february gloom

Last week's thawing out from a brief winter, boggy prints from boots, dogs and cats pepper the ground outside our door. The semi-hardness of the ground is annoying. Too clingy to work on and the inevitable mud finding its way into the cottage.
Now snug inside with a little bit of butternut squash spread on toast, a roaring storm of rain and snow persists outside. Welcome to February. 
A guilty feeling of leaving six pets outside to face the conditions. But all have a place to stay out of anything thrown from the sky. Even venturing out to check up won't reduce any fears, relief will only coincide with their next feeding at breakfast time tomorrow. 
This month is notoriously difficult to predict it's weather, which makes schedules and job lists irrelevant. Bright ideas may start to see the light after the few dark weeks of winter but will always take longer than can be anticipated because of un-forecasted snow or rain. 
Tasks are building though, an apprehensive construction of a garden shed is on the wish list. Maybe we can keep the bad weather a bit longer!