Snowy Day

 

We had light snow this morning. Not heaps, but enough to make the roads slippery. A good day to stay home and sit in a comfy chair and get lost in an interesting book. Instead, I have frittered the day away. I have 8 blooms on the 2 amaryllis plants now.

 I might still get to the project I had in mind: sorting through 3+ months of insurance EOBs, invoices, paid statements. 2024 was a busy medical year with 3 hospitalizations (1 after surgery, 2 with ambulance rides from ERs to bigger hospitals in Fort Wayne). I glanced at them and then let them pile up in a big stack. Now I need to put them in some kind of chronological order and match them in case I need them for filing taxes. 

I do not usually buy eggnog during the holidays. My husband's sister likes to have some each year. We were to spend Christmas Day with her, and she said she was having trouble finding eggnog. I bought some C. F. Burger brand to bring with us after reading some reviews. The plans changed, and we did not go to her home. Today I opened the carton and poured a small glass to eat with a cookie. I think it is pretty good. It is made in Detroit, Michigan. It is ultra-pasteurized so stays good a long time. It is a bit more costly than the store brands, but I am happy with it.

Odd Male Cardinal

 We have had lots of visits by cardinals to the bird feeder the past few days. I saw 4 male cardinals on our patio at one time today, 2 at the feeder and 2 on the ground.

As I was eating breakfast this morning and looking out at the patio, I saw an odd male cardinal. At first, I could not figure out why he struck me as odd. He had no black face mask! I have never seen such a bird before. I was unable to get a photo, but I found one somebody had posted on the internet with the question of why her bird was different.

There was a link to a David Sibley explanation (bird book author).

Lacking eumelanin (Non-eumelanic)

A female Cardinal completely lacking the black/gray pigment eumelanin, this leaves only the rufous to buff phaeomelanin pigment (and red carotenoids). Original gouache painting copyright David Sibley.

The most obvious differences from the normal bird include the lack of the blackish face and the greatly reduced pigment in wings and tail leading to very pale wingtips and tail tip. This condition is rare and can be very similar to some dilute plumage conditions. Note that in a species that lacks the chestnut/buff phaeomelanin pigment (crows, many gulls, etc.) this same condition – a lack of eumelanin – will result in completely white plumage.

His sketch was of a female cardinal, but the same condition occurs in males as well. It is pretty rare.

I am keeping a watch for this unusual bird, but so far this afternoon he has not returned. He spiced up my day.

Power of the Sun

 It is 25 degrees outside right now, but we have full sun today. As I sat in the den, I could see what looked like water drops falling from the roof. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that there are icicles melting. Now ten minutes later the sun has shifted and the dripping has stopped. It took the focused sun to make them drip.

The warmth of the sun has also touched the amaryllis plants opening buds and encouraging full flowering. 

With the flowers and the sunshine, today seems cheerful.

I have a Home Chef order arriving today, too, so supper should be interesting. Chipotle beef and potato medley. 

 A good day despite sad news received last night about a family member who lost his house in the California wildfires and ongoing health issues for me.

Lookee Here

 

We are just barely into 2025, and we have an amaryllis about to bloom. We had about an inch of snow last night into early this morning; it is nice to have a bright spot on a snowy day.

I moved the amaryllis with the knitted cover that had been in the sunroom to the den today. You can see it just beyond the Christmas sleigh. Since the larger plant did so well sitting on the cedar chest where it gets good light, I decided that would be a good place for the smaller one also. It is swelling so there is growth, just not opening yet. 

I have started to put away the Christmas decorations. Tomorrow I will take down our small tree. We still have some Christmas plates in the china cabinet and on the wall plus the poinsettia on the sunroom table. They will probably stay around awhile longer.

Last year I posted 46 times, the least in my 12 years of blogging. As long as I still get pleasure from sharing, I guess I will continue on even though there may be fewer posts. It is not unusual for bloggers to fade away as circumstances of life keep them busy elsewhere. I have some mobility problems so we do not travel as we once did nor do I get out on nature trails or visit museums. Not as much fodder for blog posts. May you enjoy 2025 with your own "amaryllis" type of beauty and hope.