Babs writes: This has been a great winter up here. It’s warmed up some the last couple of days, but the cold will be back next week. I love the snow in the woods.
My first thought was that she had gone completely around the bend, but then I realized that no, that would be me. Our Babs is made of sterner stuff. She really is loving the snow and the cold.
I have a sneaking fondness for Real Winter myself, but this year is putting me to the test. I’ve noticed I am eating like an NFL linebacker (which isn’t all bad–I’ve been making some very tasty meals for a change) and I have a line on a dandy emergency heater for when the power goes out. More about that when we find the last thing we need to construct this marvel.
Pleasant dreams.
Posted in: Adventures outdoors, Babs Young photos
Torch Lake Views 
tootlepedal
January 13, 2014
I wouldn’t mind a little gentle snow here but just for a day or two. Weeks at a time is not much fun for a cyclist.
Gerry
January 13, 2014
The way the back roads are today you’d need spiked tires to go anywhere at all. I need spiked YakTrax just to make my way to the mailbox to retrieve my newspaper. But this too shall pass, and there’s something exhilarating about a Real Winter.
marmeladegypsy
January 13, 2014
From where I sit downstate here, winter has been too long and I find myself longing for days of oppressive heat and humidity again!
Gerry
January 13, 2014
GACK! It will have to be a lot colder for a lot longer before I long for that. But that reminds me – I need to read some stories set in jungles or deserts to remind myself why I choose to live in a frozen tundra.
Dawn
January 13, 2014
Winter can be good…if one is inside and warm and content.
Gerry
January 13, 2014
I’ve had a good lunch so I have the “content” part down. I’m working on the “warm” part.
shoreacres
January 13, 2014
Just yesterday a friend and I were taking a walk in a local nature preserve – a good one, where the trails aren’t concrete and they let old trees die a natural death. We came upon a quite large grove of trees neither of us could identify, but they looked just like these, in the sense of being straight and uniform and elegant.
No snow, of course, but they were what-we-call-winter naked, and looked almost as Ansel Adams-ish as does yours. Babs outdid herself with this one.
Gerry
January 13, 2014
That particular collection of trees looks pretty much like the woods at the edge of the wetland around the circle from the Writing Studio and Bait Shop. Maple, birch, popple and a couple of little spruce trees. But I wouldn’t swear to it, no indeed. Babs is a stealth photographer.
uphilldowndale
January 13, 2014
I’m up for some crisp winter weather, although I’d like a few dry days before the temp dropped, as every where is so wet here in the UK, we’d be glazed rather than frosted. That photo is bewitching
Gerry
January 13, 2014
I’m glad you like the photo. I hope you don’t have to put on ice skates to go for a walk.
Martha
January 13, 2014
I’ve been eating like a football player, too, but I put it down to 100% anxiety. Winter makes me almost unbearably anxious anymore. Always something to go wrong, always weather reports of doom…always serious driving situations- and I have a job now where I have to be out in any weather even at night…sigh.
It’s beautiful, but it’s also too damn expensive. It’s wearing me out.
Gerry
January 13, 2014
Wuff. You need to Take Measures. I don’t know if any of these ideas will work for you, but I rely on them. No television. Plenty of radio – good music, pleasant conversation, excellent stories. No reports of doom of any kind. A really nice cup of tea in the evening. I don’t know what they’re putting in Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime these days but it puts me right out in the gentlest possible way.
Finally, the Central Lake Library de-accessioned a bunch of books on tape and I scooped ’em up. I still have a tape player in my car – it worked the last time I tried it anyway – and I’m going to listen to Walter Cronkite reading his memoir, A Reporter’s Life, when I drive anywhere in this mess. You know how lots of people remember what songs were playing during important times in their lives? Well, I’ve decided that Walter Cronkite and Ernie Harwell were the soundtrack to my life.
I could always use a few more good ideas to keep in reserve. Let me know what you come up with.
Martha
January 14, 2014
I agree with the “No television” rule. I suppose Downton Abbey is all I watch now (avoiding Frontline). But talk about doom!
Too much tea caffeine is a problem. I can’t stand herb tea (and an allergy to chamomile), so that’s a problem. I drive around most of the day for my pet service job and that makes me a bit anxious- especially with the snow and ice and dark. Finding the houses/apts, finding a place to park (I just got my first parking ticket in probably 40 years-Thank you, Madison), and this job is all about time. Get to a place within x and take care of the animals within x and get out! Hurry to next job. But sometimes it can be quite leisurely. Still, once the crank gets wound…
And then there’s the even present worry about finding a better job.
Gerry
January 14, 2014
I’m so sorry Martha. It sounds like you’re carrying around a load of worries. I hope this week goes better. At least (I tell myself this a lot this time of year) we’re in the part where it gets a little lighter each day. Pretty soon I’ll be able to go out for the paper without a flashlight.
sybil
January 14, 2014
Oh dear Gerry, I’m a “white noise” gal and in the evening the TV is usually on. It’s on right now. “Mantracker”. lol And here I am on the computer. I weaned myself off regular teas and am learning to like herbal teas. It’s a long road. I actually like a cup of hot water with lemon. Why am I rambling on about that ?
Love the photo of the trees. Glad you and Babs enjoy winter. Spring can’t come soon enough for this Canuck !
Gerry
January 15, 2014
I know what you mean – I leave the radio going all the time. Sometimes I find myself surfacing into the broadcast asking myself “What?? What was he saying???” Then I have a cup of tea. I don’t really know how to brew a cup properly but I am developing a taste for the stuff. (Why are you rambling on? Well, I rather invite that, don’t I? It seems to be my default form of conversation. I rather like a good ramble.)