Finishing out January

 February has arrived but most of my thoughts today are from January. I tried to get back one more time before the month ended, but it was a busy busy week.

I complain about January like many of y'all, but honestly it is a great month for wildlife watching on the bayou and larger bay. I was sitting at the kitchen table early one morning and Gus was doing his morning watch on the upper deck when he took off from one side to travel to the other. I got up to see what he spotted and ....

it was an otter at the neighbors pier. I really didn't get a great picture of him. I mostly tried to video it rolling around on the grass and then swimming away. The above photo was a frame of the video. That was a great sight. I am so glad Gus goes out each morning to survey the bayou and spies cool things. 

Ducks and pelicans love to have conventions in our bayou each January. One afternoon, the bayou was full of blue bill ducks. Again, I didn't get good photos, but Paul Allen had just arrived home to pick up Miles for the afternoon and we got out the binoculars to look up close. He took this next picture through the lens...

Seeing all those cool animals is one of the good things about January, but like most I was so excited to turn the calendar page to February. It can be a temperamental month with weather. Wicked cold can still sneak in there, but it can bring spring like days too.

I was outside yesterday morning moving the rose pots on the bottom deck and clipping...not a full pruning, but that will happen this coming week. The downstairs was still strewn from filling the new seawall with dirt, so I needed to put the pots back in place. I will do a full pruning soon.

I am dreaming of spring already. Patience ---

but then the groundhog says I will get my wish with an early spring.

If y'all could see my pansies right now, you would not think I have a green thumb at all. They have just not been happy. I got out there today and deadheaded and gave them a dose of fertilizer hoping that will give the boost to go the next 2 months.

I stuck photos of Gus in since I don't have pretty flowers to show you. I do have camellias but I didn't take photos. He loves a good stick.

I also lost all of my geraniums so I picked up 2 new ones today and have them already potted on the back deck. I will be walking around with my pruners in hand this next week getting all the things that can be pruned this time of year. It fills me with excitement just thinking of it.

In other January news, Jeff and I traveled one Saturday over to Pensacola because I had heard that there was a new stitching store. Since, there has not been a local stitching store in our area since the 1980's, I had to check it out. The address was on the far side of Pensacola from me, but an address I recognized so we went over and ate lunch too. I do hope she makes it, but I felt like she needed a young person to help her with the marketing. Either way, the most exciting thing for me was to just see linen in person. I purchased 2 larger pieces and came away happy. 

We traveled back on the road by the beach. Beach views, barbecue and the promise of a stitching store made for a fun Saturday.

I have mostly been stitching away on my Florida sampler, but I will wait until I get a few more things finished on it to share again.

Big things happened here in the last 2 weeks. I finally convinced Jeff to cut the cable!!!!!!

I had long ago set up the TVs in the house with a chrome cast, but that cable remote was just too easy and convenient. Last week, I went a step further and set it up with the updated version of chrome cast that comes with a remote. We got Youtube TV and the remote works so well. You can even run the sound bar through it. He wanted a week to practice with it before he cut the cable, but the day arrived. He took all the stuff back yesterday and I did a happy dance! That bill bugged the stew out of me for some reason.

Lindsay and her family visited Disney in January too. They sent lots of pictures. You won't see any of Palmer with the characters. They were great fun as long as they weren't close.

When they got close, he hunkered down.

And just like that we have made it through January. I have stayed busy with my sorting and organizing in the house. You know the key to all of it is to bring less stuff in. I have done very little shopping in the last 3 years and quite frankly it has felt good. The one thing I did purchase last year was clothes. I love the newer pants styles, but even with my purchases I was careful to make wise purchases.  Winter is a good time to do all of that sorting and organizing and even going to bed early. I can see that the days is getting longer and I am all in for it.