I guess a part of me wanted to see the day in, here it is 2:29 a.m. and I am still wide awake. There is no particular reason I am awake, it just happens from time to time. Perhaps it is my inner life, busy resetting.
Today, February 1, is Saint Brigid’s Day, Imbolc, Imbolg, there are different names for this day. Candlemas, comes on February 2. There is a school of thought that relates Imbolc to lambing, “in the belly”. It is related to spring. Groundhog Day, and the Wiarton Willy celebration here in Ontario, are also related to this celestial midway point. We are now half way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.
Personally, I welcome the lengthening of days, and light.
We are having an unusually cold and snowy winter.
The prolonged cold snap is sapping my energy. At the moment the temperature is -19C, and will drop another degree to -20C in the morning. The “generous” amount of snow has packed down on the roads to form white ice. The sidewalks are clear in some places where homeowners have shovelled, and almost impassable in others where homeowners have plowed snow onto them. But for a strip of bare pavement down the middle of the road, where the plow left salt, there few comfortable sections to walk out of doors.
We keep on going for walks though, as it gets us outside, and active.
We take great care out there. Since the roads we walk are not busy, we walk on the bare pavement, down the middle of the road. We keep our ears and eyes wide open, on high alert, for approaching vehicles. It is not a relaxing activity. When vehicles approach we move onto the ice, oh so carefully, to let them pass, then return to the middle of the road where footing is sure. As for the impassable section of sidewalk, when we reach it, Attila leads the way, kicking large chunks of hard ice out of the way. I follow, watching each and every step I make, so as not to turn an ankle or rip a meniscus on the uneven packed snow beneath us. All of this makes for a very challenging and exhausting walk.
And then there is the cold. We dress in many layers to stay warm, so that our clothing is heavy and restrictive. This also makes walking more difficult and tiring.
That isn’t the only issue with the cold. Usually we like to walk early in the morning, I prefer walking before breakfast. That is not practical right now for several reasons, it is dark early in the morning, and the temperature is at its lowest point in the early morning. So we wait, until the temperature rises to venture out on a walk, which is after breakfast. So not only is our schedule disrupted by the severe cold, I find walking after a meal a lot more tiring.
And so I am feeling very tired of winter weather at the moment!
Of course, it could be worse, much worse, as winter weather events elsewhere have been recently. I am glad it isn’t worse, but still, I do not like this weather.
We are taking advantage of staying cozy and warm in our little house, by working on some projects. Attila is building shelves and drawers for the tall cupboard in the kitchen. It has been a catchall for the last fifteen years, and in dire need of attention. Before he can build, the cabinet needs to be emptied, and that would be me, my project, sorting, organizing, purging, storing the contents we are keeping.
The bottom of the cupboard is now empty, one shelf built, and the items that came out of that space are almost sorted out. There is one full shelf left to be emptied, for me to sort out, so that Attila can build the drawer and the remaining shelves.
It is amazing the degree of chaos two people can create in fifteen short years!
Worldly
Weather
-19°C
3:00 AM EST Sunday 1 February 2026
Condition: Not observed
Pressure: 102.5 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: -13.0°C
Dew point: -16.7°C
Humidity: 73%
Wind: NNW 12 km/h
Wind Chill: -20
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“Politeness and consideration for others is like investing pennies and getting dollars back.”
Thomas Sowell
1930 –
Maggie, we need to get you some hiking poles! You’re a far more brave woman than I am.
Wow, all my sympathy! Yuma’s having the weather that used to attract a great many Canadians for the winter (before certain events). There’s still a few, though. I agree with Wendy, you are brave (and determined!) As nice as our weather is these days, I fail to exercise! (Always much more interesting things to do, it seems.)
Wendy, the poles would be handy! I have my fingers crossed that the weather warms up a bit, and the sun shines brightly to melt the icy snow from the walkways!
Although this winter’s weather here at Mist Cottage is unusual, it would be a relatively mild winter at the country house. I am getting soft, and very accustomed to the milder winter weather here. The walks keep us sane I think, breathing in the fresh air, watching the sky from different angles as the walk progresses, observing the slight changes in the landscape as the seasons circle.
I am inspired to maintain the walking routine, as I regard myself as preparing for the worst case scenario with my aneurysms, optimizing my chances of surviving surgery, and optimizing the recovery process, preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.
Thank you Joan! Warmer weather is very attractive to those of us enduring Canadian (and northern US) winters. The people who head south for the winter are referred to here as “snow birds”. Attila and I have not escaped winters here by travelling south, haven’t had the opportunity.
For me, travel is wrought with complications, as I have anaphylaxis and eating any food I haven’t prepared myself is so stressful that enjoyment is muted. Also, were I to experience an allergic event far from home I don’t fancy my chances of survival. So we are both content with our homebody ways.
I certainly relate to there being much more interesting things to do than exercise! I do like going for a walk, but probably would not be walking two miles a day but for my health issues, lol.
Happy Groundhog Day, Maggie! Well, supposedly Wiarton Willie says we’re to have an early spring. That would sure be nice.
Wow, you have salt over there? We live not too far from a salt mine and *none* of the local towns have any salt. We’re hard-pressed right now to even get sand.
Teri, Happy Groundhog day, an early spring would be amazing!!!
I guess we are lucky, we have a thin strip of salted road, right down the middle, around three feet wide, the rest of the road is snow packed into white ice, quite slippery, and sidewalks vary, some sections are bare, others are deep rutted, packed snow, very tricky to walk on. The major roadways are wet pavement, we don’t walk on those roads.