More Signs of Spring

It is really warming up again, thank goodness.  It was still very cold this morning.  I awoke early, about 5:30 a.m., got up and started the fire in the wood stove.  I read for a while but then got sleepy again and didn't make myself get up and put more wood in the stove.  By the time I got up the fire had gone out.  I had run out of fire starters so had to tear up a cardboard box for kindling.  I finally got a fairly decent fire going about noon and by that time it was starting to warm up.  According to NOAA we were supposed to have a high of  44F degrees today.  It's still 40F degrees at 6 p.m. so it probably got higher than that.

Dixie and Jimmy visited and, as usual, Jimmy left and Dixie stayed.  It was warm enough she was able to sleep on the floor.  About 3 p.m. I decided I needed to get water at the spring in Caribou Canyon so I cleaned up, loaded my water jugs and Dixie into the car.  First I went to the post office.  If you've followed my blog from the beginning you know I've been fighting with Sears since before Halloween trying to get them to make things right for some failed auto repairs made at their Longmont, Colorado, auto service center.  We had finally settled on a dollar amount and I had signed the release form February 17.  I've been waiting for the check since and was most recently told it would arrive today.  I was not surprised to find it was not there.  I'll give it another couple of days then start rattling their cage again.

Returned a book to the library and picked up two more, then went on to the spring.  Saw a fox on the way.  It is so nice to be able to actually set my jugs down and allow them to fill now that all the ice has thawed from around the spring.

One day I'll follow that pipe and see how it's rigged up to the water source.

On the way back to Nederland I saw a startlingly blue Mountain Jay.  I noticed it was a complementary color to the orange willow branches toward which it was flying.

I stopped at Ace and got fire starters then dropped Dixie off at the Blue Owl Bookstore.  I think the proprietor noticed I was wearing one of the new scarves I had purchased at her store last week.  I know.  I was only going to get one, but she did give me a reduced price.  Here's the one I wore today.

I think I'm going to have to touch up my scarf model's imperfections.  They are somewhat distracting.

I stopped at the supermarket and got one of the Wednesday night special broasted chickens for $4.99.  What a deal!

When I got home I unloaded the car.  I think I can start keeping some of this water outside.  It's supposed to get down to 25F degrees tonight, but with the highs in the high 40s and 50s coming up, I'm going for it.  It will be nice not to have this taking space up inside.

After that, I picked up the little trash wood left where my first wood pile was last fall.  It's wet now, but will dry quickly once inside by the stove and will make great kindling.

Apollo came to visit while I was unloading the car.  I think he smelled the chicken and, yes, he got some and, a first, he allowed me to pet him and scratch around his ears today.  Second breakthrough of the week with him.

Have you had a breakthrough recently?  Teddee