Apricity

The only rectifying aspect of these frigged winter days, is the sunshine that occasionally graces us with its warmth.
Apricity is an obscure word from the Latin - apricitas.
Wiktionary said 'Apricity is a word that feels like a secret whispered by winter itself.  It's the warmth of the sun on your skin on a cold day.  The kind of gift nature gives us when we least expect it.  It's stepping outside into crisp air, cheeks flushed, and finding a golden patch of sunlight that wraps you up like a blanket.' 

I like this Google photo and was thinking, it looks like she stood, dazed, under the winter sky.









You can just tell in this Google photo, that this horse is enjoying the warm sunshine.

Saturday 1/11 - The snow had quit overnight, but the morning sky looked like more could come.  Everything (gym, FFG amenities, the estate sale, post office, etc.) was closed so I had no where to go, nor did I have any desire to go anywhere.  With the space heater going, I and my fur babies stayed warm. 

I didn't spend a huge amount of time at my desk, but instead worked on Christmas clean-up.  After I'd gotten all the ornaments off the tree, it was Joe's one (and only) job to take the tree down. 

Betty had gone outside fairly early, and had things to report back to me on.  There were bunny and cat tracks along the fence line down our drive, and everything was looking pretty under a blanket of snow. 






The hole she had made in the ice covering the upper paddock water tank froze up, but not as bad as the thicker ice.  The bottle of salt water seemed to have helped. 








After Betty got the hole cleared again, both boys took a turn pushing the bottle down and getting a drink. 

I was so thankful for Betty's help.  With her out at the ranch, I had nothing to worry about, except maybe her.




Taking breaks from Christmas clean-up, I worked a few more sections of the puzzle.  It is really nice not having all 1,000 pieces cluttering up the table at once, and makes it so much easier only having a maximum of about 83 pieces to pick from as I work. 

I finished taking down all the decorations from the chimney, shelves, mantle and hearth, but left a few for a wintry scene.  Then I dusted the shelves and cleaned the knick-knacks as I put them back up. 





I like having some festive lights to still turn on in the evenings, to brighten and warm the room, kind of like sunlight on a cold winter day.

I had stayed in my PJs/loungers (tights and turtle neck with sweat pants and hoodie over top) all day today.  This is getting to be a bad habit.  Joe and I watched Virgin River (the fire episode) which made the California wildfires all the more real and devastating.

Sunday1/12 - The view out my window this morning.  I love the snow.  As Albert Camus said, “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”  Finally, we had a day of sunshine, and how revitalizing it was. 
A herd of four deer came for a corn snack (video). 






Church was cancelled and Betty and I decided not to ride in the snow because it was not as warm as originally forecasted, and there was a layer of ice under the snow making it slippery and a tad dangerous for the horses.
A little later a herd of five (3 in the creek and 2 on the hill) came looking for corn.  You can see that more sunlight was now hitting the woods in back.  The corn was gone so this group didn't hang around long. 



I decided to put more corn out, since foraging for the deer was more difficult with the snow cover.  Look at the blue sky and all the sunshine hitting the backyard. 






I had seen Rose Friday morning, before the snow started, but have not seen her since.  Each morning and evening I've looked for and called for her, but she has not shown up.  Today I saw cat tracks in the snow where she usually walks, but still no sign of her.  These could be from the black cat that scared her off last week.  I put some food out for her in case she comes back. 

Joe had left for Knoxville, flying to Phoenix.  While I was out, I tried to shovel the walk, but the packed snow was too frozen still.  However, the sun felt warm and it was a brief burst of apricity that warmed my spirit and my face.
I came inside and continued Christmas clean-up. 

All three cats were in their own little spots, absorbing heat from the sun coming in the windows. 


Monita is in the first photo and Babe in this one.


Mama Styx was behind my computer, keeping tabs on me and napping. 






The sun swings (well actually the earth rotates) around to the back of our house and comes into the windows before noon.  The living room and my sun room/office/cattery fill with sunshine when it isn't cloudy.  Boy does it help warm the space.

I had taken this photo later in the afternoon.

I completely finished all my Christmas clean up, except the wintery mantle.  I had not been looking forward to taking down all the Christmas decorations but am glad to have it done and the house back to 'normal' (it's usual order).  But it is sad that Christmas has come and gone. 

Late afternoon, I went back out to try shoveling, and look how much snow/ice had melted off the sidewalk and drive.  It was much easier shoveling, although was starting to ice up again in the shady areas.

Joe made it to his destination.  I brought Rose's food (in dish) back in because there was still no sign of her.  And then I got ready to 'go out' for an evening with my cruise companions. 







Shirley picked me up and we went to Patty's where she and Judy were.  We face timed with Teresa and made plans for our cruise excursions and then shared pizza and enjoyed desert Shirley baked and brought.

First stop, Key West we decided to take a sailing cruise, but were undecided on which tour, so were going to do more investigating.  At Coco Cay island (owned by Royal Caribbean) we'll do a beach day.  And in Nassau, we booked the Margaritaville Beach Resort Fins Up Water Park.  It has a climbing wall, so now I have motivation to get into better shape to try that.

Monday 1/13 - It was a cold, pre-dawn walk with Maggie, but the bright moonlight on the snow was magical.  I researched to see if there was a word for this, like apricity, only for moon light.  AI Overview said:  "While there isn't a single, widely accepted word for the specific brightness of moonlight on snow, the closest term would be 'snowglow' which refers to the amplified brightness caused by snow reflecting light, particularly moonlight, making the landscape appear much brighter than usual. 'Albedo' is a scientific term describing the reflectivity of a surface, and fresh snow has a very high albedo, meaning it reflects a large amount of light."

The above photo is off the internet, and gives a sense to how my morning, moonlight walk felt.  This second one was taken at 7:10 last night and posted on Facebook by Diana McCombs.  Normally it would be pitch black outside but because of a full moon, clear skies and lots of snow on the ground it looks like daylight.  My last photo in last week's blog (that Betty took out at the ranch) shows how bright the moonlit sky can be, and the moon wasn't even full yet.

The sunshine was spotty today, but still in enough abundance to melt more snow and ice.  I had a decent two hour workout in spite of the crowded gym and then scooted home to be ready for Betty to pick me up.  She was going to take me to the ranch and help with chores.  It's a good thing I took her up on this generous offer, because Chestnut Hill had lots of bad icy spots and our ranch drive would have gotten my car stuck for sure. 
 




Betty let me off up at the house and I noticed Rico laying down with Dorado standing watch over him.  I gave the turkey giblets (I had thawed) to the chickens and when I came out, Rico was still down.  I started to get concerned.  So I walked down through the front pasture to check him out, and he still didn't get up. 




The worse case scenario that came to mind was that he had slipped and fell, breaking or injuring a leg.  He didn't appear injured, but still didn't get up, until I pulled a treat out of my pocket. 

 

 

Phew, that gave me a scare.
It was cloudy at the moment, but apparently, he had been laying there, enjoying apricity.

Chores went quickly with Betty's help and it is a lot more enjoyable having someone accompany you. 

 


Betty was soon dropping me back off at home.  I had an hour of time to kill before my pet feeding chores, so worked two more 'days of Christmas' (bags of pieces) of my Christmas puzzle.  I am now halfway done and have six more days (bags) to go.

It was another quiet night with Joe gone, although I had extra dog-walks.  I was in bed early, reading.

Tuesday 1/14- A month till we head to FL to catch our cruise ship in Port Canaveral.  It was another day of beautiful sunshine, which continued to melt and evaporate the snow. 
This is a herd of six deer I saw later in the day. 








The outside temperature was above freezing almost all day long, and the sun warmed the living room and cattery, but the fur babies still seemed to enjoy laying in the sun for hours.

I went to the gym for a leg workout and extra aerobic exercise, hit Food City on the way home, and enjoyed a good dinner with turkey (thawed from Jean's dinner) added to the store's fried rice, their broccoli salad, and fresh fruit.

Getting into bed early, gave me extra time to read, and the cats a longer duration to vie for my lovin' or for some play time.

Wednesday 1/15 - I did not take any photos today, but saw these ranch ones this morning.  They were posted by Karen's friend who helped her with chores yesterday.  Notice the sunshine.

I didn't have much to blog about for Tuesday so did some of the Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar activities. 


Then I started in on all my usual games which I haven't done since Thanksgiving (Wordle, Connections, Mini Crossword, and Strands).


After a big, late breakfast/early lunch I took care of correspondence, (a letter, several e-mails, and text messages).

I had a meeting with my boss Abbey to communicate with her about some of my summer plans (July Costa Rica wedding trip, August reception here, and some horse camping).  She said we could work around those dates and was glad to keep me on as an employee at the adult pool.  With that and ranch chores four days a week and hopefully the gym three times a week, I'm going to be a busy. 

Joe sent this photo of he and Mike golfing in Arizona.  It was also very sunny there, but a lot warmer as well. 

I spent over three hours at the gym, but had taken several breaks talking with a number of people. 

After dinner, I got this photo from Juan Carlos, of he and Britney with Dr. Caceres.  Her appointment with him was at 5pm.  He worked with her neurosurgeon Dr Tomita at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago while completing his training as a pediatric neurosurgeon with an emphasis in neuro-oncology at Northwestern.

I crawled into bed early to read.  I did last a lot longer than usual, but had the lights off at 8:20.

Thursday 1/16 - The nights get cold and with the thermostat turned down, it takes awhile for the temperature to come back up.  So I get the space heater going near my desk each morning.  My fur babies love it. 







It was another beautiful sunshiny day, and actually got up above 40°.  Betty and I had talked about riding, but the ground was still icy in many places and the wind had really picked up so we deferred our ride for another day.  I finally got all the Christmas stuff stored in the bunk room.  When I said I had it all picked up, I actually just had all the containers in the upstairs hallway. 




My fur babies enjoyed the sunbeams coming in the living room windows all afternoon.  They will even 'chase' them, moving from spot to spot to get full sunshine.  Monita's sunny basket got shady so she moved to the pet blanket.  






I vacuumed my office/cattery and got things done around the house including some little projects.  I made three phone calls inquiring about possible places to have Britney‘s wedding reception here in Cumberland County and I got a welcome packet together to give Charles when he moves into the ranch February 1st. 

 
 

I eventually made my way to the gym where I had another leg workout like I did Tuesday.  Monday and Wednesday were arms and abs.  Again, I was there for over two hours and by the time I left I felt like I had cement blocks attached to my feet.  My legs were so heavy and exhausted.  Of course, as usual, I did plenty of stretching at the end of my workout. 



Oh, and during three different 'sitting' sessions at the puzzle table, I finished the last six days (6 bags of ~83 pieces each) of the jigsaw puzzle.

I had more leftover turkey for dinner, in a big salad I made.  I got word from Joe while sitting here gaming before bed, that he had landed in Knoxville.  I was asleep before he got home though.

Friday 1/17 - The apricity of a sunny day helps to lift the gloom of a harsh winter.  This was the sixth day in a row of sunshine, and it wasn't even that cold outside.  Still, the cats love lounging in the sun.  Also notice, most of the snow has melted. 

 





Dan and Vale had given us this photo frame that displays digital pictures in a slide show.  Joe helped me get it set up before he left at noon for poker. 




I spent a good portion of the afternoon at the ranch.  I scrubbed the fridge and freezer and moved all our (community) drinks and condiments onto the top two shelves.  Our renter will get all the rest of the space.  I also moved some furnishings around, bringing a few things home, and did some deep cleaning in the master bed/bath (preparing for Charles).  Patty got this at an estate sale, that I will need her help hanging on a wall.

I started my chores in the chicken coop.  Gloria likes to keep an eye on me while I putz around.  Her plumage has filled out nicely, and I suspect the big red hen (killed by a neighboring dog) was the culprit.  She was also the mean one who would peck you. 



The two boys in the upper paddock were next.

I tried getting a selfie with Rico after he and Dorado were fed.  It just isn't easy.  And I see, we both had unruly hair.  😏  It's our wild side look. 

After getting the four in the lower paddock feed, and having everything cleaned up, I decided to take Amiga for a short little ride. 

It was still too muddy and even icy in spots, to go out back in the woods, so I stuck to the barnyard area.  I got these three photos of Rico coming to see us, off of this (video).  Amiga didn't spook when he came cantering towards us, but she did not want to greet Rico and turned to leave during my filming. 








After stopping the video and using two hands to get Amiga under better control, I had her go back up to the fence to say 'hi' to the boys. 

The boys were still more interested in her, than she was in them.  I think Rico is just so cute, but Amiga will always be my heart horse, my first horse love, whom I still love dearly.  

The horses are like apricity (a ray of sunshine) on any given day.  It is such a pleasure and a blessing to be able to have them, and see and be with them whenever I want/need.