Inside Outside













Inside all is warm and cosy. The winter flowers bloom extravagantly - note the new amaryllis.













And the geraniums are happy in their winter abode, flourishing in the big bathroom.














The dog and the cat are learning to be comfortable with each other, and sometimes even show signs of enjoying each other's company.

The only time the dog gets upset is if Husband and I should discuss too loudly, when he trots off down the hallway and pees on the bedroom door jamb. Not good for the carpet, but he is old and precious and we indulge him without too much scolding. I am grateful for the Barefoot Lass's carpet tips on cleaning up after pets, though.







Outside it is a different story. The hills glisten with icy snow and it is cold and frosty. The yard is a skating rink, - Husband has furnished old boots with pointed screws that dig into the ice and make walking less of a hazard.

When the sun shines and the sky is blue I am caught up with the memories of prairie winters, but alas, it is more often overcast and cloudy here. And besides, sixty years has passed since those winters when I had a passion for skating and never noticed how cold it was.

The blood runs thinner now, - the legs are not as limber, and the joints complain about the frosty weather. The imaginations runs to spring days; melting snow and thawing ice; bulbs breaking through the ground and the Lenten roses pushing up their little stubs of bloom.

I am incredulous when I hear the fear mongers declare this the warmest winter ever in southern Canada, - we are ten miles from the USA border, and cannot get too much further south. We cannot get too many degrees colder, either, without it being a grave danger to the fruit buds and the vinyards in this valley.

Off on a little tangent --- I have heard it said that Climate Control and Global Warming is the new religion, - one never knows what is going to come along to fill a vacuum!!!