02/04/2022 – Friday

The view from the side window.

It was late when I crawled out of bed having slept well and the first thing was the walk around the park. It was still below freezing outside but the heavy jacket kept me warm. The coldest part of me was my face and not my legs as many people think. I guess wearing shorts all the time my legs are used to the changing temperatures. Now if it gets really cold, then I will have to rethink the shorts thing. We are scheduled for a couple more overnight freezing temperatures and then hopefully, we will get back to our normal Texas weather although, these past couple of winters have been much harder than what we are used to. Climate change and all that no doubt. 
 
We walked around for about a half mile taking care to avoid any icy patches which still remained in the shady areas, but it was cold enough to be uncomfortable even for the dogs as they made a beeline home when I suggested it by a gentle tug on the leash. 
We had a leisurely breakfast before settling down to read emails although to be truthful, most of what I get are junk with only the very occasional one of any interest or that needs my attention. In some ways, that is not a bad thing but in others, it shows just how much I have cut myself off from all my friends and acquaintances of long ago. My choice, I guess but not intentionally. Our paths just went in different directions as we all moved on with our lives. Now, if I only had a way to control the junk email. 
Everything is thawing rapidly although I carefully knocked the long icicles off Miss Daisy for fear they would drop and damage her. The roads are clear although I have nowhere, I need to go for the next few days. Monday, I have a doctor’s appointment in Dripping Springs, just a short drive up the road for a regular annual checkup. 
 
Late in the afternoon, I went outside as I had to hook up the hose to fill the freshwater tank for the next couple of days. Much to my surprise, the Park standpipe was frozen even though I had it covered with Plankets which are supposed to help in this respect. Melinda, the Park Super, happened to walk by and asked if things were OK. I told her the problem and she suggested that I pour some hot water on the faucet which I did, and which did the trick. However, when it came time to hook up my water hose, I discovered that it too was frozen even though I had previously drained it, or so I thought. Obviously not. Melinda brought me a hose so that I could fill my tank and stood by to help as needed. I thanked her profusely and she said that most of the park standpipes had frozen and they had spent all day working on defrosting. I stretched my water hose out by Miss Daisy so it would thaw and be ready to hook back up when this cold spell has passed in a couple of days. 
With water in the tank and everything covered up again, we went out for the afternoon walk. Altogether, walking a mile for the day. 

Written 02/04/2022 Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com