Winter is Upon Us Now

Today I have been working on a small painting and watching birds flock to the snow covered deck for the bran flake crumbs and quinoa I put out for them to supplement the suet that hangs from the eaves. They seem very hungry. Right now one of the flickers is on the suet, a hummingbird just buzzed its feeder, and the chickadees, towhees, juncos and sparrows are flitting back and forth. They get aggressive with each other each time I put out a new little stash of something tasty for them. Eventually, they begin to share.
White-capped waves are rolling toward us today, but nothing like two days ago when the wind was howling out of the south, making the biggest waves we've seen so far. That day the lights flickered a couple of times and David went outside and made preparations for hooking up to the neighbors' generator, if we should lose power. Fortunately, we didn't. It's so cold we're actually running the electric heat plus the wood stove, as the fire isn't quite enough to cut through the chill that settled in over night. Besides that, we're running very low on seasoned wood and trying to burn the fresh cut as much as possible.
Looks like we got almost an inch of snow last night but it came late enough not to interfere with our opening and anniversary celebration at the gallery. David opted to stay home. Even the enticement of a string trio couldn't pry him out of his chair. He was tired from a long bicycle ride he'd gone on with the local club, those few members who weren't put off by the frigid weather. The gathering at the gallery was festive and fun. People are in good spirits in spite of the news that several members are dropping out. I'm excited about getting the notice posted in Artist Trust and hoping to get a good response.