-18 air temperature this morning. Fauxpaux-ing cold! It's a good day to crawl back under the covers, turn up the setting on the heated mattress pad and read. My desk overlooks the backyard, where the snow is over two feet deep. I'm hoping to see the pileated woodpecker that has made an appearance at the suet feeder a couple of times. Right now, nothing but starlings and blue jays. The 4 squirrels will show up later. I snarl as I slog out in the pre-dawn light with the bird feeders, but I do love seeing them. Woke up about 1:30 am and the Christmas lights on the deck were on. I did not turn them on last night and they weren't on when I went to bed. The possibilities were all creepy - A) someone came onto my deck during the night and turned them on B) I walked outside in my sleep and turned them on or C) they just came on of their own accord. Due to the near -20 temps, A and B seemed unlikely. This morning I checked it and it does look like they somehow turned themselves on; the switch appears to be frozen in the on position.
I live on a tiny lake and it looks beautiful with the snow covering it. The afternoon sunlight in particular has a beautiful hue. The last couple of nights, with the full moon and all the snow cover, the yard and lake look beautiful and eerie, like a snow kingdom out of a fairy tale.
