Mid-February started off with cool temperatures and after only a couple of days, rain began, turning to sleet and snow. And, temperatures plunged to single digits. For four days, temperatures never exceeded freezing.

With  us spending more time at home in Hot Springs Village, we are going to try and play more cards (Hand and Foot) and games. But for Hand and Foot particularly, we don’t have any of the accessories such as shuffler, “book of cards” holder, and deck tray. So, it was off to the shop to make the latter two. However, as a consequence of the brutally cold weather, only the first couple days of the reporting period (Sunday and Monday) were fit to do anything woodworking in the unheated shop. Nevertheless, 1x4x8’s were glued together, decorative edges cut, slots made, and supports attached. Sanding and application of several coats of polyurethane finished the process.

Tuesday morning, February 18, 2025, I braved the dropping temperatures and the beginning of frozen precipitation to “shoot” some birds.

American Goldfinches, Carolina Chickadees, and Tufted Titmice were frequent visitors to the seed feeders, and permitted a few photos to be made.

A lot of reading was done on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday during the day, and YouTube videos and a French detective series, Balthazar, were viewed in the evening. A gradual warmup began on Friday, February 21, 2025, with many of the roads and streets free enough of ice to be usable.

These are some of the photos taken on Sunday, February 23, 2025. American Goldfinches hoarded the feeders, but a Northern Cardinal and Carolina Chickadee slipped in for a seed or two.

On Tuesday, February 25, 2025, the “regulars” returned with lots of American Goldfinches, a few Carolina Chickadees, and a Tufted Titmouse using the feeders.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025, was a warm day, and though few birds came in to the feeders, many hung out in the trees, necessitating a steady tripod to reach out and “touch” them with the camera/lens. A Brown-headed Nuthatch stole the show, but played coy with the camera and made taking its portrait quite difficult.

PERSONAL NOTE: Now that we don’t have near as many exciting adventures to relive in the blog, I have decided to change it up a bit and focus more on photos and unique activities. We will still capture our travel, and perhaps craft projects, but no more verbiage about our boring everyday life.