Dark eyes and cold feet

(Dark-eyed junco on an icy branch).

Well, can I just say "YUCK"? What started out as snow last night quickly changed over to freezing rain which left us with a coating of ice on everything this morning. The deck and patio were like an ice rink. Even the juncos were having a hard time keeping their feet under themselves. As for me, I put socks on OVER my shoes in order to go out and knock the ice off the feeders. Then retreated inside where I've spent the day.

I posted 5 other shots from today on Flickr, starting HERE. The fourth one was my second choice for today, but I decided on the junco because I don't think I've posted one yet this winter. Juncos are only here in the winter, so they are a sure sign of fall when they show up each year, sometime in October. They are in the sparrow family and while they range widely across the US, our eastern Dark-eyed Junco looks quite a bit different than the western DEJ. The bird pictured here is a female, distinguishable by her slightly lighter coloration under the wings. Like most members of the sparrow family, they are seed eaters, preferring to forage on the ground.

I'm making a chicken ragu for dinner tonight - all things I had on hand since I'm not even going to try to get into town today. I always try to keep some mirpoix in the freezer as well as some thin cuts of chicken (easy to thaw.) That way an emergency meal can be thrown together with that and whatever is in the pantry. Voila - dinner!

I suspect I will be housebound much of tomorrow, too, as we are told to expect snow (or maybe freezing rain - oh goody). I'd be quite happy with some snow - not so much on the freezing rain/ice. One of the permanent after-effects of my brain surgery is that I have a fairly significant balance impairment - so I don't need the added challenge of ice!

Hope your week is off to a good start ... and 16 more sleeps until Christmas!

ciao,

Debbi