Scattered Seed

George decided to do the dusting today, which is fine with me, as it is my least favorite job. After he finished with the clocks I noticed that he was setting them to ring for the first time in a long time.

We acquired the two clocks about twelve years ago and we had them up and running for awhile till the chiming kept us awake at night, and then we let them go silent.

Tonight as I worked on Garrett’s rug,  we were waiting for him to drive in from New York City with his girlfriend, Heather, on their way back to Buffalo.  I was sitting between the two clocks and the ticking and chiming was comforting as I worked.   It’s a long drive from the city, especially with the snow, wind, and bitter temperatures,  and I imagined what it must have been like for mothers waiting for their children to arrive without benefit of cell phones or texting,  just a ticking of a clock to mark the time.    It’s a soothing sound that eventually gave way to the sound of footsteps out front.

We had a good visit, though brief,  and within an hour they were on the road again.   Here I am, finding myself listening to the tick-tock of the clocks to soothe me till that text message comes that they are safely home and out of this wintry weather.

But I shouldn’t complain, because it’s a lot colder elsewhere. The temperature here is 12 degrees, windchill is -2. Snow is beginning to fall and we are expecting a few inches accumulation overnight.   There is a windchill advisory,  with gusts expected over forty miles per hour.   It’s going to be a wool socks kind of night!

We awoke to a fresh layer of snow, though we still don’t have much on the ground.

There is just enough that the few birds that came today had trouble finding my offerings so I set a pan of mixed seed and sunflower on the deck to see who would come. For the most part it was the blue jays, always nearby when the peanut feeder is full.

I kept an eye on Martha as she came up the steps. She struggles so much now and I was ready to go out and help her with the harness Rebecca and Melissa bought for her, but she took her time and made it to the door without me.

With the sun shining and cabin fever setting in, George and I decided we would head out on a drive to try out the new GPS. I think it was more of a challenge to see where we could lead IT, as George was constantly taking a different turn than suggested to see how it would redirect our path. We didn’t get all that far when the sky darkened and the snow began to fall. We even reached a point where the road became slippery, we reconsidered our driving plan, and returned to more familiar territory.

Chequaga Falls,  partially frozen over….

Our second option for the day had been to go to the movies to see ‘Sherlock Holmes’.   Being halfway between home and Ithaca,  George chose the Ithaca theaters so we headed that way.    The snow seemed to increase the farther north we traveled, and with slick and slushy streets,  I was just happy to get up the hill and in out of the weather.     Fortunately,  the roads had cleared, or had been cleared,  by the time we headed back out after dark.  All through the movie I had envisioned a continued snowfall.

After the few little unexpected twists and turns the car took on its own,  I’d say my cabin fever is cured.   It’s good to be warm and safe back home again tonight.