It’s a snowy day in mid-January. Not as bad here at the beach as it was in Bellingham or Seattle and south, but bad enough to avoid going out. It’s beautiful but treacherous to drive anywhere. It continues to snow off and on and never got above 27 degrees all day, although we never got the high wind and sub-zero temperatures they’re having in Whatcom County. A good day to simply stay in, admire the view, bake bread, eat hot soup or stew and drink hot chocolate. One actual accomplishment today was making reservations to attend my son Chris and his intended, Danielle’s, wedding in July in Roche Harbor thanks to the phone and internet.
I can’t help but feel sorry for Buggsy, my “resident” seagull. Most of the day he has just stood on the bulkhead, up to his knees in snow and shifting from standing first on one leg, then the other. With the opposite leg tucked under his wing and feathers sort of fluffed up, it’s what he has to work with to stay warm, poor guy. He looks miserable. It might actually feel good to him to go float in Saratoga Passage. At least it’s not frozen!
Buggsy on a warmer fall day
After an absence of six months, another visitor this snowy day is the otter that caused such commotion around here last spring. This morning, the tracks in the snow in the yard said she had come in the night and ducked into her hidey-hole under the outer deck. I assume it’s Mom who is no stranger here. If it is the same one, she has had pups in this area each spring for the last three years and this would be her fourth. No sign of her leaving so I’m guessing she is still in there this evening. This is the same environment as when she first showed up last year in the snow. I just hope her boyfriend doesn’t show up like a year ago and then leave her “in a delicate way” again. At least not if she’s going to live here.
There is also a little family of wrens that have been here for at least the last three years. They appear to have nested in a bush in the yard. Last summer when cleaning up the carport I found they had built a nest deep in a pile of empty boxes and there was a remnant of a tiny shell in it. They routinely forage all day long around the base of dead plants in the fall and winter for seeds that have fallen from the summer plants. It’s impossible to tell whether the current generation are the parents of several years ago or are the kids or grandkids. Today two of them were really busy, not to mention bold. As long as I stood still on the deck, they would even come within a few feet to search out the containers on the deck including several plants with a few remaining, now sun-dried/freeze-dried, grape tomatoes. There are little footprints all over the deck in the snow. Last week I had put out a shallow planter with bird seed in it in one of the flower beds where I could watch it. Of course, the snow piled up four inches or so on this container and, I thought, had obscured the seed. But these little guys have great memories and remembered where the container of seed is even though buried in the snow. They actually tunneled in to the seed and have been coming and going there all day.
Other Uses for a Cold Snowy Day
Cleaning out the e-mail in-box: Did it
Napping: Had one
Reading: Did some
Exercising: Did them
TV News: Watched the snow/traffic mess south of here
Catching up on e-mails from and to friends: Did it
Cooking: Nothing fancy this time
Computer games: Some Solitaire, some Blockbreaker
Paying bills: Maybe tomorrow
Daydreaming: Where oh where is it warm and sunny?
There must be better uses for a snowy day, but, today none came to mind that were motivating!
