YOU CAN'T CAPTURE COLD!

 Early this morning, the temperature hovered close to minus 30 degrees. That is a bit chilly. But those crazy weather forcasters always want to make it colder by laying out the "wind chill." In fact, yesterday morning, one of our weathermen, Mark (Wausau, channel 7), did not even give us the temperature, he only reported the wind chill.

Karol and I never tire of seeing and photographing the majestic pileated woodpecker, here, a male. While this is not an award winning picture, you have to know that we simply love these birds that regularly come to eat suet (beef fat from the kidney area) on a nearby tree.

This ATV trail takes me down to the lower storage shed where I house my dry wood. The snow was so deep that I needed to shovel my road. Yesterday, I brought a very small load up this hill, but I got stuck several times....the temperature was so cold that the "dry" snow was like shifting sand.

You are looking at one disappointed boy. Joshua had wanted to come to our house to sled, but it was impossible to make a slide in the deep snow. Instead of sledding, he and sister, Kaitlyn, decided to dig a tunnel in the snow that Cheeto, our snow plower, had piled up. Joshua is a true Wisconsinite - the giveaway is the Packer coat.

This is my current supply of firewood: maple, cherry, birch, and a little oak. This stack was cut three years ago and is really nice and dry (that insures that our chimney will remain clean). The wood stacked behind the ladder will eventually be used for bowls.

CHECK OUT A VIDEO OF MY WORKSHOP. I THINK I NOW HAVE EVERYTHING NEEDED IN TERMS OF TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT (AT LEAST UNTIL I WANT TO SOMETHING MORE ADVANCED OR UNIQUE)

SPEAKING ABOUT BOWLS....I'VE BEEN OUT IN MY WORKSHOP RECENTLY.

Made last night. I love the gentle edge on this maple bowl. This one took me approximately two and a half hours to make. Karol was pleased and so was I with the quality of this bowl.

When the weather is cold, I start a fire in my workshop in the morning, and in several hours it is warm enough to work with just a hooded sweatshirt. I've been turning mostly cherry and maple, but the piece in the front (left) is a natural edge "unknown wood." If I have a preference for bowl uniqueness, it is the bowl in the front center with the overlapping edge (great for M & M's).

Another selection of bowls. Can you tell which one I didn't turn?

The snow on our pier keeps getting taller and taller.

Our second favorite bird is a tie between the black-capped chickadee or the red-breasted nuthatch. Both are like little comedians with antics and movement that tend to amuse us as we watch.

In order to protect itself from the winter cold, the rhododendron curls its leaves tightly. You can see ice on the left side of the photo. The buds form the center of the leaf clusters. In spring, they will produce wonderful pink flowers. Winter is just a time to live in expectation of spring!!