Happy Valentines Day!

Greetings,

I'm celebrating a beautiful sunny day! Temperatures rose to about a high of 14 today, but the wind is not bad. We had a bald eagle perching from a tall tree in our yard for a couple of days last week, on the lookout for some fast food. (Fast running mice, rabbits, birds, squirrels that come to our house to eat the corn and seed we put out.) The season finds us all healthy as we bundle up in our thick winter coats to go out. The Mississippi River is ice covered this time of the year, and there are no barge whistles drifting into the air. The bald eagles, often 200 or more, gather around the lock and dam just a little way down the river from Muscatine to take advantage of the open water fishing opportunities.

We are still corn feeding the herd of backyard deer that come trampling through the deep snow, hungry, and grateful (I think) for dinner. Come spring I will cover my budding flowers with nets to discourage them from dinning on flowers al la king! Watching them eat outside the family room window, sharing the buffet with the birds, rabbits, squirrels, and sometimes racoons, is our main entertainment!

Keith plans on returning to work on Monday, February 18th. He is still low on stamina, but gradually getting his strength back. I've been taking various temp jobs and saving money for traveling to Ohio and Eastern Kentucky come spring. Jessica is still deep in her studies - with Law and Marketing (no math!!!) this semester. She juggles work/school/church/choir and tries to have a little down time on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

A highlight for us this month was getting to sing at our local Art Museum on the evening of February 7th. We did a mother/daughter duet concert with our neighbor, Tammy Ales. Tammy plays a 12 string guitar and makes beautiful music for us to sing to. They were featuring some local musicians, and it was a real delight for us to be included in that.

Have a delightful Valentines Day! Stay warm and healthy. I send you my love,

Aunt Betty