Winter isn't over yet!

Look who was foraging for food on my back deck. Yes you! What are you doing up and about? Does this mean spring is here?

No such luck.

Snow, snow and more snow today.


The house across the street. Ah well, I don't really mind. It is rather pretty - and March is almost here. Still winter in these parts, but we've had a good one, so far.
I know that hasn't been the case for my neighbours south of here. Florida, Texas and other parts of the world have had an unusually cold winter.

The days are getting longer and if little chipmunks come out of hibernation to run on the snowbanks, then deep inside the Earth, life is beginning to wake up.

Update: We are not moving. Hubby nearly had a panic attack when I approached him seriously with my plans. I did not realize how someone in his position would be clinging so tightly to familiar territory. As long as he has his familiar surroundings to hold on to, he feels somewhat secure and in control. To take that away from him would be like sinking his lifeboat. I had no idea.

So, we will hire people to do the heavy work that I cannot. I am relieved in some ways. A couple of days before this snowfall, I was looking in the garden (up against the south side of the house) to see if any little crocus shoots had come up. I know it is way too early, but since it has been warm.... Then I thought of missing this. And of all the space we do have to live in. The privacy of our back yard. Our big outdoor deck. One day I will leave it all....... but not yet.

Mistress Mousey.....

.......popped into say:
"Have a very nice Valentine's Day!" Sister Rose's face all aglow...
Hopes that no-one will push her in the snow!

Pink and yellow

Red and green

Loveliest roses

I've ever seen! (green refers to the foliage)

O.K., so a poet, I'm not. It was fun anyway - just to see what would rhyme.

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day.

Update: thank you all for your concern and good advice.

I am looking into retirement homes. One that has particularly caught my eye, is for autonomous seniors. The units are apartments with full kitchen. There is an emergency call button in each room. And a nurse on the premises at all times. The activities sound wonderful (for me). Location is a block or two away from the general hospital.

However, the units are quite small (read: very small). And the rental cost per month is quite expensive.

At this point I am just gathering information. Hubby is not too pleased, but I told him I would not force him into anything (read: this will take time to accept). The reality is, we need to make changes in our lifestyle, as I can't go on like this forever.

Mid-winter blues

Looking to capture the sunlight as it shines on my kitchen-window flowers.
Sunlight kissing the tulip's lips.

Winter plods along. It's cold, but that's normal. The strange thing is, we don't have much snow this year. Which is bad and good. Good because who wants tons of snow? (except skiers, of course). I'd rather less snow to melt when the weather warms up.

Bad - because not much snow means not much insulation for our water drainage hose (buried under the front lawn). And that means a frozen hose, so water backs up into the basement.

This water we're talking about is coming from our water softener, which drains into the sump pump. Now the sump pump's job is to pump out water before it backs up into the house. Normally it does a good job. But with ice freezing the connecting hose to the outside, there is nowhere for water to go. Like hitting a brick wall. It splats all over the basement floor.

I discovered it this morning, while going into the basement to check on the furnace humidifier. The day before, I had gone downstairs for something, only to walk into a huge puddle in the furnace room. The humidifier hose had become blocked with sediment from our water supply.

Well, I dealt with this 2 years ago, so I just turned off the furnace, changed the filter, poured a mixture of vinegar and water down the blocked hose, cleaned up the mess and turned the heat back on. All this while Hubby was sleeping peacefully.

Now this mess in the sump pump room! The only solution, for now, is to turn off the water softener. We'll just have to do without "softened" water. When the earth warms up next month, things should thaw out and our "water in the basement" problems over for a while.

I must say I was thoroughly discouraged this weekend. I feel overwhelmed (oh, I also lugged the heavy dehumidifier up the stairs, one step at a time, from the basement into the garage, since there seems to be water in there too. What is it with water in this house??).

Told Hubby it was time to move into an apartment. I just can't cope with everything on my own all the time. He just nodded. No argument. He's probably hoping that as time goes on and the nice weather comes, I'll forget all about it. Well maybe. But I think it's time we simplified our lives.

New Life...

New babies stretching towards the light...

A little one on the way.....

She's here! Isn't she looovely.....

Peek-a-boo!

A surprise in the garage! This petunia was my favourite. I took so many pics of her last summer and right into the fall. I could not let her go when the outside temps got cold. So I put her in the garage just to see what would happen. Did not expect anything. Over the years, I'd tried to overwinter impatiens, geraniums, and other annuals by placing them indoors in a bright sunny south-facing window. They'd be fine for a little while, but eventually would all die.

So imagine my delight when I discovered these 3 blooms! It's quite cool in our garage and the light comes from a north window, so I don't really understand why this plant would bloom. But never mind - I'll take it!

Squirrel antics

Trying to keep squirrels away from birdfeeders is practically impossible. I read in a magazine that if you hung your birdfeeder on a clothesline between a couple of empty plastic soft drink bottles, the squirrels would not be able to reach it. Once they put their little paws onto the bottle, it would spin around like crazy, causing them to fall off the line.

Maybe this will work!

Ah ha - this bottle doesn't turn. I think it's frozen.

Success! As if a few little plastic thingys could stop me! Ha!

Looks like the squirrel won this round. Next time I try this, I'll make sure I have 2 big soda bottles. That small water bottle didn't work. The squirrel jumped right over it, and it was partially frozen to the clothesline anyway.

Living on the Edge...

Front view... (awk - I just woke up!)

Back...({{sigh}} - do you think it will ever melt?)

Curly edges....

Notched edge....(you can barely see the notch, but it's there)

Many tall and frazzley edges....

Sharp edge....

Couldn't make it through January without spring flowers on my kitchen windowsill.

Actually, we've had a mild winter so far (keeping fingers and toes crossed). How about you?

Going "Green"...

Pulled into the self-serve gas station.
Put my credit card into the appropriate slot on the gas pump.
Pushed all the appropriate buttons (do I want a receipt? Yes).
Withdrew my card.
Unscrewed my gas cap.
Now to select a grade of gas.

Oh cool - a gas nozzle with a green handle. I'll pick that one. Maybe gas stations have decided to "go green". Now how would that work??

Tried to fit the green-handled nozzle into the gas tank opening in my car.
It did not fit.
What's wrong with this thing? Have they switched gas pump specifications or something??

Looked more closely at the "green-handled" pump and realized it said DIESEL in big letters!
Oops - no wonder the nozzle wouldn't fit in my car. It's a safety measure for people like me who don't bother to read what's on the pumps, but go for the pretty colours - in this case - Green!

Good thing too, as I'd have filled my tank with diesel gas!!

p.s. - still having computer problems and still trying to find my blogroll.