February was cold. We had back-to-back snowfalls; a couple of ice storms; and a lot of icy rain. Our house doesn’t get – or stay – especially warm, and I took to walking around with my hands curled around a steaming mug of tea a lot of the time, just to keep from chillblains. I tried squinting and pretending that I was living in a draughty Scottish castle, but it didn’t work.

As you can imagine, with all this cold, it was another indoor month. We did make a point of getting out and hitting the trails most weekend days, but hikes were truncated and we did miss a few because of yucky weather. Between the grim skies and the hibernating garden, I spent more time in my reading nook than in the fresh air. Really hoping that March, and the beginning of more consistently warm weather, will be the turning point.

Trail report. I read a beautiful quote earlier this month: “We cannot learn the story of the year if we read only eight or nine of its twelve chapters.” (Edward Step, 1930.) That was really our philosophy in February. We hit the trails in the mud and slush, and we slipped around our neighborhood park in the ice. Although we made a point of getting out, it was mostly to our local favorite – Riverbend Regional Park. Riverbend is a favorite for a reason, and we definitely enjoyed our rambles there. (Well, mostly. There was one very muddy day that I could have done without. Hiking in the mud isn’t my jam.) Hoping that March will bring more consistently hike-able weather, and that we’ll get to some trails a little further afield.

In the garden. So, I realized that I shared the above picture in my January recap, but it was actually snapped on February 1 – whoops! This is what the garden looked like for most of the month – although after a few warmer days and rains toward the end of the month, the snow is gone now. I have a big stack of garden books to read in the evenings ahead, and am still trying to figure out what I’m going to do about the big wild area. Now I am leaning toward planting some annuals. I don’t have much time left to make this decision!

At the feeders. (Another January picture – busted! But that view was pretty prevalent in February, too.) With great caution I will tell you that – so far, knock wood – my starling-repulsion techniques seem to be working. Between putting out food they don’t prefer in the feeders they can access, and their favorites in the starling-proof cage feeder, I have seen very few of them. They stop by now and then to see if I have let down my guard, but they leave right away. And even better news is: surprisingly, the Eastern bluebirds are able to get into the starling-proof cage feeder, so they’re still around! I had thought they would be locked out of the good stuff, but they surprised me. I’m so glad that my war on starlings didn’t have the collateral effect of driving away the bluebirds. They’re so lovely.

1000 hours outside. Oof. So, another largely indoor month. I guess that’s to be expected in pandemic winter. It’s funny – I love winter sports, skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing – and every year I say this is going to be the year I get the family into something new, but it never really happens. I didn’t even try this year, so that explains why – only 10.5 outdoor hours in February. And it would have been even less were it not for a 3.5 hour outdoor playdate last weekend. I’m still holding out the hope, or expectation really, that outdoor time will go way up once the weather starts warming up and we spend more time in the yard, on the playground, and on the trails and the water.

How was your outdoor February?