This blog is not about dealing with confusing, mystifying or perplexing things; it's about working puzzles, which consist of any game, toy, or problem designed to test ingenuity or knowledge. And I think most people enjoy puzzling to some degree.
This week, I have especially spent a lot of time working jigsaw puzzles because it has been so cold outside.
Studies have shown that jigsaw puzzles provide a mental workout, stimulating both sides of the brain—the left, or more logical side, and your right, or more creative side. Working them can also help improve visual-spatial reasoning, short-term memory, hand-eye coordination, concentration and focus, and problem-solving skills as well as combat cognitive decline. Working jigsaw puzzles can even reduce stress (unless you have a cat that keeps trying to steal pieces).
I postponed the gym and went to the ranch after an early lunch. Patty was going to come help me hang a new picture I bought at the thrift store.
I was doing last-minute preparations for Patty's friends who will be renting the ranch house for a month, starting Monday. Cleaning the puzzle off the table was one job, but first I had to finish working it.
I also made sure the chickens had plenty of food and water before the coming cold. Here you see four of them roosting in the downed dogwood, their favorite climbing tree to perch in.
Once Patty arrived, we got this painting hung. Patty pointed out that it is actually a print that has been enhanced with paint on top. It only cost me $8.00 so I couldn't be upset it wasn't an authentic painting.
It was a bit of a puzzle figuring out where to hang the picture on this big, bare wall where just the horse picture had been hanging right over the wall heater.
I went down to the barn with Patty, who had chores, and checked the hay feeder, put a ½ full bottle of salt water in the water tank (to see if it helps with the freezing that is going to occur) and got jugs out, for porting water.
After all the rain we have gotten, (the past two Fridays) both ponds at the ranch are finally back up to their normal water level.
I had forgotten that the gym closed at 4pm, so missed an opportunity to workout. Oh well, I have done fairly well with getting there recently.
Joe cooked a frozen bag of stir-fry on his grill, and it made for a quite tasty dinner. We only had time for one episode of Suits, starting season three.
Sunday 1/24 -Maggie warming in the sun rays coming through the living room windows. The sun is so low in the sky, it hits these windows mid morning.
Mama Styx was enjoying her own ray of sunshine up on the cat tower by my desk.
I love Sundays! They are a day of rest. I relaxed while puzzling and listening to a new podcast - 'Mustang,' about the author's (Ashley Ahearn) training of a mustang and her research into the complex human, cultural, economic and environmental issues (crisis actually) that surround mustangs and the BLM land today.
It wasn't a complete day of rest, because I had chores. I also got two loads of laundry done and ran the dishwasher. Everyone was gearing up for the coming storm. Susan had hung two more heated water buckets in the shed, so we could keep water drinkable for the horses during the next week of predicted below freezing temperatures (even during the day).
This is what the hay feeder looked like when I arrived today. You can see the holes where the horses ate down to the ground.
I pulled all the hay out to the sides so the horses could reach it. This wasn't going to be enough for the night, so I moved more hay from the barn, into little piles in the paddock, after feeding the horses.
Driving home, I was glad to see that the neighboring three black horses had been given a round bale of hay.
I listened to the weather while dinning alone (Poker Joe was gone) and came to realize that we were going to get a lot more snow than I had initially thought. And it started up before bedtime. Rose (who I hadn't seen all day) joined Maggie and I on a snowy walk. She was fed extra and I hoped she would sleep in one of the insulated beds I had provided under the back porch.
Monday 1/15 - I didn't have chores, but knew we needed to get another round bale out to the horses. But for the time being, I enjoyed sitting here, with heating pad on my back that I had tweaked at the gym, space heater going, and sipping hot tea... while I watched it continue to snow.
I stayed here longer than usual, working this 300 piece jigsaw puzzle on my computer.
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They are tougher to do because there is no photo after you have selected the puzzle.
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But, the pieces click into place when you have them correct, which helps.
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Plus the cat can't steal pieces even when I get up to hit the kitchen for a snack and more tea.
While sitting here watching it snow, and looking at the forecast, I quickly realized it was going to be difficult for Joe and I to get to the ranch. Since we had to go to put out another round bale, and I didn't want Karen, who had chores, trying to get there, we planned to do chores also.
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There is something about the red buildings against the white backdrop, that is really pretty, along with the big, white, falling flakes of snow in view.
I just love our little red barn.
The horses were excited to see us coming, especially since we had hay. While Joe had gone to get the hay, I went to bring the horses in.
It was a little hard to get the horses into their eating positions, since it was so early in the day, which I think was a little confusing for them. Silly Zorro even decided to roll in the snow (making a snow angel?) for some puzzling reason.
Each horse was a bit wet and snow covered. Zorro had the least because he rubbed it all off when he rolled. He's not so dumb or silly after all.
← Cowboy and Amiga ↓
In the photo below, you can see that the pond was starting to freeze over.
While the horses all ate, and had some time to dry off a little bit, Joe and I took the round bale of hay out to the back pasture (video).
It was still snowing fairly hard, but really not too cold, until I got a few fingers on my gloves a little wet. 
The four water buckets in the shed were nearly full but the water tank was like a big slushy. While Joe topped-off the water buckets in the shed and put extra hay in there (to be out of the snow), I scooped most of the frozen slushy mix out of the water tank.
After we had all the horses back in the paddock, they milled around the shed area awhile, until they noticed the new round bale of hay. Then they started walking out to the back pasture. 
And pretty soon, they started hightailing it to the round bale. Banner was bringing up the rear, but did get into a position around the bale to be able to eat. 
The roads were maybe a little more treacherous on the way home. There was a car stuck in the Westchester dip and we could see where it had tried multiple times to get up the hill. We did not have a chain to help tow him, nor did we want to end up in the same predicament as he, so we kept on going, slowly creeping by with our truck in 4-wheel drive. 
Since I was bundled up, once home I switched out of wet gloves, filled the bird feeders, and swept a path down the landscape timber for Rose to get to her feeding station. I also shoveled the sidewalks and part of our drive. I stayed plenty warm, and considered this my workout since the gym was closed.
Back inside, in my loungers, I settled in for some puzzling while listening to the Mustang podcast and watching birds feed and snow fall just outside my window. The birds were enjoying all the feeders that were now full.
As the snow fell, so did the sun over the horizon and then the temperature.
The dog and cats were curled up in various spots and I wondered how they perceived 'snow' days.
In this (video) Babe is trying to snuggle with Maggie. 
I am glad I left these (Christmas) winter lights up because they make this snow covered tree look so beautiful. It was so pleasant walking the dog, that we went farther than usual. There was no wind and it wasn't that cold (yet). I really love the radiant light from the snow, the quiet it produces, and the peace it creates.
Joe put football on hold for awhile so we could watch two episodes of Suits.
Tuesday 1/16 - It was 9° when I got up before the sun and we were under a wind chill advisory for the next 30 hours. I turned on the fireplace to help warm the house. This soon became the choice spot for all the fur babies. 
We'd gotten an e-blast from FG to conserve electricity, so I actually left the fire on all day. And the dog and cats were seen napping here, in different spots, throughout the day.
It was done snowing, and we had gotten a grand total of 7½ inches. Everything was closed again today because of the cold temperatures and all the snow still on the roads. I was in no hurry to go anywhere. So I was a dissectologist and had a puzzling day.
Joe, on the other hand, was anxious to get out to the ranch to check on water pipes and the drain in the tack room, which was frozen the day before, so water wouldn't run out of the sink. Since Susan and Bonnie (who had chores) were both snowed in, Joe offered to muck the shed and make sure the heated water buckets were full and the horses had hay.
I did my monthly search for cat toys (and a missing puzzle piece) which involves getting on the floor with a yard stick and reaching under all the heavy furniture (including kitchen and laundry appliances). And also moving smaller chairs and end tables to look under them. In this photo, I had put all the jingle bell balls back in the tiered tower, which Monitia had moved from behind the TV and turned upside down.
When looking under the swivel chair in the living room, I found this carcass. It had not been there a month earlier when I cleaned. It was puzzling... What was it, where did it come from, and how did it get there? And then it occurred to me, could it be the little anole I had in a terrarium a few years ago?
When Jean moved into the ranch January of 2022, this little lizard (anole) had come with her. So I made a terrarium for it. In the next photo, you can see the anole far left. I was trying to feed it a dead meal worm on a tooth pick. That didn't work, so I went to a pet store and bought little crickets for it.
In early February (2022), when Joe and I went to Florida, I left Patty in charge of the critters. I had put plenty of crickets in the terrarium so she didn't have to worry about the anole.
Well the cats, who were intrigued by the crickets, knocked the terrarium off the table. Patty found a few crickets, but no lizard. I assumed it was dead and long gone, and maybe even consumed by one of the cats. So the puzzling question is, why am I just now finding this little dead body? I surely would’ve found it under this piece of furniture during my last search, or even months ago.
Is it possible it had been hiding out and living in my house plants?
We will never know. More likely, it had crawled up inside the chair and died and then just recently been knock loose form its place of death.
This tiger puzzle was challenging to begin with, but has gotten even more difficult as I got down to the hardest to find pieces.
This is as far as I got today. I had to rotate the puzzle on the table so the upper corner and selection of pieces is near my chair. You can see, that I am missing a bright green piece. This was not so puzzling... Monita probably made off with it.
Joe offered to take anyone to the Ranch to do the feeding and Patty, who needed to take groceries out for Jamie and Kathy before they arrive tomorrow, volunteered. So the two of them went out. Patty sent this photo of Zorro who has icicles hanging from his belly. I made a big pot of chili for dinner and Patty joined us, after chores, before she headed home.
With the fire still going, Joe and I watched two episodes of Suits while the dog and cats jockeyed for position in front of the hearth.
Wednesday 1/17 - It was -4° when I walked the dog at 4am. The wind was dying down. And the temperature came up as the sun did.
The light off the white snow was blinding. It was still in the single digits, so the pond was continuing to progressively ice-over. 
While I was eating a bowl of hot cream-of-wheat and working this Sudoku, I was thinking I should be eating protein before the gym. And then I got a notification that the Wellness Center was going to be closed again today.
I always work Sudoku while sitting at the table eating (lunch, dinner and sometimes my third breakfast). I found this Sudoku quite puzzling. There were just not enough numbers in the grid to be able to logically figure out the missing ones. I finally had to cheat and look up the answer (9) to the center box. Then I was able to finish the puzzle. 
Karen and I did chores together and she picked me up because the roads were still too bad for my little, light weight car (that needs new tires) to make it in the snow, especially on hills. The snow sure is pretty, but does complicate life.
Below,
driving home down Chestnut Hill, you can see that the road is snow
packed. Karen and her car had no problems handling it though.
I did some more shoveling (actually chopping and scrapping) as I tried to remove snow-pack and ice from the drive as soon as I got home. My back had already been sore, which the earlier shoveling hadn't helped. Also, my elbows started aching again, and then by this afternoon, my shoulders were bothering me. Scheesh, old age and cold can be annoying.
Poker Joe was gone so I had leftover chili. Falling asleep at my computer at 6:30, I was in bed with the lights out by 7pm. Meanwhile, Patty was at the ranch house waiting on the arrival of Jamie and Kathy.
The cats are long past due on a nail trimming, but like all my other little tasks, I kept it on hold, not being motivated to wrangle feline.
I was a little tense driving on snow and icy roads getting to Patty's, but didn't really have any troubles. I visited with her two cats (Ellie, the gray one, Babe's sister) while we waited for Karen to come pick us up.
Two ladies didn't make it to lunch because they were still snowed in, but we six had a good time, enjoying lively conversation and tasty food. I had the waitress take our photo but had to 'smiley face' Karen because she doesn't want her photo on the internet. 😁
During lunch, we got up-dates from the ranch. While Susan, Brooke and Nick got the horses fed, Jon used a drill to make a hole in the ice on the water trough. Notice the half full bottle of salt water encased in the ice, doing no good at all.
Amiga was the first horse brave enough to take a drink from the tank.
But then she decided to finish drinking warmer water from the heated bucket in the shed.
The horses appeared to be de-iced and had food and water, so should be fine until morning, after the next predicted bout of freezing rain/snow. I was thankful Susan had sent these photos. 
Bonnie and her neighbor ended up out at the ranch later, and Brooke had to make a trip back to treat Banner's sore eye. So there had been lots of activity down at the barn today.
After lunch, Karen, Patty and I headed to a couple of stores so Karen could pick up a few things. Patty and I both bought stuff at Walmart also.
Brooke
sent this last photo to up-date us that the water buckets were all full
and the horses were in the tree line, taking a break from the hay.
By the time I got home, it was getting late and I wasn't really in the mood to go to the gym. Besides, the Community Center was closing early because of the impending weather, so I feared the same might be true of the gym.
I did more work on the ice pack on our sidewalk and drive, and I fed the deer and birds, and then took Maggie for a walk. Before we got back, the rain had started.
I had also wanted to get the tiger puzzle done... which I did except for the one lost piece.
The light rain was supposed to start freezing and then it was to turn from sleet to snow flurries.
I was glad to be home for the night. Joe grilled hamburgers (his flat top is on the screened porch) and then we watched two episodes of Suits.
Friday 1/19 - It was 29° with very light snow flurries when I walked Maggie at 5am. The high for today was 34, which occurred at 1am this morning. The temperature was predicted to drop down to 4° by Saturday morning.
Joe and I drove out to the ranch to check on horses and chickens and give them water. Chectnut Hill was now a thin layer of ice on top of the packed snow.
Joe dropped me off up at the ranch house and drove down to fill water buckets for the horses. I took care of the chickens. They were thrilled to have fresh water (video). The heat lamp was broken however, so I hoped the water wouldn't completely freeze with colder temps coming over the weekend.
Once home, I shoveled more snow, which seemed to be a loosing battle because the flurries continued off and on all day and into the night. We were also under a wind chill advisory.
Joe and I went to the gym together (I am not venturing out in my car until the roads get better). He only gave me an hour to workout, so I did the rowing machine and elliptical. As soon as we got home, I finished my HGTV program I had gotten hooked on while on the elliptical.
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I am puzzling over what I did the rest of the day and evening. Quite a bit of my time was spent here at my computer. I watched lots of little videos, worked on this blog and pretty much wasted the rest of the day. But I enjoyed myself.
At one point I saw Mr. Heron, back down in back. This time he was walking down the creek, fishing as he went (videos) until he ended up in the marshy part of the pond.
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