This past week’s colder than normal temperatures might as well be blamed on that chubby little rodent named Phil. I often wonder how many sane people actually believe that an over-glorified and overweight rat can actually predict when spring will arrive. It’s a shame that so many of life’s little mysteries may never be resolved.
A few winter safety reminders may be in order after those ice fishermen had to be rescued off of an ice flow on Lake Superior. The one tip to heed is never to assume that all ice is safe. And while giving tips on going about your life while dealing with winter has never been a favorite of mine, there are folks on TV or on the radio constantly telling us how to dress or how to cope with bad weather. Now, I have been around for about three quarters of a century and seem to have pretty-much figured out how to survive a winter, so telling me to wear a jacket when it’s -10 degrees is not exactly a revelation.
One thing that I will ask all of the ice fishermen to do is pick up after yourself. I know that there are those who feel that dropping an empty can or bait container down a hole in the ice is cool. Well, it’s not – that’s just plain lazy and irresponsible. That’s my rant for today.
My bird feeders have once again been a focus of attention for my wife and myself. The birds have been coming more frequently and there are now three different species of woodpeckers that frequent the suet feeders many times a day.
This staying in the house stuff isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I have been trying to do a little painting, pictures that is, and that makes the time go by pretty fast. Painting is a lot of fun for me and I am strictly into landscapes that will never be considered masterpieces. I work at it, but I’ve also seen some folks who paint beautiful pictures and very few people even know how talented they really are. One such lady would occasionally come down to Hardee’s in the morning for coffee and conversation. One day she decided to bring a couple of her paintings down to show us and I was totally blown away. They were awesome and you could see what talent she had. She had a picture of wild turkeys and of a cardinal. Both pictures were just beautiful. There are a lot of folks in our community who have real talent that not many people realize they have.
I haven’t heard much good news coming from the local ice fishermen lately. What I have heard is that the small perch are still biting and not much else. That’s kind of how it goes almost every winter, once it gets into February the fishing in this area of the state slows down drastically. You would probably have to head to northern Minnesota to have better luck.
I am looking forward to spring, like all of us, but in the meantime there are things that a person can do to make winter tolerable. I know of a few friends who go to the local State Park to walk on the snowy trails. That’s refreshing and great exercise for both mind and body.
When I do allow myself to do a little daydreaming, I am dreaming of being up at the cabin enjoying a nice cozy fire in the wood stove. It doesn’t take long for reality to set in, but I’ll enjoy every moment of my dream while I can.
Until next time: Whether sledding skating, or ice fishing, these are a few ways to get out of the house and enjoy a little wintery outdoors. Whenever I get in a funk, I take a long drive in the country where the beauty of the snowy countryside is both beautiful and relaxing.
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