Keeping it super short today. Captured this sky while out doing a bit of retail therapy.
The current weather: by the time I arrived home, the sun was shining. It’s currently 61 degrees and partly cloudy. A cold front supposedly moves in tonight. High of 32 predicted for tomorrow. Rained most of the morning.
I miss the sun in the wintertime. I miss being able to step out on my front porch and tear off a sprig of rosemary, mint, or lavender to crush between my fingers. Inhaling the scent of the herbs and flowers as I sit on the bench.
Rain or snow, needed or not, I’m tired of all the brown and not seeing the sun nearly often enough. I know though that tomorrow brings us one day closer to spring and more flowers and sunshine.
How are you coping with these last few days of winter?
Have you ever seen red snow? Me either. However, it’s what they call it when the hometown football team wins the Super Bowl and they cancel almost all the schools so parents/kids/staff can attend the victory parade.
Note, I said almost all schools. Most of the public schools closed for today. However, no red snow at my work where I’ll be today. Hoping we might find a way to watch the parade but if not, that’s okay as well.
The Weather
While we aren’t really getting red snow (unless it’s in the form of confetti), we are under a winter weather advisory starting at 9PM tonight. Right now though it’s pretty mild for February around here, 38 degrees and cloudy.
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Hopefully, I’ll be spending part of this winter Wednesday outside with the preschool kids before the weather moves into our area. (I know it says 9PM tonight but they don’t always get the timing of things right around here)
Is it odd that I don’t have spring fever any more? And wouldn’t mind just a touch of winter weather? I thought it was so strange yesterday driving through the park how it still looks like fall and not winter even now near the end of the season. (32 days if you’re counting down to spring)
Yesterday, I lost my voice, it’s still pretty scratchy and I’m pretty tired today. Looking forward to the end of the day when I can come home and relax for a few days at least.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to share posts that are bit more polished the next few days as well. And of course, visit all of you. Trying to sneak a few visits in the this morning but I do need to watch my time!
Super quick post while I wait for my husband’s birthday cake to cool this afternoon. Ended up working this morning so lots I still need to do.
First, let’s check….
The Weather
It’s cloudy and with a chill in the air but still warm enough that I could run outside coatless a minute ago without feeling terrible. Current temperature is 42. Supposed to rain later this afternoon/evening so it’s pretty cloudy outside right now as well.
Fevers
Two kinds of fevers currently sweeping across our city with our temperatures pretty warm for February. And no snow. So strange. I’m still cautious about a late season storm. Anyway, the first fever is of course, Super Bowl Fever with the Chiefs in the big game. As far as I can tell, the main symptoms of that one are almost everyone wearing Chiefs gear and being in a good mood. Spirit weeks a plenty at the schools.
The second kind of fever is more in line with this post: Spring Fever. I’ve tried pretty hard to appreciate winter this year. However, the weather really didn’t cooperate. And if the weather is going to be lovely and not cooperate, I just want to move on to Spring.
Thankfully, my friends last night did tell me it was too soon to uncover all my spring bulbs and to leave my mulched leaves on top for a few more weeks. So, I’ll just continue to enjoy my store-bought hyacinths instead. And go on dreaming of when I can start planting all this:
Happy February! A winter Wednesday post might be better tomorrow for Groundhog day. However, I’m sticking with today in case the little rodent sees his shadow.
Shadow equals six more weeks of winter. No shadow predicts early spring. Farmer’s Almanac daily newsletter says spring is 46 days away no matter what happens tomorrow.
What does any of that have to do with soup? Nothing. I do start each winter Wednesday post with the weather though. And our weather is better than a lot of those to the south of us.
Today’s Weather:
It’s currently sunny and 10 degrees with a windchill/feels like temperature of 1 degree out there. Honestly, didn’t think it felt that bad when I ran J to school earlier. By 3pm, it’s supposed to be 37 degrees.
Now Let’s Talk About Soup:
Sometimes, especially in the winter, I crave vegetables! More often than I should admit, this craving usually manifests in a strong desire for a spring roll from Panda Express. It’s a mixed blessing living in an urban area where grocery stores and restaurants are so readily available.
However, sometimes only soup will do. When I’m craving comfort soup loaded with vegetables, my favorite choice is minestrone. It’s such an adaptable soup. I use this recipe for my base. It comes together quick. This time I added in some zucchini. Whatever vegetables I have on hand typically get tossed into the soup.
Look at those vegetables!
This soup is a good one in the late summer/early fall with fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden as well.
Of course, I don’t get to make it very often as the picky family is not as fond. G flat out is not a fan of soup. He tolerates this because it has pasta but he’d never choose it. My husband adds hamburger to his portion which is okay but ruins the idea of a fresh vegetable based soup in my mind. J and I both like it though it’s not his favorite. (He’s more a chicken noodle or potato soup kind of person).
Winter Dinners
There is definitely a comfort in winter soups and dinners not to be found during the spring/summer months. My mom always made chili in the heat of summer (100 degrees, I know let’s have chili for dinner!) and I never understood.
Summer is for lighter fare.
Of course, I must confess that yesterday I stood outside in 25 degree weather and grilled pork chops so I guess I shouldn’t talk.
Anyway, I do find soup something to enjoy about winter. Minestrone, taco, chicken noodle, and potato are among my favorites. And of course, you definitely need some sort of crusty bread with the minestrone and potato soups!
Yesterday, before the predicted snow storm, I took a walk. It was a very quiet walk as I was the only one at the park when I started.
However, first, let’s start this post how I’ve decided to start all the Winter Wednesday posts with the weather.
The Weather
Well, they (the collective weather people/television meteorologists) were right. Kansas City did only get the far north edge of the storm. It started raining around 9 last night and sometime in the overnight changed to snow. We woke up to snow and a snow day off school for J. However, the roads seem to have already improved and it’s 33 degrees as G heads off to the college campus. Snow is already blowing/dripping/melting from the trees.
My Walk Before The Storm
I debated if I wanted to go for quite a bit yesterday but finally around 3 in the afternoon, I just went ahead and got in the car. Many thanks to G for this who pushed me a bit saying if you don’t go, you know you’re going to regret it.
Winter buds on small trees always give a bit of hope.
This land area was full of water last time. I think the barrenness is related to work they are doing by the newly added playground area. The overnight snow should melt and fill it again, I hope.
I still found spots of partially frozen water.
And though the photo is a bit blurry, there were also occasionally welcome pops of color among the browns of the grasses and grays of the day.
Gray skies and chilly air
I felt the oncoming storm on the chill in the air. Saw the gray skies and very few birds.
Some of the trees looked to be dancing though the stillness that precedes most storms also sat upon the air.
The trees kept me company on my quiet, lonely walk.
I always take time to stop and check out the “all you need is love” tree. The silver bobble looks heart shape from a distance.
I Actually Enjoy Walking Alone
While it’s always nice to have a friend to walk with you, I love to go at my own pace. Stop and examine the trees. Listen to the nature around me. Things that get lost in the natural conversation of walking with a partner. As I started to walk by the small pond pictured above, I heard a sound I’d not heard before at this particular park.
Immediately, I turned and walked back to peer into the forested area.
However, my barred owl was too deep in the wooded area to spot. Here is a youtube video (not mine, I just listened from the path) to let you share in the sounds I heard:
Rounding The Corner
As rounded the corner of the path, far from the hoot owl I couldn’t see, I did stumble upon one industrious woodpecker in a small grove of young trees.
The chill in the air continued to grow and my hands were getting colder despite my gloves. So I made one last stop to check for any more brave little birds:
With none to be found, I ended my lonely walk and returned to my car now joined by another in the parking lot. Hopefully, that person enjoyed their quiet lonely walk as much as I enjoyed mine.
And this morning, the trees here at home were all dressed in white:
It’s another Winter Wednesday. Today feels slightly more like winter but not by much.
Today’s Weather:
It’s gray and rainy out though not exactly a downpour.
While I still feel like we need an actual snow day, I admit I’m glad it’s not today. G started back to college classes and most of his classes are on campus this semester which means a 30 minute drive. J’s getting back into the swing of going to classes at the high school as well. Still waiting for the day when I don’t have to hold my breath each morning. (Still gathering my thoughts for a potential post on that whole saga)
So what am I doing today? Had lots of plans but in reality, I’m…
Moving Slow
Didn’t sleep great so I’m not full of as much energy as I’d like. Drinking coffee, eating double-toast (at least I only topped one batch with the lemon curd!). Trying to catch up on reading my book. At the point where I’m deciding if I even want to continue it.
Cleaning House
I realized earlier that I’m not a spring cleaning or fall cleaning person. However, I do seem to get the desire to give the house a good cleaning in the middle of January! Gave some actual much needed attention to the bathroom floor. We won’t talk about the last time that one happened. Kitchen floor is up next.
Have a bit of extra motivation today as I agreed to let my friend come and practice her sales pitch. She doesn’t expect me to buy anything (we clarified everything at Mom’s Night Out) and really she’s helping me a bit as well. I can not remember the last time I had a friend over here for anything.
It makes me a bit sad as I used to be quite good at hospitality and somewhere along the last 2 years, possibly longer, I lost my touch. Became too caught up in what the house looked like and what people would think. Time to get over that and get back to having people over again. That said, I definitely do need to clean it before tomorrow afternoon as I really don’t want my friend to think I’ve started living in a pigsty.
Other Random Bits
According to my Farmer’s Almanac newsletter this morning, Spring is exactly 60 days away!
Trying to decide if I want to attend a winter gardening class at the same place I went to see the Christmas trees last week: Supplies all provided; You will be able to take home 2 containers of winter sown seeds. Winter sowing is a simple, low-care way to provide the best conditions for native seeds to germinate into seedlings using a process called stratification. In spring, you will need to transplant the seedlings into small pots to grow them larger before they go into the ground.
My Sam’s Club blanket is in the dryer, hoping it turns out better than the Kohl’s blankets. I think it is going to be fine. Quickly becoming my favorite blanket.
I let my oldest son take my car to the college campus this morning and he just called, he’s stopping by Quicktrip (local convenience store/gas station) and he’s getting me a pretzel. Hooray, no worries about lunch today.
Today was trash day, why on a rainy day? Nothing worse than the empty containers filling up with water. Well, at least in the winter, no mosquito worries I suppose.
What are you doing on this winter Wednesday with 60 days to go until spring?
It’s hard to work on appreciating winter when it doesn’t feel like it outside. At all.
Current Weather:
48 degrees and mostly clear. However, it was in the mid 50’s earlier today. So warm that I just had a jacket on as I took my walk. Didn’t need gloves to take photos as my hands weren’t cold. AND I was so hot after I finished, I took my jacket off and ran the air in the car for a bit.
It is supposed to rain overnight and drop us back into the mid 30’s for tomorrow.
Unpaved and Paved Trails Today
I went to a place called George Owens Nature Park today to see decorated Christmas tree cutouts. It’s an annual fundraiser where local groups or individuals buy and then decorate wooden shapes to raise money for a local charitable organization. The cutouts are then displayed along a trail at the park. They’ve done snowmen, snowglobes, and gingerbread houses in years past. This year, Christmas trees.
I have lots of other tree photos to share. However, when I started down this easy paved trail, a voice (an echo of my 25 year old self perhaps?) said take the unpaved trail! So I did.
Unpaved Trail Images
What are you doing in the middle of the woods Mr. Hawk?
Looking for butterflies?
Trail stops with this sign.
Pretty view on the return trip though. Looks more like fall than winter to me. Felt like it as well.
And now a few images from the paved trail (Note: I’m saving all the Christmas tree cutout pictures for tomorrow’s post).
Paved Trail
Even with the weather in the mid 50’s, I still found a snowman!
Not sure why he was lurking by the bridge.
The birds at the bird feeders were happy. And far away from that hawk on the unpaved trail!
I bumped into the new naturalist who showed me a wood duck nesting site. (Had to walk off the paved path and into the picnic area to see it) It’s the hole in the tree with the grass coming out of it.
Always see geese down by the lake (saw 3 ducks as well but no decent photos)
Just a short post today. Another busy work day. Yesterday was cold! Not crazy cold but windy and cold. Regular winter weather I suppose.
Today’s predicted weather (putting this one together on Tuesday night)
On Tuesday: it was cloudy, windy, and cold all day today but really the temperature was in the 40’s after a high in the upper 50’s at midnight. For Wednesday: Predicted high of 46 and mostly cloudy all day once again.
Sweaters
I like a good sweater in cold weather.
And I got curious about why they’re called sweaters. Lazy google research says: they were worn by rowers and intended to “produce sweating and reduce weight” More info here (source)
Just realized it’s Wednesday. Not much winter stuff to report today. I let G take my car to work so I’m having a bit of an at-home day.
Today’s Winter Weather
Still having cocoa with homemade whipped cream even if it is kind of warm outside
Not so wintry anymore. It’s windy out as I can hear it (nothing like the crazy gusts from “the storm”) but it’s also 52 and sunny. Snow is melting fast.
Cabin Fever and the Cat
I think the cat has cabin fever after all the super cold days. She meows loudly at anyone who will listen but doesn’t know what she wants. Outside? Nope. Love? Nope. Food? Nope.
At least it’s warm enough for her to go outside today and tomorrow but I have a feeling she’s missing her sleeping bench. It’s not going to be dry anytime soon.
And like a little kid, she’s been misbehaving a bit as well. Why play with your brand new Christmas toys when there’s mischief to be found?
She’s getting on the kitchen counters. We can hear her…she’s not a sneaky as she thinks. Chewing on the plants. UGH, something she never did in the past. And are the plants good for her? Of course not! She did get some cat grass for Christmas so I guess I better get on potting the seeds and setting them in the window. Need to water plants anyway.
I’m feeling a bit restless myself, want to go outside but it’s gone from billions below zero to probably mud. Still plan to grab my boots and go when G gets home, I think. It will be good for me.
Clearing Out Stuff
I’ve started clearing out stuff as I take down Christmas and put things back. It’s kind of nice as i’ve been doing it slowly. Usually, my husband starts helping and it stresses me. I don’t like to feel rushed. This year (maybe he’s finally figured it out?) I’ve been going at my own pace and just doing bits each day. And I’m making an Advent tub so that next year I can unpack it first. All the Advent items and things I like to put out in first in one place. What a concept!
Winter is a good time to take stock of the things I truly love or do not. One of my goals/list items for 2023 is to have things I only truly love in this home. I’m hoping this book gives me a bit of inspiration.
A nice thing about winter is the temptation to go outside and do something else is not as great as in the other seasons. I’m slightly less distracted, by outdoor things anyway.
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Have you started packing away your holiday stuff yet? Are you like me and like to go slow with it or more like my husband who just wants it done and done now?
Going to be a short post today. I agreed to work this afternoon. What was I thinking? Still have a mile long to-do list over here. And of course, this is coming:
Well, so the weather people still say.
The current weather for the first day of Winter:
30 degrees with a feels like of 21 degrees (Fahrenheit). My phone shows a little sunshine symbol but I don’t where it’s looking. And it also says “Few Snow Showers.” Interesting. While I was out and about, it was cloudy with no snow. Chilly but not super cold yet.
We do have a Winter Storm warning starting at midnight tonight until midnight tomorrow night. Then, a Wind Chill warning from noon tomorrow until noon on Saturday. Supposedly, snow, wind gusts of 45 mph, and wind chills as low as 30 below zero. This warning spans “portions of east central and northeast Kansas and central and west central Missouri.” So who knows what we’ll actually get here in KC.
Saw on a local radio station page and it’s scary accurate for our area:
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So how am I spending the first “official” Winter Wednesday?
Went to get my haircut this morning, did a little more Christmas shopping and some non-Christmas shopping. Putting fresh, clean flannel sheets on our beds. It’s been too hot for them before now. Need to run one more errand on the way to work. Should do more Christmas shopping after work but might just come home, drink hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie instead.
One thing I’ve been trying to find is little projects of the indoor variety to keep me busy during this winter. We all know I’m not crafty in the least. They gave us these little mosaic art snowmen at the work Christmas event last week. I found it really soothing and relaxing. Might have to find some more of these.
Finished product (all dots on the cardboard now, just need to add string for hanging it):
How are you spending the first day of Winter?
P.S.
My Farmer’s Almanac daily email kindly let me know that there are now only 88 days til Spring!
Also, a Blogmas catch up post coming soon, sure I’ll have time during the “storm of the century!” tomorrow.
