and enough is wrong that it cannot be ignored. I'm not thrilled with the idea of being computer-less again, but as far as the repair goes, I feel hopeful. The laptop has it's own Case Manager this time.
So this blog may be quiet for a bit, but I'll try to visit yours via the Tiny Cellphone. Apologies in advance for any spelling errors in comments - I can barely see the cell screen so the keyboard tapping is pretty hit-or-miss.
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