Fireplace

Instead of the forecast two degrees warmer, the day started out one degree colder from yesterday.  I was angry but, of course, after reaching twenty degrees below zero a few degrees one way or the other doesn't make much difference.  The house was cold when I got up.  I started a fire in the fireplace and for breakfast baked a puffed pancake which requires the oven to be on for 30 minutes.   By the time the sun was rising in a clear sky, the house was  toasty and I had a very tasty breakfast.  Passive solar heating would keep the house warm for the rest of the day.   Yesterday I'd had to go w/ Whip whenever she wanted to go outside.  Today the rabbits helped me.  They sat munching seeds under the bird feeders.  This gets Whip excited and all I had to do was open the back door and she was out the door bounding over the two foot drift on the deck.  The rabbits easily made it back under the deck each time.  Whip would get a little exercise and all I had to do was wait by the front door to let her back inside.  My snowplow guy texted me asking if my driveway needed a clean out.  It's wide open up here on the ridge so it can easily drift shut but looks OK so far.  However, high winds are due tomorrow again.  I said I'd text him on Monday if I needed him to make a pass.  As Aristotle pointed out "To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold."  

(Yes, I know Aristotle didn't really say that and, except for seeing it on Mt. Olympus' peak,  I'm not sure he ever even saw snow.)

Dunder sleeping on a book shelf

I learned of 'house burping' trending on the Internet.  It comes from an old German tradition called "luften" which means to air out your home.  The idea is to refresh the air in your home every morning by opening a window or door for 10 minutes - especially in winter.  This morning it was -25 degrees and I thought even an old German wouldn't open a window at these temps.  When I walked into the library last night to do my regular shift, the decision to close schools on Friday because of the cold had already been announced.  Librarian Trevor asked me to make a sign for the front door stating the library would be closed Friday and Saturday.  The village hall called Trevor.  They had also decided to not open on Friday.  Trevor asked me to also post a sign on their door.  By the time I closed up the library at 7 p.m. the shelf where books are kept on-hold for people was practically barren.  Everyone was planning to hunker down for the next few days - either w/ a book, a movie, or a jigsaw puzzle.  Personally, I am making it through this cold spell (high today was a -10) w/ the help of my trusty electric blanket and long silk underwear.  The underwear I bought back when I was milking cows and. though by now it's not looking it's best, it keeps me wonderfully warm under my clothes. I also close off the north half of the house and passive solar heat raises the air temp in the rest during the day.  I stand under a hot shower if I get too cold.   Have plenty of dry wood for fires in the fireplace.   I've lived all my life in the North so have built up a list of things to do when there is a cold snap.   Fairly certain 'house burping' won't be added to my cold weather repertoire.

Pre-dawn coyote saga

 

Truth is I should have been up and out of my nice warm bed 45 minutes earlier when the alarm had gone off.   Instead I'd turned over and was asleep again.  Whip's barking woke me.  It was more insistent than a there-is-a-rabbit bark so I went to see what was up.  Still that twilight before dawn but I could make out a coyote was on one of the paths.  It appeared to know that Whip couldn't reach it but cautious enough not to come closer.  Instead it chose to desecrate Whip's fiefdom by urinating on the path.   Whip was apoplectic.  The coyote then did a languorous stretch, kicking up the 'scented' snow, and trotting off into a field.  "Bitch."  I said.  (It was a female.)  Suddenly the coyote flops over on it's back w/ all of it's legs flailing in the air.  There was another coyote coming from the east across the field and they seemed happy to see each other.  "Must be a pair." I thought.   The greeting stops and they both point their noses back toward the east.  I look too and another coyote is standing at the edge of the field.  "Am I going to get the whole pack?"  I wondered.  Probably not from the same pack - the pair take off to the west and woods as fast as possible (the snow pack isn't strong and they sink in here and there)..   The interloper runs after them but slows when the pair are out of sight.  He turns to go south to Gorgeous Gorge.  After that excitement I'm awake.  I throw on some clothes and put Whip's light-up vest on her.  If there are coyotes still around they might be deterred by a glowing dog.  Fresh snow last night so I checked tracks by the bird feeders.   Tracks from a solitary rabbit.   Whip can't come close to catching these local rabbits but maybe a coyote could?  Ominously there were tinier tracks out by the feeder.  The field mouse I'd watched yesterday or something bigger?   If my backyard has become part of a coyote winter buffet line, they are welcome to the smorgasbord of mice, voles, and (ugh) rats.

Watching for Sunrise

 As I said yesterday, Volunteer Bev went on a holiday to Branson, MO along w/ Volunteer Carol.  They had gotten as far as Ames, Iowa when Bev noticed that, even though the car was on cruise control, it was losing speed.  Applying a little gas and it sped up again.  When they stopped at the light on an on-ramp for the freeway the car refused to move further.  On-Star called a tow truck for them.  A large puddle of transmission fluid was under the car when the truck picked it up.  On-Star hadn't called police nor a lift for them so the truck driver let them ride in the cab w/ him back to a Chevy dealership.  The mechanic there said it would take a week to fix.  Bev asked if the dealership had a loaner car they could use while their car was being fixed.  Yes but for liability reasons it could only be driven intrastate.  Bev called Enterprise Car Rental.  They delivered a car to the garage and Bev and Carol were on their way again.  They enjoyed a great week in Branson.   Before leaving Branson, Bev called Mechanic Max (she was on first name basis by now) to check on her car's status.   Max said they were waiting on parts (three bolts) and it would be another week before the car would be ready.  Bev called Enterprise to get another week extension on her rental contract and Bev and Carol started for home.  Midway back their rental car's dash flashed a "Service Engine Soon" message.  Well, 'soon' is a relative term and they figured they would just tell Enterprise when they dropped the car off.  Another 100 miles or so and the message changed to "Service Engine Immediately".  Bev called Enterprise.  No problem, Enterprise assured her.  They service their cars more often than recommended by the manufacturer and this is a message they have programmed into the car's system.   Bev and Carol could finish their trip in safety.  At this point in Bev's story I was in awe. Bev had handled all of these obstacles w/ aplomb and hadn't let them affect her holiday.  Of course, I thought, the story wasn't yet over.  What had gone wrong w/ her car?  That car still had to be picked up from Ames.  There were hundreds of dollars to be paid to the mechanic and for the rental.   There is a happy ending!  Turns out Bev had bought her car new last year from the local Chevy dealership.  Max had determined the problem was caused by improper assembly at the factory so Chevy was picking up all expenses including the rental car.  Plus, when her car is ready, the dealership here, where she bought the car, will divert one of their car transport trucks to Ames and deliver her car back home.

Library Display - cobalt blue and gold cups

Librarian Trevor had an appointment this morning and needed someone to watch the desk.  I offered to do it.  Picked up a latte downtown and walked into the Village Hall around 9:30 a.m.  Unless the Village Hall is going to be closed, morning volunteers just ask the Village clerk to unlock the doors between the Village and the library. No need this morning.  I could see there was someone already in the library.  Volunteer Bev was talking w/ two younger women.  Took a moment to figure out what was going on.  Bev had been on a vacation to Branson, MO.  The librarian knew she wouldn't be around on Monday and assumed she would miss her Tuesday morning shift so that's why I was here.   One of the two women, here before the library opened, was doing community service  (her friend was along for moral support).   Trevor hadn't said anything nor left a message that the woman was coming in but it was easy to find something for her to do.  I showed her where the vacuum was and where to plug it in.  I set out a cloth and cleaner and said when she was done w/ that to dust the top of the book shelves and water the plants.  I asked her friend if she would like to sit on the couch and read the paper while she waited.   Quite cold this morning and Bev is just back from vacation so I told her I would play assistant for the morning.  I went outside to get the books from the book drop and set out the sign for the book shop.  She then gave me a list of 7 books people had requested.  I could only find one book on the list - that never happens.  I gave her back the list while I worked on stats.  She couldn't find the books either.  What we eventually found was a note on the back desk stating that those six books had been sent out yesterday w/o check out slips (volunteer mix-up).  The main sorting locale will fix the issue when the books arrive there.  Until then they would show up on our 'pull' list.  The rest of the morning was busy - good thing there were two of us working.   By the time Trevor got in I had a lengthy list of notes for him, the community service lady had left, and activity at the library had slowed.  One of the notes for Trevor was that the afternoon volunteer had an emergency and wouldn't be coming in.  Trevor seemed in a good mood, said he could handle the rest of the day on his own, and shooed us out at 1 p.m.    Expect a busy afternoon for him as people stop in for a book, movie, or jigsaw puzzle.  Forecast for the end of this week is temps below -20.  Even Northwoods people hunker down when it gets that cold.

Jigsaw Puzzle

Winter is conducive to sleep. The sun has been down for hours by bedtime and it's not up yet when the alarm goes off in the morning.  The bed is weighted down by a blanket, quilt, and comforter.  The only night noises are singing coyotes and snowmobiles whining along a path on the other side of the woods.  Well ... except when a storm blows in like last night.  I did wake up when the wind began a high banshee wail as it passed the house.  Not a snowstorm this time but a cold front.  This morning the wind had calmed a bit and the temps had fallen to -9 degrees.  Whip and I bundled up to feed the birds.  The one or two inches of snow that fell yesterday were blown into small dunes.  The wind had swept the snow off the solar panels except in one protected corner.  It had also tipped over my garbage can that I'd put out last night.  It had been waited down w/ trash  and a bag filled w/ around 25 lbs of kitty litter.  I righted it and came back inside.   A good day to curl up w/ a dog, two cats, and a hot cup of coffee.

Feeding the Beef

I had one thing to pick up at Walmart - a large plastic bin.   A perfect time to try self-checkout again.   I tried using self-checkouts many years ago.  All three times I did, something went wrong and had to call for an employee to figure it out.    After so many years I figured they should have improved the process and w/ only one item what could go wrong?  Went to an open register and read the screen.  It wanted a phone number.  Wasn't going to give it that.  A man behind me asked if I would move my cart so he could use the checkout register next to me.  Oops.  Hadn't notice it and I apologized.  He didn't put in a phone number, just started putting things on the platform.  I found the bar code on the bin and put that side down on the platform.  Nothing.  "You'll probably need to scan that." the man next to me said.  Fortunately I'm use to scanning things at the library so recognized what a scanner wand looked like and got that done.  I found on the screen where I could ask for a total of my purchase.  It said cash or credit were acceptable so I whipped out a bill and tried to feed it through what looked like a cash feed.  Nothing.  I looked over at the employee that was overseeing the self-checkouts but she was gossiping w/ another employee and I couldn't catch her eye.  Fine.  I got out my credit card and fed that into the card reader.  I don't plan on using the self-checkout again for awhile.

Someone is bringing in their collection of shells for the front display case.  Librarian Trevor had plans for the other cabinet but then decided against them and wanted something else to display.   I have a collection of Lomonosov cobalt blue and white cups and saucers - all different designs.  I keep them in a small cabinet above the refrigerator. but hadn't had them out in years.   The new refrigerator is  deeper than the old one so a longer and more awkward reach to get them.  I broke one in the process.   Not the end of the world.  The remaining cups made a pretty display.  When I put them back it will be a different cupboard.  Best of all I've got an excuse to buy one (or maybe two) more.

Jigsaw Puzzle

 

The pastor obviously wanted us to be thinking about the new year.  The reading was to be the beginning of Ecclesiastes 3, the sermon title in the bulletin was "Doorway to a New Beginning", and the first hymn was listed as 'This is a Day of New Beginnings".  I wasn't familiar with this particular hymn but the music is printed right above the words in the hymnal so I was pretty sure I could figure it out.  The church is small.  There is no praise group of singers up front leading the singing.  The deacon at the podium doesn't even count time.  The piano started playing and the congregation began to sing.  Think it was three bars in when I realized I was ahead of the piano.  I stopped singing until I thought I knew where the piano was and started up again.  Nope - lost the beat almost immediately.   I heard a twitter in the pew behind me - maybe more of a nervous giggle.  Realized that no one was singing anymore.  Looked up at the deacon.  He'd given up also.  The pianist continued on for the rest of the three stanzas until the song ended.  "Thank you for that piano solo."  quipped the deacon and the church broke out in laughter.  It became the running joke for the rest of the service.   Once home I checked YouTube to see how the song should be sung and found there are different versions of a hymn w/ that name.  Wondered then if the pianist was playing the tune from a different version - or - maybe the pastor was just trying to show that this year should be filled w/ laughter.

Amaryllis blooming again

Excerpts from the Sheriff's Report:

2:03 a.m. - Caller from bar reports a female left the bar driving recklessly.  Deputy located vehicle abandoned in a bank parking lot.

9:41 a.m. -  Caller reporting a male trying to get into the garage.  Caller says they received a text from their parent stating the male is a furnace repairman.

9:45 a.m. - Caller reports hitting someone on an ATV in the roadway.  One injured person complaining of leg pain.  Road isn't blocked.  ATV driver was not wearing helmet.  ATV came out of a driveway and did not yield right of way to automobile.  ATV driver transported by air ambulance.  Automobile sustained severe damage.  Parent of ATV driver cited for DNR violation.

11:35 a.m. - Caller reports they ordered 200 ounces of silver from Costco.  Shipment arrived at FedEx in Collegetown but the caller has yet to receive shipment.

11:50 a.m. - Call from property owner who received a trail camera photo showing male on property who is carrying a rifle.  Nobody has permission to be on the property.  They would have to go through a locked gate and past no trespassing signs.  Deputy in contact with coyote hunters with dogs.  Trespasser identified as a juvenile.  Verbal warning issued.  Property owner informed.

2:05 p.m. - Officer spoke with female over the phone.  She stated that her mother wants her gone by tomorrow and asked if an eviction was required.  Officer informed her since she is living in the driveway and not in the house an eviction is not necessary.

5:10 p.m. - Caller reporting a vehicle outside their house has a furnace pipe sticking out of the window with smoke coming from the pipe.  Vehicle has a trailer full of wood and is parked in the post office parking lot.  Owner of vehicle appeared to be asleep when deputy arrived.  Originally from the area and back from California, vehicle owner lives in his jeep.  He left his vehicle to go speak with his ex-wife and will move the vehicle to another location.

6:16 p.m. - Officer needs a tow truck.  He is stuck in snow.

10:30 p.m. - Complainant in lobby to report harassment.  Officer spoke with complainant who stated he is being harassed by different rap groups stating they are threatening him and spying on him in his home from another city.  He was given a statement to fill out.

11:49 p.m. - Officer observed two vehicles parked at boat landing.  Two people in the back of one of the vehicles who appeared to be engaging in extra-curricular activities.  Both parties were age 17 so officer asked if they were both consenting participants.  Both said yes.  Officer told them not to engage in this conduct in public and if anyone saw them they could be criminally charged.  They were told to leave the boat landing and make better choices.

Oak at the edge of the Swamp

Town Clerk Chris gave me a call.  The town where I serve as a Chief Election Inspector will need a February primary - but only 24 people can vote.  

There is a primary runoff in February if there are more than two people running for an office that will be on the April ballot.    For every election - federal, state, town, school, and most county offices - everyone in the town votes EXCEPT for the county board races.  Five years ago, after the last census, the county board/county clerk decided every board member should represent the same amount of people.  To do that they created new 'county districts'.  (They didn't have to do that since state law provides municipalities under 1000 people can stick w/ existing municipal lines.)   My town became a part of three larger 'county districts'.

All of the county board seats are up for reelection this year.  There is one board seat that needs a primary and a small portion of my town is a part of that 'district'.  24 people are registered to vote in that portion of my town. Even should all 24 voters vote early in the day, we can't close the polls since the state allows for same day voter registration.

Two things.  First, I don't mind holding a February primary but I don't like to have to explain to town residents why only some of them can vote this time.   The January 6th insurrection wasn't that many years ago and there is still some suspicion around the election process.   Second,  another area of my town 'governed' by a different county board rep has no one who filed to run.  In truth, there are another four 'districts' like that.  Since these 'districts' exist only for county board purposes - why not open them up to anyone who wants to be on the county board?  Might not need a February primary at all. (ha)

Winter in the Northwoods

 

Changing a pets routine isn't easy.  This week I decided to fill the bird feeders before Whip and I took our morning constitutional instead of the other way around.  Whip hasn't picked up yet that it's a permanent change.  When I let her out she headed out for the walk.  I called her back - the feeders are in the opposite direction.  She came racing back - well kind of.  Even w/ stout nails on each paw and four paws on the ground, every so often one of her legs would slide away from where she placed it.  This whole week has hovered around the magical 32 degrees.  Precipitation has come in freezing rain.  During the daytime some snow melts only to refreeze as ice overnight.  Any roads and paths have a glossy ice patina.  After watching her trying to navigate the driveway  I wasn't going to tackle the constitutional until I dug out my crampons.  Once the feeders were filled, Whip and I headed back inside for the rest of the morning routine:  she gets a treat by doing a trick; I call for the cats and give them treats in their specific spots; I sit down at the computer.  While I was at the computer my phone started playing a tune.  Why had I set an alarm for Friday morning?  Remembered then that Librarian Trevor had set every second Friday of the month as a volunteer meeting.   So this is how the pets feel when I change their routine.  

Post Note:  Drove into the village for the morning meeting.  Afterward picked up a coffee, my mail, and came home.  Good thing the plow guy leaves the snow in a mound by the house.  The car slid into a slow 90 degree turn in front of the house and only stopped when the tires hit the loose snow at the edge of that pile.

Mourning Dove

Read an article on the newest viral  'bird theory' this morning.  A TikTok user stated that white people all have some sort of bird decor in their homes.  According to that article multiple people commented that they didn't think they had anything w/ birds until they looked around and realized they had a lamp w/ a peacock base or rubber duckies dressed in various costumes on a shelf or were gifted something that had a bird motif on it.  I did just come inside from filling the outside bird feeders but not sure that counts.  It's winter so I have some small decorative plates w/ cardinals and titmouse birds hanging near the fireplace.  I thought about what I put out during the spring.  Yes, I have bird figurines I put in a shadow box in the spare bedroom.  How about summer?  Definitely.  Sister Connie gave me a peacock vase and I always put it atop the clock w/ a spray of real peacock feathers.  Autumn?  An orange hand painted (by Sister Connie again) owl that I usually set in among the house plants.  The obvious next question is "Is it white people or people in general that like birds?"   I'm guessing it's the latter - ethnicity has little to do w/ it.  The caves of Lascaux France have paintings of birds from 17,000 years ago.  Ancient Egyptians were big into bird motifs.  The god Thoth had the head of an Ibis, Horus the head of a falcon, and Nekhbet was a vulture.  Chinese art often depicts cranes, Mandarin ducks, and magpies.  It's easy to recognize the unique birds of Australia featured in Aboriginal figurines and other art forms.  The only thing the 'bird theory' teaches us is that you can make anything go viral just by adding some titillating overtones to it.

Jigsaw Puzzle

 It was my turn in the grocery check out line.   The checkout clerk greeted me w/ "How is your day going?"  I was in a talkative mood so I told her.  "Great so far.  I talked w/ Waste Management and they are going to pick up my garbage on my side of the road this winter."  Last week I'd gotten text messages from Waste Management two consecutive days that they were running late and would pick up my garbage on the next day.  As I said, the garbage can on the opposite side of the road was now buried up to it's cover in a bank of snow - partially from the snowstorm and partially from the county's snow plow.  On the third day, I managed to extract the bin from the drift, left it on my side of the roadway, and messaged Waste Management letting them know what I'd done and to please give me a call.   I knew calling Waste Management's help line wouldn't be of any use.  I'd tried that last year and the Arizona based hot line reassured me they would fix my issue but the local guys said they didn't care what the hotline said.  No call back yet from the local Waste Management so I drove the couple of miles over for a face to face.  Coordinator Nikki said she understood my predicament completely and would talk w/ the drivers when they got back from their routes.  She'd text me tomorrow.  The grocery checker didn't look up but mumbled a "uh huh" as if she was listening so I continued.  "Then I went to the Animal Shelter and made a donation."   The animal shelter had moved since the last time I'd been there.  They are mentioned often in the Sheriff's Report so I thought I should know where they were - just in case.  GPS got me there.  Didn't seem right to just say I wanted to see the facility so I gave them a donation.  The cashier was checking the price of my baking potatoes but managed a 'yep'.    "I treated myself to breakfast at the Toad House." I continued talking.  As I came into the city I'd stopped there for a latte and scone to-go and munched as I drove around. The checker announced my total and I paid.  Figured after all my prattling she'd be more careful about how she greeted customers.  No, she asked the guy behind me the same question.   Must be she's a glutton for punishment.

Calendar

 

The holiday season is over.  Time to do start up tasks for the New Year:

• Replaced the calendars.  I bought them back in August but remembered exactly where I put them.  In Haven, the calendar for the year is wildlife by Charlie Harper.  At first I thought his work was Cubist but looked him up and it's called Minimal Realism.  Reminds me a lot of  the Lamanozov figures I collected so assume this is my preference when it comes to art.  There is also the white board calendar which has to be wiped clean and redone.   I write the name of the month at the top.  Last year, all months were written in German.  This year all of the months will be in Spanish.  A small thing but I figure this way sooner or later I'll know the months in both languages.
• Packed away the blatantly Christmas decorations: the hanging sock by the fireplace, the santa figurines, the creche.  Everything else like the red balls, candles, greenery, snowmen, etc. remain as decor until spring comes and they will be replaced w/ pink bunnies and flowers.
• Pulled up my 2025 on-line file of yearly stats and noted that last year the 'new' plants/creatures I found here were a yellow-legged millipede, a yellow parasol mushroom, a maple spanworm moth, and a river otter.  Not sure if I should count the otter since I didn't get a pic of it but fairly sure that's what I saw in Gorgeous Gorge.  Also noted I volunteered over 150 hours, had guests for 35 days, and did everything on my monthly-to-do list except install a new furnace filter.  Since I run the air conditioner probably no more than 10 days each year, not having a new furnace filter isn't too terrible.   I used the 2025 file to create a 2026 file.  I deleted all of the contents out of the new 2026 file and am ready to keep track of this year. 
• Printed out and pasted '2025' on the plastic bin I throw receipts and other info in for the year.  I'll keep it around until I submit my fed/state taxes, throw a copy of the form in, click the top shut, and it will take it's place in the garage w/ bins from other years.   I'd cleaned out another bin in the autumn so have a new one ready for this year's ephemera.