Sammy Squirrel's cousin is sitting in the tree waiting for... his picture to be taken at 7:18 a.m. this morning.
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Saturday, January 28, 2012 - Last night, around midnight, it started to snow very lightly. We may have gotten an inch or so. It's very pretty but it won't last.

January is almost over and next week, we're going to get close to 50 degrees. Tommy Skilling said that this was the warmest winter in 72 years. We all agree that it's very unusual.

Just wondering what this is going to do to the insect populations that are used to below zero temperatures in the winter. Does this mean there's going to be MORE of them?

Or maybe they're going to move further north because it's too warm here. haha! see ya, djb

Here's the follow-up to the previous snowy video. I think the only reason I shot this was because papa Cardinal was in the tree.
~djb

This is the video I made for Diane this afternoon.

djb

It's probably a little hard to see but there are deer tracks around the bird feeders. They apparently came in the night looking for a snack.
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Saturday, January 14, 2012 - We've had such a warm and snow-free winter until two days ago that I kind of forgot about putting bird seed in the feeders because they didn't really need it. There were so many other sources of food.

Plus, in the fall, I always try to be cautious when feeding the birds because I don't want to attract any RODENTS, e.g., mice, as in I hate meeces to pieces!!!

So now, I'm going to have to put my boots on and trek out into the yard and fill the feeders for the birdies and the deer.

The other day, when I was driving on Green Road, I saw two deer crossing from the right to left and into a corn field. I looked back and I saw about a dozen or more other deer further along in the field. WOW!

Thankfully, it was in the afternoon and I could see them. gotta go TCB, djb

Here's the driveway at 7:23 a.m. this morning. Where did all that snow come from???
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Friday, January 12, 2012 - Apparently after Bob snow blew the driveway last night, more snow fell out of the skies.

This is winter. It's been so nice not to have to deal with this until now. I guess we'll just ENJOY it. brrrr, djb

It may have been Friday the 13th of January 1989 - just after this photo was taken, the wagon tipped over!
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2012 - YIKES!

The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frigga being the name of the Norse goddess for whom "Friday" is named and triskaidekaphobia meaning fear of the number thirteen).

All of sudden, I realized today is Friday the 13th. Here's some interesting tidbits I discovered:

Some Christian traditions have it that at the Last Supper, Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table.

Triskaidekaphobia may have also affected the Vikings - is believed that Loki in the Norse pantheon was the 13th god - more specifically, Loki was believed to have engineered the murder of Balder, and was the 13th guest to arrive at the funeral. This is perhaps related to the superstition that if 13 people gather, one of them will die in the following year.

Another Norse tradition involves the myth of Norna-Gest: when the uninvited norns showed up at his birthday celebration - thus increasing the number of guests from ten to thirteen.

Ancient Persians believed the twelve constellations in the Zodiac controlled the months of the year, and each ruled the earth for a thousand years at the end of which the sky and earth collapsed in chaos. Therefore, the number is identified with chaos and the reason Persians leave their houses to avoid bad luck on the thirteenth day of the Persian Calendar, a tradition called Sizdah Bedar.

After all these years, the above tidbits finally explain a lot to me. I've got this triskaidekaphobia from BOTH sides of my ancestral tree. WOW! cross my fingers, see ya later, djb

At 7:45 p.m., I took this photo of Bob snowblowing the driveway. It's a little hard to see because of the snow falling in front of the FLASH.
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Thursday, January 12, 2012 - I went outside about 20 til 4 and came in about 4:30. The shoveling was difficult for two reasons: iciness under the snow and heaviness of the snow.

I made Bob a really good dinner tonight because I knew he'd have to go out and blow the snow around. While I was trying to take pictures of him in the driveway, I could see our neighbor, Steve, also blowing his driveway. 'Tis the season.

This is not snow that you want to shovel. TOO HEAVY - the heart attack variety. Okie dokie, snow ya tomorrow with our final totals, djb

At 1:37 p.m., I went out to take a picture of the driveway, instead I saw the snow blowing off the shed. WOW!
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Thursday, January 12, 2012 - Once it started snowing just before 8 a.m., it hasn't quit. Right now, it's that real light sneaky snow that manages to add inches upon inches of white stuff.

It's beginning to look a lot like January? Okay. Sounds good. see ya, djb

Here's the driveway at 8:55 a.m. - it's not completely covered with snow ...yet.
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Thursday, January 12, 2012 - Now, I have my benchmark photo. What was I thinking? I always take a picture of the driveway. Can't wait to get out there and do some shoveling.

This has been such a weird winter. Yesterday, it was 55 degrees here. Everyone knew that it would snow one of these days. After all, we do live in NORTHERN Illinois.

Better go take care of some business. snow ya later, djb

The snow started just before 8 a.m. Here's the pool at 8:28 a.m.
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Thursday, January 12, 2012 - So, we're finally in for some SNOW today. They're predicting various amounts but since we've only had a teeny, tiny dusting so far this winter, whatever we get will be pretty, yet annoying, however some individuals will welcome it.

The problem lies with people who have forgotten how to drive in snow. It's easier than driving on ice but it still takes some patience to arrive alive. WOW! I didn't realize what I wrote until I typed it.

Okie dokie. snow ya later, djb

This is the wolf statue that Julie has in her living room. Of course, I took a picture of it on Christmas.
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Sunday, January 8, 2012 - The FULL MOON is coming!

In the early hours of tomorrow morning, the moon becomes full. That's why it's been looking so large these past few nights.

January 9, 2012 - 2:30 a.m. EST - Full Wolf Moon. Amid the cold and deep snows of mid-winter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. January's full moon was also known as the Old Moon or the Moon after Yule. In some tribes, this was the Full Snow Moon, but most applied that name to next month's moon.

Moon info from www.space.com

As of now, the Full Snow Moon designation doesn't apply here. Officially, we've only had 1.5 inches of snow! Good! later, djb

Here's the birthday girl (tomorrow!), Kylie -- this was taken last year when she got all gussied up for Homecoming.
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Saturday, January 7, 2012 - All of a sudden, I realized that I needed to put in a recent picture of Kylie. Not the ones from years and years ago. haha

I love this photo up above. When she came to visit this past summer, she looked even more gorgeous than this. What a little sweetheart. She still remembers the boys. I like that.

Bryar was only 4 months old when they died, so she doesn't really remember them. Even though she was one of the last family members to actually SEE them alive.

The boys came home from school while I was taking pictures of baby Bryar (in February 2003). Jarrett asked Karen, "WHAT's her name again?"

Karen said, "Bryar. Like a briar bush." His reply, "Oh."

Ah, the memories. Happy Birthday to Kylie on Sunday, January 8th. Love ya, honey! Hope you have fun. ~djb

Christmas Eve 2002 in Casselberry. We weren't there that year but I do have the pictures (and thousands of other ones) -- and it's so nice to see Chuck along with everyone else!
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Friday, January 6, 2012 - The other day when I tried to copy my old photos, nothing worked. So, I called Fast-Teks (computer repairs) located in Elburn....well not IN Elburn, but with an Elburn address just like us. haha

Anyway... Bob came yesterday afternoon and took out the hard drive (that I had put in Jarrett's computer) and moved my 37,000 photos to the new computer. That's a lot of pictures. "Say cheese." Also, a lot of documents that have the genealogical stuff I worked on for years.

It took quite a while to move them, as you can well imagine. So, he's coming back this morning to finish it up. I'm planning to put a new hard drive in the 9 year old computer and give it to Julie so she can learn how to use one without fearing that she'll break it.

I think the easiest thing she can do is to get a facebook page and go from there. We'll see how that goes. Then, I can send her all photos that I have of Buddy, their dog. It's been almost one year since he went to doggie heaven. Wow, time sure flies -- and so must I. bye, djb

Jarrett's first photo - looks like he's waving at the crowd!
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Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - Happy Birthday, Jarrett!

I just can't stop wondering what Jarrett would be doing if he were still here. It would be amazing, I'm sure.

When he was interested in something, he'd laser focus on it. And I can only imagine what kind of movies he would've made with all of the options that are available now that weren't there 9 years ago.

I just remembered something. He was the one who built the computer that still has my 30,000 pictures on it. One of these days, I have to get those off there. Where's Nick when I need him?

Just remembering Jarrett today more than most days. God bless my little weasel. Love you forever, Mom