Saturday, 9:40 am: Here it is a few degrees above freezing outside, and I am sitting in front of my computer typing in my t-shirt and drinking ice-tea. That doesn’t sound very rustic to me. And as I type, one of my dogs is sitting at my feet. I wish I could read her mind, because I am sure she reads mine, which either confuses or amuses her.

Yesterday the radio said there was a chance of a dusting of snow last night. Nothing came down from the skies except starlight. There is a nice layer of frost on the ground this morning, which makes walking nice and crackly.

Several hunters were driving down our road at the crack of dawn today, all decked out in their orange hunting attire. Last week I had to walk across the street to remind “would be” hunters that we lived only several yards away, pointing to our house, and maybe they could shoot their weapons a bit farther down the road. I know it’s close when I can see their muzzle flash from our front door.

My wife, Ruth is still away with her family in Florida. They made it safe and sound with her cousin putting the “pedal to the metal” all the way to Florida. Soon they will be off on a pilgrimage to Graceland to see Elvis, or what’s left of him. Baby-boomer Germans who were brought up in the1950s seem to have this affinity for all things Elvis. I asked my wife to buy me something really kitsch, completely without taste, when she got there, but definitely no white jumpsuit with tassels.

Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:

Temperature: 39.3° (F.)

Barometer: 29.82

Humidity: 100%

Wind: Calm

Visibility: > 3 miles

Skies: Clear

Precipitation: None – ground frost

Since midnight:

Low temp: 26.4° (F.) at 6:31 am

High wind: 2 mph at 8:50 am