Ground hog day. Will it be an early spring this year, or will winter insist on staying around longer than we think it should? Evidently Puxatawny Pete saw his shadow today. So early spring it is. We might have guessed it ourselves. We're into a spate of mild days -- which is to say milder than usual for this time of year, and considerably so. Yesterday's afternoon high temperature was 4C, not the -6C it is supposed to be. Yet we weren't able to enjoy/take advantage of the outdoors because it rained all day.

 

I didn't mind too much. Having a 'day off', although there was plenty that needed to be done in the house on laundry day. Mostly I didn't mind because my left arm continues to ache, and confine my capacity to fully use it as normal. That happened about a month ago, that when I was shovelling snow and suddenly it felt as though a ligament snapped. Next time I shovelled, about two weeks ago I did so carefully. I'm waiting for my arm to return to normal.

 

 

Its condition hasn't stopped me from doing anything; I can cook and bake and clean, just can't reach around with that arm toward my back. I can elevate it at the front of my body, and it can withstand weights, but it won't swing effortlessly around to the back without pain and deep aches. So, imagine this, I can do everything except dress myself. Irving has to pull up my pants and my tights at the back; and zip up my skirts. I'm fine with the front.

 

Trying to decide last night what to bake today, my eye fell on a bowl of bananas. One very ripe, very large banana caught my eye,and I thought: aha! I'd bake banana muffins. And add dates for extra flavour and zing. So this morning that's just what I did. Before breakfast I steamed about ten small dates, then mashed them. The same with that large, ripe banana. And now, we have banana-date muffins. I also thought why not add some crushed flaxseed for good measure.

 

By afternoon and time to get ourselves out for a ravine hike, the morning's sun had long disappeared and given way to a deep overcast. We assumed, with the temperature reading 2C, it would feel quite moderate, yet anything but. The overall damp atmosphere led to an icy reality. Even so, because we missed our daily walk through the woods yesterday we decided to stay out longer and go further.

Jackie and Jillie were all for it. The footing was good on the trails, a layer of ice-melt over the tamped-down snow resulted in crushing sounds as our cleated boots bit into the ice, giving us the traction we need to ascend and descend the various hills. On Tuesday we had come across a veritable multitude of dogs on our  hike and Irving was out of cookie giveaways well before we reached our departure point.

 

Today, none others to be seen. Until we began our slog up the last hill toward street level and there was Evie, the black Lab, sitting patiently at the top of the side-hill trail leading to the main hill-trail, waiting for us. Our furry friends have such spectacular memories for those they consider their cookie-benefactors.