A cold, windy, snowy day has come our way. Too much so for birding, so our birding group met for coffee and pastries and conversation at the bakery this morning, and it seemed as though everyone had a very pleasant time. The bakery even had birdsong on the audio for our regular group of birders to enjoy.
Apropos of birding, every year Jane Masterson does an illustrated calendar “Wildlife in Hyde Park” that has the most wonderful photographs of wildlife that she herself has taken. What a talented photographer! I have one of her calendars hanging beside my computer, and throughout the month of February have been enjoying looking at a superb photo that she took last spring of a black crowned night heron perched in a box elder tree that was then in bloom, in the inner harbor area of Jackson Park.
Yesterday afternoon, Leo had what appeared to be a TIA . That’s a transient ischemic attack, a sort of ministroke, in which blood flow to a part of the brain stops for a short period of time, and stroke-like symptoms appear and disappear within 24 hours. We considered going to the emergency room, but went home instead. This morning he was much better, well enough to go out for coffee. He had had some difficulties prior to this episode, and he is by no means fully recovered, but is so much better than yesterday.
In the early afternoon, I went to the bank to get some cash, and then spent it on a big shopping so as to get what we needed and also to lay in supplies to see us through what remains of the snowstorm.
Because of the snow, we stayed in for the evening, and had dinner at home. And a delicious dinner it was, too, courtesy of Treasure Island. We started with avocados (or, as Leo calls them, ‘paltas,’ as that was what avocados were called in Bolivia, where he grew up. Followed by selections from mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted potato wedges, fried onion rings (one of my favorite unhealthy foods), green bean almondine, fresh onion and potato latkes, and spanakopita (spinach pie). Yummy!
“Rosy-fingered dawn appeared, the early-born” – Homer, The Iliad
