Totally stupid weather....

Well, the TV weather wizards were correct this time..... we did indeed get a frigid arctic blast from up north..... it's been freezing for days now.

On Wednesday afternoon, the wind was so fierce that it was hard to open the back door because the wind was just pushing it closed before you could open it and get out to the porch.  Honestly, if I wanted weather like this, we could have just stayed up in NY.

The barn swallows that are still here are huddling up in their nests on the back porch... two birds to a nest, all close and cuddled up together as soon as the sun goes down. If I walk out on the porch, I can see their little heads peeking over the edge of the nest. Those birds know me by now, so they don't leave the nest.... they just stay put and watch me. So cute.

I've made warm tents and blanket-filled boxes for Mickey in the garage.... he has his own heater in there and as long as the doors are kept shut, he's toasty warm, and enjoying his solitude. I've brought him into the house for a couple of hours at a time on the coldest days, but that means keeping Gatsby and Sweet Pea in the TV room so Mickey will think he's the only cat in the house. I still do not like Mickey having to be an outside cat now. And if his behavior inside the house wasn't so bad, he wouldn't have to be sleeping in a heated tent in the garage, but there's nothing I can do about that.  I don't want another situation like we had with AngelBoy, who was the most out-of-control cat I've ever had. (And still, I miss that blue-eyed cat so terribly.)

Pumpkin is still hanging around the property.... sleeping in the corners of the barn at night, and coming to the back porch for his Meow Mix. I'm wondering if Pumpkin will make friends with M once he moves into the apartment over the barn at the end of this month. Now that would be a perfect arrangement, if M would feed that orange cat by the barn, eliminating the cat-fights between Gatsby and Pumpkin. But.... I'm not going to suggest that to M. If it comes to be, then fine, but I don't want to 'push' a cat on to M if he doesn't want to be responsible for one.

It's supposed to rain this weekend, according to the weather wizards. We told M not to come out here to work this weekend, because of the cold weather, but he may choose to move more of his things into the apartment.  I've given the neighbors M's phone number, and my bet is that M will have plenty of opportunities to do work on other properties once he's fully settled here.

But... as long as this stupid weather continues to act like northern Canada instead of southwest Texas, no one will be doing much of anything outside. I hate the winter months.... with a passion. Except for Christmas... that's just a passion all on its own.