The Thing of the Day is a nest that a Carolina Wren couple built in Sandra's front porch wreath. It, along with some lovely flowers, says that spring is here, and we're so ready for it.

Greg and Lori were with us this past weekend and on their way home to Chicago they stopped by Hannibal and saw where I lived for some 14 years of my life -- from age 6 to 20. I appreciated them wanting to see Hannibal and I would like to visit it again, if I can find the time. I've never been sorry that my life has taken me to many places away from Hannibal, but I still have memories (mostly good) of my time there.

Sandra and Mary Jane Bailey and I spent this evening with Gertrude Innes. We had drinks and good conversation and then salad and pizza. Gertrude is a most interesting, kind and amazing person. It is an honor to be able to know her as a friend, and ---- she will be 100 years old this September 3. So, if you haven't met her at some point in the past, I introduce her to you with the included picture. I rather doubt that I will make it to 100, but if I should, I would hope that I could do it with the grace, love and good humor that defines Gertrude.

We leave for Mountain View, Arkansas, this Friday and then to Ft. Worth on Monday. We should be back in Warrensburg by the following Friday or Saturday. Much love to all who are reading this.

Our trip to California was a fun and varied trip. We arrived in time to celebrate my birthday, and it was extra nice to be with John, Terri and our two wonderful little girls. Terri made me a very special birthday bread pudding with lemon sauce. I can still taste it. The weather was chilly, but we were able to get out and one day John shot off rockets -- one was left in a tree.

We had a great weekend at Truckee/Donner in the Sierra Nevada Mountains -- seven feet of snow on the ground when we got there. The weather was perfect. John, Terri and girls had fun at a snow park -- Sandra and I sat and watched. The next day we drove to Lake Tahoo and then to Truckee for lunch with John, Terri and girls. While we were at Truckee the eastbound Amtrak came through -- quite a climb to cross the Sierra Nevadas. Another six inches of snow fell our last night. John and Terri snow shoed for several hours before we left. The journey home on I 80 was interesting -- but very slow -- sometimes 10 to 15 miles an hour.

The flights out and back were uneventful which was good, but flying is not a happy venture. One thing we did notice is that the security people at the Oakland Airport were much nicer and more helpful than the KCI group.

The Things of the Day are Sunshine, Blue Skies and No Snow.

Chris, Terri, Kaz, Max, Zach and Nini were with us this weekend. Lego was popular (Kaz and Max), working to get the last bit of yogurt out of the container was a challenge (Zach), and just being pretty was easy (Nini). All (except Terri and Jim) had a nice walk. The weather was in a changing mood -- 60 degrees Sunday, 34 degrees Monday morning.

Now we're hitting the road -- actually the air -- we're flying to California Thursday and will return on March 9. Much love to all.

There is no thing of the day. Sorry! Couldn't come up with one. Next time?

The digging out has begun. We've been out in the car twice -- yesterday to shop and today to the Post Office. Roads are fine but there is a lot of snow piled around. Tomorrow we're going to KC to John Price's mother's funeral. We want to be there for Cyndy's kids.

The pictures are pretty self-explanatory. I dug the path on the deck so we could get to the bird feeders. I'll probably slowly push more of the deck snow over the side. On the picture looking up Council Trail, a car is buried on the left -- you can't see it -- you'll just have to believe me.

I don't know why I keep putting up pictures of the Canada Goose. They are certainly a nuisance, but their numbers make them fascinating.

The Snow of the Day was the Blizzard of 2011. We will be talking about it for years. Kansas City reported 21 inches for Warrensburg. I ventured out yesterday morning to get the paper and haven't been out since and probably won't go out today. As of now the street hasn't been plowed.

Besides the snow, our ongoing show has been the birds. There were a lot of Cardinals, Juncos, White-throated Sparrows and Goldfinch joined by Tufted Titmice, Blue Jays, Nuthatches, Chickadees and Red Bellied and Downy Woodpeckers.

This morning we woke to sunshine, much beautiful snow and 10 degrees -- we'll read the paper on line.

We hope all of you came through O.K. Chicago took a big hit and also St. Louis. I think Jackson and Sewanee were on the fringes. John and Terri, you were left out.

The Flower of the Day is the table arrangement for our party last night. We celebrated Clarice's birthday and Clarice's and Roger's 30th wedding anniversary. It was a most enjoyable evening ending with singing old evangelical hymns around the piano.

The other story for us is the weather and the birds. We have had a fair amount of snow so far and more is expected tonight and tomorrow. If you were to count the birds in the picture on our deck it would come to about 36 or 37 including ten male Cardinals. We enjoy watching them. It's like an ongoing show. Actually, it's our reality show. The other birds are the Canada Geese on Lion's Lake near us, who honk as they go overhead to their morning and evening feeding in the fields outside of town. They are fun to watch, but frankly we could do with a few less.

The last picture is our group excluding Robert Schwartz and Judy McClure who are out of town, but including Peter Bailey who joined us old folks for the first time. He held up rather well.

There is no Flower of the Day on this blog; however, there is a "thing" of the day that Sandra and I spotted this morning on our way to her cataract surgery. Reliable sources say that it was sculpted by several very wise college girls. Enjoy!

Birds are wonderful, especially in the snow, and especially the Cardinals in the snow. In addition to the Cardinals, we also have Chickadees, Nuthatch, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Titmice, Blue Jays, Juncos and Sparrows of some variety. And we also have squirrels, and the birds and the squirrels seem to get along fairly well.

I know that snow is not much of a novelty at this time. Most of you have had your share and I hope that no one has had any major difficulties, but I felt compelled to blog so that I could not only share some of the birds with you, but especially the "thing".