It is amazing how we are stuck in an arctic freeze, with cold temperatures and high winds making it difficult to even take Maggie out for her bathroom breaks. Tonight it is supposed to get down to around 4º, so we are fortunate to have a good heating system (knock on wood) that keeps us nice and toasty.

I have two bird feeders in the backyard and lots of birds are taking advantage of the sunflower seeds I have provided for them. They all look pretty healthy, well rounded, and don’t seem to mind the cold.

My new snowblower arrived on Friday, Feb. 6, and I am wondering if we will get any snow in the future. Up north, Massachusetts was hit was snow, enabling my grandson to earn some good money shoveling. I think this is the first time he has earned money from someone other than his family.

I remember going out and delivering my newspapers (The Herald News) in a huge snowstorm up in Clifton, NJ. My father worked right by where the paper was printed and he picked up my stack. After I finished my deliveries, I then went out and shoveled the sidewalks and driveways of my newspaper customers. One was an elderly lady, who was so very grateful for my services. She paid me $10, double what I usually got.

Now I am hoping my veggie garden looks similar to the “German” garden above as spring will be arriving soon.

I have to be honest here, this winter weather here in Delaware has been a challenge. Maybe it is age related? Maybe I spent too many winters down in Florida. This will be the third weekend of cold/frigid weather, a highly unusual condition for Delaware. I have had to cut back my walking quite a bit, as the wind is an additional hazard to the cold temperatures.

We had an early January warmup, but that was quickly replaced by an 8 inch snow, followed by a freezing rain that has cemented in the snow for almost 3 weeks now.

We are not much better off than states north of us, except we have not gone below zero, which, I suppose, is a good thing. However, there have only been a couple of days where the temperatures have gone beyond the 32º mark. This weekend, it is projected to be extremely cold, with night time temperatures dropping close to zero,

Meanwhile, my indoor garden seems to be doing quite nicely, with my tomato plant having flowers. I vibrate the flowers, as I am not certain if these plants self pollinate or not. I will find out in another week or so.