Nine more inches of snow fell yesterday, on top of ice and freezing rain. Schools are closed again, of course. These are the feeders I rehung yesterday.
I won't be shovelling out the back gate. Spring can do that job. There is a huge drift on the other side.
The mailboxes on the road are buried and knocked askew by the force of the snow as the plow comes around the curve.
St. Francis on his head, the birdbath broken.
Well, the culprits are back at it. I saw two squirrels chasing each other around yesterday morning and next thing I knew, my cleverly "squirrel-proofed" bird feeders had bit the dust. Er, snow. 
Repairing the damage meant shoveling out a place to put the ladder legs. The snow is 18 inches deep on the flat, which means it is over the top of my knee high boots. I use snowshoes to get to the compost pile. Anyway, as you can see, the feeders are back in the air so the cardinals don't have to stand in the snow to get their safflower and sunflower seeds.
"Every Good Wish Be Yours," 1912, to my grandma from "Ma and Pa"
Another mystery: to my aunt from "Gerald". No one in the family remembers Gerald, and we found it in the attic after she died, so we can't ask my aunt. 
I flew into London where I bought a bus pass that allowed me to travel all over the UK, but much of my travel was on foot. I slept and ate in Youth Hostels and carried a far-too-large backpack with my belongings. My first stop was Hexham, where I began my walk on Hadrian's Wall. This bit is Vindolanda, a Roman fort built in 80 AD. 
In a hostel in Scotland I met Hiroshi and Marie. Sometimes we traveled together, sometimes we arranged to meet at a hostel in a day or two. Hiroshi spoke Japanese and a little English (very little!), Marie spoke French and a little English, and I spoke English and a little French. It made for many laughs and a few misunderstandings.
Walking alone, heading north for John O'Groats, there were more sheep than people...
and such glorious scenery. I wrote in my journal, "Blackberries, a cat to pet, chickens, a pony I fed cookies, black and pink rocks, mustard colored lichens--the photos I would take are huge, too big for a camera, filled with smells and winds and sounds. 10-14-79"
Another beautiful hostel, this one in Ayr, Scotland, with stained glass, leaded glass, an archway inside with panels of beautiful paintings, wood parquet floors. Why would anyone stay in a hotel? Well...there is the noise....
Here is the museum. It's in an old, outgrown church that looks nothing like other churches in Minnesota. I think it's called mission style. 
This is the marquee for the exhibit. It says, "The Romanovs, Legacy of an Empire Lost," with a photo of the last Romanov czar and his family.
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| The Cloisters, Westminster Abbey. The door is recessed on the left. |
The snow piles are so tall, it's hard to throw the snow on top and too many times, a big shovel full slides right back down into the drive. We had four more inches Thursday, which I just finished shoveling this afternoon..JPG)
Parking lots are so full of snow, you can't see around them to pull out into traffic. Same with street corners.
I was excited to find a few new foods I can eat, especially something that crunches. I'm so hungry for crunch! In my never-ending quest for the end to migraines, I am doing a diet with no sugar (only sour fruit. No oranges, bananas, etc), no gluten, and very low carbohydrates. Pretty limiting. Twenty two of these peas only have 22 grams of carbs. The tortillas are corn and lime, nothing else. One is only 12 carbs and I can crisp it in the oven. Oh, boy!
Gift wrapping paper with birds (downy woodpeckers and loons), a skein of cashmere and lambswool knitting wool, a Valentine doily for a certain pink-loving someone, tiny socks with cars, and two brand new photo albums for 99 cents each--all found their way into my basket.