Tuesday's Things........

I kept posting shots of this discount amaryllis and the looks of things were pretty pathetic.  Then the third bud, without warning turned out to be perfect. I have taken of a lot of photos of it while its sits in the window.  Outside there is a blizzard going on but the amaryllis just doesn't care. I did get my two dollars and fifty cents worth from this bulb.

The snow made the exposure of this photo seem very low light.  I guess I didn't edit it but you do see the bird that I photographed.  I know we call this a downy but in England it has another different name.  "Spotted" is a part of the British name of this bird.  It was so windy yesterday that this one woodpecker was the only one to hit the suet.  I did have starlings that helped eat at it.

These type of birds were the most prevalent at the feeder through our blizzard-like storm.  I guess the 45 mph winds doesn't bother them as much as the smaller birds. The starling has a nice pattern of spots on them.  Our blizzard was mostly wind with adding only about an inch and a half of snow on the ground.  Those winds shut down interstates and made being outside unbearable. The cold this morning is unbearable but we must trudge on in life.

I am sharing this photo as I was impressed with the background of the photo.  It balances everything that is in the left foreground and really does show what it was like out there.  I believe that I took this right before the blizzard started as you can see some sun reflecting off of the snow.

I shared this photo on my Photo a Day blog.  The camera makes him look like he has a lot of winter fat on him to keep him warm.  I put out another older feeder on the patio table so the birds didn't have to miss out at getting seed.

I am in school today.  It was painful going to the car and warming it up before the trip.  My trip is only 4 blocks.  I am the English instructor at the high school.  I am tired before I start today but I will get through the day.  Extreme cold saps the strength from a person.

We still have the wind today but no snow coming down.  One stretch of interstate in the middle of Iowa was opened up this morning with a car graveyard all along it of abandoned cars.  I suppose it will take a few days for the owners to get back and retrieve them.  I don't know if they have a single lane only for people to travel but getting back and forth to Minnesota and Iowa is important to a lot of people.

We need to make a trip to the grocery store after school and it won't be very warm by then.  I think the high will be around 14 degrees F. by then. A couple of my devices that I use upstairs and in the kitchen to record temperature have switched over to telling me things in Celsius. I have had to make some changes in my mind as to what the temperature really is when it is -12 C. I have learned to know if the bedroom temp if it is around 20 to 22 degrees C.  that it is about 70 degrees F.  When it gets down to 18 or less we are pretty cold and in the summer when it hits 26 degrees C. that it is too warm to sleep upstairs.

I basically had a three day weekend and I feel like it is more Monday than Tuesday.  The kids at school are tired and not too fired up yet but they will eventually get going.  Maybe after they have had lunch.  I am going to have a lot of coffee to keep me going.   I appreciate your stopping in today.  Thanks!!!