"Oh, What Do You Do in the Wintertime?"

I love the children’s song, "Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?" – 

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by?

Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool, or swing in a tree up high?

Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you march in parades, or drink lemonades, or count all the stars in the sky?

Is that what you do? So do I!

There isn’t a song, "Oh, What Do You Do in the Wintertime?" That’s because it would be too monotonous and depressing. Mostly what I do in the wintertime is daydream about summertime.

We spent a lot of time during the week chipping ice off the porch stairs and the car windows, lugging wood in to keep the wood stove burning, and daydreaming about summer.

Some animal's tracks (I think a cat).

On Wednesday Josiah left for District Chorus Festival. He was one of three, and the only boy, selected to attend from our school. The festival was held in Meadville, over on the western edge of the state. On Wednesday evening they held auditions and Josiah took fifth chair in his section (he sings bass), which means he will go on to the Regional competition in a few weeks. There were 180 children in the choir from schools all over northern Pennsylvania. They rehearsed the rest of the week and then gave a concert on Saturday afternoon. Stacey, Daniel, Hannah, and I drove over to attend the concert and bring Josiah home. Meadville is about four hours away. The drive there was good. We left home at 8:00 a.m. and got there in plenty of time. The concert was great. The drive home was a nightmare. We left Meadville after the concert and went up to Erie to eat lunch at Chick-fil-a. By the time we were done, there was a freezing rain falling. Interstate 90 was at a standstill because of an accident, so we took back roads for a while then got on the 90 further east. The roads were icy. We saw many accidents. We drove 45 MPH most of the way and finally arrived home at 8:30 p.m., thankful that we made it without mishap.

Josiah at District Chorus

When we go to church, or anytime we go up to Wellsville, we follow the Genesee River. The Middle Branch of the Genesee (there's an East and a West branch, too) begins right here in Gold and as we drive north on the 449 we follow it. Down here it is really just a stream. Up near the New York state line, the three branches of the Genesee converge and from there on it is one river all the way up to Lake Ontario. Today was a nice bright day and as we came home from church we stopped in Shongo, New York, and again nearer home so I could take some photos of the river.

The Genesee at Shongo, New York.

The Genesee just outside Gold.

I’ve also been taking photos of the birds that come to our feeders. Photographing birds can be frustrating. They don’t hold still much. My best shots come when I stand at the kitchen window, but the birds can see any little movement I make and they fly away. Sometimes if I hold very still and wait a long time, they forget about me and I can get a few shots.

A downey woodpecker.

Bluejay.

The big storm predicted to hit the East Coast early this week isn’t supposed to do much here – just a new inch or two of snow. But the temperature is going to drop again into the single digits or lower. Ugh. At least we’ve reached the end of January – at last.

Winter sunrise.