Waiting . . .

We're through the major holidays now. Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone; now just waiting on the new year. Everything outside is cold and still, as if all is waiting for the turn of the calendar:

I look out the window and see our maple trees, bare, stark against the gray winter sky. And suddenly I'm thinking that the end of Februrary, sugarin' season, is only a few short weeks away. Just a few short weeks until there will be white buckets in this view:

Until then, we'll wait and enjoy the quiet of early winter, when evening to-do lists are short, and there's a good chance that there's some soup or broth  simmering on the stove.

And maintain all of our critters, taking care that the cats don't fall in to the stock tank when they're getting their morning drink: