With January about over and the scene through the windows still showing bare-limbed trees and snow coming down instead of palm trees, I have to reflect on the fact that we are still in New York and not in Florida. For my part, I have enjoyed getting out in the snow nearly every day. Lesley has found the walking too insecure for the most part and has been confined to the house. She’s not been happy. The cats have probably wondered what’s going on, but they are indoor pets so the world outdoors is mainly a visual tablleu experienced at the windows. They just want to be fed on a regular basis. Of course, it has not all been recreational for me either. I’ve done what seems to be a fair amount of snow shoveling and recently added ice-removal to my list of renewed skills. Have I mentioned I don’t like shoveling snow that is wet and heavy? Ice is no fun either.

I have enjoyed getting out and walking, hiking, or snowshoeing. Another thing I do like about the winter routine is the comfort food that seems permissible under the circumstances. I’ve enjoyed sourdough biscuits most mornings and sourdough English muffins on occasion. Sundays mean enjoyment of a weekly treat of sourdough pancakes. Needless to say, I do enjoy cooking with sourdough. Yep, you guessed right, Bobby Navarro actually got his sourdough start from my own experience and cooking enjoyment as well as from the ranch cook in his first adventure, Murder on Route Sixty-six.

So far, I haven’t put Bobby to work shoveling snow. Did I mention, I don’t like the heavy stuff? The first time I ever shoveled a driveway, I had just finished when the plow truck came by and covered the entrance with a deep mound of frozen slush and heavy snow. I wasn’t happy then either. Right now, I have Bobby out on the dunes of Cape Cod in his next adventure, my current work-in-progress. The warm tropical airs of Key Largo, his last mystery, now seem a distant and delightful memory. If you’re interested, here is the Amazon link to click on to get your copy . https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L4Q5J15?pf_rd_p=c2945051-950f-485c-b4df-15aac5223b10&pf_rd_r=G7ZS771KVGE41ABVG74Y

I am delighted to be able to say that I am making progress on the next Bobby Navarro murder mystery. Still don’t know when we’ll head south, but it looks as though we are here for a while.  I’m looking forward to more time outdoors and more animal tracking. Not more shoveling. Meanwhile, our own animals seem content to curl up in warm places and sleep away the rest of the winter if possible. I’m not sure they even bother to watch me out the window when I’m shoveling the drive and the walkways. Oh, did I mention? I hate shoveling the heavy stuff. How’s your winter, and what do you enjoy doing for this season?