I sit in the ER, waiting to reclaim Michael. He fell victim to ice in the duck corral and dislocated his shoulder. Because he is a long-term weight lifter, he didn’t break anything. On the other hand, those great muscles made putting the joint back in place difficult. At one point, four docs were pulling on him!

I will have to arm-wrestle him to allow me to take over his outdoor duties of bird care and wood hauling.

All better…not. So now it is tomorrow and we are coming to grips with my bronchitis and his right arm being out of commission. No photos due to having to use all my hands to keep up with him. First, I got sand to spread all over the slippery spots. Michael yelled at me from the back door to get inside because he couldn’t see where I was and if I fell, well, we’d really be in a pickle. So I came inside and warmed up. By the way, we’ve been having highs in the single digits lately. Then back outside to fill water buckets and feeders. Michael filled buckets halfway and I dumped them. Think about the physics. We got through bird care without mishap and took a nap. Then brought wood inside. Michael stacked logs in 5 gallon buckets and I stacked wood inside. Now I’m having a hot gin (recipe courtesy of Charles Dickens) to soothe my throat and he’s having green tea. He got enough good meds yesterday!

In his defense, even the deer have had trouble navigating the ice.

Otherwise, we’ve had a lovely (if cold) January. So much to celebrate! None of my children have been shot or gassed by ICE!

My rosemary blooms.

My grandchildren grow.

I completed a receiving blanket for the woman who works at the feed mill, as well as a head gaiter for a fellow church lady. She gave me one that didn’t fit her well and I repurposed the yarn to make her one that does. AND I’m learning how to knit double-sided. I’m not working from a pattern so my ducklings are individuals. As with everything, I get better with practice.

Some days success looks like this.