A Quiet Sunday

On the way to Mass last night...I noticed that the river had frozen over...and where were the hundreds of geese? Not a one in sight. What happens when bad weather strikes...does a head goose give the orders and they all fly off together? I wonder. We usually do go to Mass on Sat. night, so this week was no exception. The weather forecast told us that bad weather was coming on Sunday...so we would be in for a day or two. Joe leaned in to me and asked..."Do we have milk?" I told him..."Yes"...We were all right. Plenty of food for us this weekend was in the cupboards.
When I was fixing breakfast this morning...I heard the first little tippy taps of sleet on the skylights. I decided to go out and feed the birds first. I gave them plenty to last till tomorrow....and some new suet for our little woodpeckers, nut hatches, and now this year...sparrows. As I stepped out on the deck, I could hear little twittering from our bird condominium in the Blue Spruce. I'm not exaggerating when I say that maybe one hundred or more sparrows live in that very close by tree. Many birds use the tree for cover and a place to hide when danger lurks.It's a huge tree and so close to the deck...perfect for hiding and nesting.
I fixed our usual Sunday morning meal of bacon and eggs and when we were finished and the kitchen cleaned up....we both headed for our favorite seats in the living room, to read. I'm reading a book by Barbara Hersey called The Touch of the Earth and Joe is reading Mafia Summit...oh how different our tastes are. I guess that's what makes our marriage interesting...if we were both the same...how boring. The music in the background is easy listening music. The music and the sound of sleet on the windows is very comforting. We read for an hour or so and then I decided to check for a recipe at Cook's Country online. We saw pork chops the other day on the show... and they looked scrumptious. I found it and went to the kitchen and took out the chops and started dinner early. It would take a couple of hours, so I needed to get them in the pan. After cleaning up the mess that I made...I went to my favorite rocking chair by the big glass doors. The sleet was coming down  and hitting the deck like popcorn. No little birds could be seen. I heard the familiar honking of geese. As I looked up, I saw them in unorganized V's flying around in circles. They were changing leaders ever so often. Honk, honk....they didn't seem to mind the sleet at all. I wonder where they have found open water? My attention is drawn to two huge black birds on the very top of the woods tallest tree. I think it is the same pair that was here yesterday...eating the pumpkin. Still no one at the feeders. I open the deck door and see a movement in the spruce...I can feel  hundreds of eyes looking at me. I shut the door and decide to come in here and write this post. .We'll have those pork chops soon and then watch a movie. Yesterday, we watched An Affair to Remember  and today it is Cookie's Fortune starring one of my favorites Patricia Neal. Tonight is another episode of Downton Abbey  while we eat our dessert...chocolate pudding. It's a cozy day here at our house.
Balisha