Ursinus Letter

Wild Night

  The winds last night(and today) have been worse than the hurricanes we've experienced in Texas. It sounded like an airplane was landing in our driveway, all night long.  I got up  earlier than normal this morning and went out back to see if any trees were down( just a few branches) and noticed the moon was still out. It actually startled me--guess I was still a bit weirded out from the storm.

Just a hint of color-can you see the cardinal? There are 2 males and a female hanging around the feeder, but I've yet to get a good picture. It's either too cold for me to step outside or else they don't sit long enough for me to grab a camera.

Heat Wave

We can see the grass! It's 45 degrees now, supposed to be in the mid 50's tomorrow, then back to below freezing. It just started to rain, but we opened the windows to let some fresh air in.

These two really enjoyed the recent sunshine. Mother, look how big the begonia is.

Clarkson University

Clarkson acceptance into their dept of engineering.  He got the invitation to join their honors program yesterday. The folder even played a bit of music when he opened it!

 Potsdam is  several hours north, close to the Canadian border.  Ken went to school up there, and said it's too cold, too dreary, and too flat.  It's over seventy percent guys, too, though there are a couple other colleges nearby.

University of Pittsburgh Scholarship

15,000/year. Way to go, Walt!

At Least It's Getting Warmer

More importantly-- I have now defeated the Fruit Ninja champion of the house! He has promised to let me savor the victory for one full day.

Watch Out Where The Rustys Go, And Don't You Eat That Yellow Snowman

Apologies to Frank Zappa.

University of Pittsburgh Acceptance

We went grocery shopping this morning in order to stock up for the nasty weather coming. We dropped W off to do his volunteering--walking dogs for over an hour in the snow(25 degrees).  It wasn't a happy time this week.  Most of the dogs are pit bulls, and a couple gave him a hard time.  I told him to just skip them next time( not a fan of pit bulls, sorry). Poor boy, he was miserably cold.

Out and About

 We hung another bird feeder up by the back deck. I believe every chickadee and little brown bird in the county has found it. They'll grab a seed, then hop under the bushes to eat it.

 I heard coyotes three times last night; they sounded very close. Today Rusty ran up to that area and started sniffing around.  I thought he'd found their scent. Turns out he'd merely found a frozen ham bone that was tossed out a couple weeks ago.

   It took over a week for the snow to melt, then it snowed again last night. There's an inch layer of ice under the snow on much of the driveway. See that dark spot?  That's where W slid and fell this morning while walking the dog. I made it all the way to the road before slipping.

  Culvert at the end of the driveway, across from the mailbox. It was previously covered by the county snow plowing.

This creek is right behind the mailbox.  It's impossible to see when things are leafed out.

Boy On Sled

This is from today. Haven't seen much melting yet. Notice how Rusty starts chasing the sled, stops to sniff and think, then resumes the chase.

Last night...about 4:40

Kaleidoscopy

Closed For the Season

Too Good To Be True

 It's above freezing right now(35!)  and supposed to reach 50 in a few days.  I'm beside myself with happiness. I've even promised the guys that I won't complain when they and the dog track mud and slush through the house.

Whiling Away the Time

Waiting For Spring

Looks like Rusty sees the orb

Mince-Meat

Can that be melted snow????

I think it may have gotten above freezing today for a few minutes. Water on the steps/sidewalk, and I heard it dripping from the roof. What a lovely sound. Then it clouded up and started snowing furiously.
  The tree is down, a million pine needles have been swept away, the fridge is spotlessly clean,  way too many horrible killer mysteries have been read,  and everything on television is boring. We watched The Hunger Games last night, and I was not very impressed,  although I thought  the actress who played  little Rue was beautiful.
 Do you see the green orb in the basement pictures above?  It was driving me crazy; finally we realized it was a reflection of the energy-saving light bulbs down there. I thought we should send it to "My Ghost Caught On Camera", and explain how the orb looks just like my dear old departed granny.
Does anyone watch that show?  I've never been able to see any faces in their orbs.

Will They Make It To Town?

Don't forget my potato chips!

Rats. Here they are trying to get the car back in the garage.

I haven't been away from the house since December 24. We've been stuck here for over a week. If anyone reading this should win the lottery, we'd sure like a huge 4x4 truck with a humongous plow. It's been plowed two or three times, but the snow is just too deep.
 We stocked up before the holidays, though, so we're fine. Bored and potato chip-less, but fine.

Halfway Down the Driveway

My Menorah Tree

The ditch is under there somewhere

I dug a path here for Rusty to run from the back sidewalk to the front one.  The sun was out today, so I decided to walk down to the road and let the dog get his much needed exercise. Sunny, no breeze at all.  I made it halfway down the drive, took these pictures, then all of a sudden it got dark, windy, and the snow was blasting the skin off my face.

Training For the Olympics

Let me preface this by saying it was my first time ever on a sled.  I got better. And faster. I still don't know how to steer very well, or to stop it, so it usually ends with me heaving myself off. If you turn the sound up, you can hear someone say something very unkind about it, the very same person who doesn't want me to show his sledding skills online.

This was also  the first day of snow. We tried it a couple days ago and it was much better.
(Mother-push that little arrow that points to the right  and it will start!)