Revisiting February

 I loaded these photos taken over several mid-February days, just prior to setting up my new desk-top PC.  I have wrestled in great exasperation to set up a photo program compliant with posting new photos to blog or Face Book.  Various online 'helps' weren't helpful.

I think I've achieved a 'work-around' but some tweaking needs doing as well as the rather time consuming process of clearing years worth of photos onto zip drives.

I sit here at 10 P.M. perched on the edge of my favorite old rocking chair, drawn up to the tiny folding table where my laptop resides.

On sunny days--of which there have been too few--I pull on my ancient down jacket with the frayed cuffs, wrap a scarf around my head and trudge around the open spaces of our property, figuring that several turns around the field can be counted as decent exercise.

Willis walks with me, sometimes seeming to wonder why we go round and round.

On a barely sunny afternoon Willis and I braved the overgrown path which runs along the edge of the southern ravine. It is a very short walk, looping into the tree line across from the house and providing a scramble back to level ground farther along. The tumble of brush must be the winter quarters of a rabbit family; one burst from cover in that frantic zig-zag dash peculiar to rabbits.

Willis stiffened, considered pursuit, thought better of it and followed me as I hauled myself over the edge of the slope.

The terrain can change quickly from open clearings to tangled brush and trees.

There is a forsythia bush at the edge of the field where our driveway joins the common lane.

One small clump of wild daffodils grows near the old shed at the lower end of the property.

Considering the forsythia I went back to the house for my garden clippers.

Standing on tiptoe I pulled down seven long branches and cut them to force in front of the kitchen window.

It took two days for the first color to show.

The above photo was taken when the branches had been inside for a week.

Yellow flowers are encouraging when the weather outside is bleak and grey.

Geraniums and rosemarys which summered on the east porch have adapted well to winter quarters in the sunroom. Note the small square tub on the windowsill--it holds 4 well-rooted cuttings of rosemary.

The trailing rosemary, Huntington, has produced several pale blue blossoms.

A close up of the baby rosemarys--since tenderly potted on into larger pots.

A large beefsteak begonia occupies a chair near the window. The tiny pink petals constantly fall to the floor--a small inconvenience to pay for a flourishing plant.

Each colorful sunrise or sunset is treasured in the muted landscape of  late winter.

Oddly, the short month of February can seem tedious--days of variable weather, a sense of marking time. I have no shortage of indoor projects, but sometimes feel a twinge of 'cabin fever'--the urge to go outside without considering how many layers of clothes will be needed for comfort.