Little Man and I spent this past week getting back in touch with nature.

Being at the lake, this was quite easy to do, and most mornings, it started watching two deer make their way across the street, through the yard, and down into the gully leading to the lake. We went out each day for an hour long walk in the snow on the trails. We saw so many tracks: rabbits, coyotes, deer, people. We enjoyed the silence, and would stand for a few minutes just listening to the birds chirping, the sound of the snow falling off the trees, the wind blowing through the branches. As we started walking, we enjoyed the crunch of the snow beneath our boots, and the swish of our snow pants.

I also started practicing some winter grounding. Yes, I have been going outside barefoot. Holy heck, it burns my feet, it is so dang cold. But it is invigorating and refreshing. If you want to try it, but don’t want to be barefoot, you can go out in just your socks. Or, wear soft-sole moccasins. I LOVE mine, and wear them everywhere. They mostly keep the cold out, and allow you to feel the ground beneath your feet, something we miss when we are wearing shoes and boots. I highly recommend trying grounding, even if it is just for a few seconds!

We would get back to the house, red cheeked and chilly, but so refreshed. The naps after those walks were the best! We even got to visit the farm one day; I helped package up and freeze chili and shovel the walks for my aunt. Little Man loved watching the cows from the windows, and there were two dogs to play with. Yes! I took some time to explore the basement when I went to the freezer. The doorway from the new to the old basement is just so interesting.

Do you ever just look at a doorway and think “What stories can you tell? What have you seen?” I feel that way about this door. The barn was built in 1909, and I know the house is older than that, so the old section of the basement is old. I also feel like it is most definitely haunted.

We did get some prep work done for spring and summer. I ordered a bunch of seeds last fall. Walmart just put up their seeds this week, so I enjoyed going through them, especially the flowers. I adore wildflowers and sunflowers. So, once we get a place, we will have plenty of them all! I also picked up more veg seeds, because…why not? I don’t think you can ever have too many seeds.

My AeroGarden is doing great. When we returned after our week at the lake, the salad greens had really grown, and the pod tops were off. My echinacea plant in the mini greenhouse is doing great, too. I resowed the other seeds (lemon balm, dill, chamomile, lavender, and echinacea), and am hoping that being next to the AeroGarden, they will do better this time. Keep an eye on my Odysee channel, because I am posting updates of my plants on there.

I also managed to score half gallon, quart, pint, and half pint jars while at WalMart. I know a lot of people who still cannot find them, so I figured, stock up now, while I can.

Squatch did a drive by of a bunch of properties last weekend, and again this weekend. Doing the drive-bys helps, because we can scout out the neighbourhood, really see what the place looks like, and make a decision if we want to go ahead and check it out. We ruled out a bunch of the places, but still have a few on our list. Due to it being winter, there are not too many homes being listed, so I am only checking twice a week to see what is new. But I’m also keeping an eye on what we have on our list. Each week I will see if there has been any movement on either the price or the actual listing. The downside to so many different real estate sites – they don’t all update the same. A house may show as available on Trulia, but show as contingent on Zillow, and sold on Realtor. It is really confusing, and frustrating. But, we’ve got our handy dandy spreadsheet, and as we rule homes out, I move them to the bottom of the, with the text struck out. I want to know what we have looked at, and have a “notes” column, which has why we ruled out a certain home.

All in all – a productive week. The drive back was chilly; my heat is not working properly, so this week’s project will be to investigate what is happening there. It just never ends, you guys, but that’s ok. Because you know what? That’s life. So, go out, get outside, even if it’s freezing out. Do it barefoot for a few seconds. Take a long walk and enjoy nature. Because you don’t know when you will not be able to take that opportunity.