Reflections

Random thoughts arising on this frigid February morning

Photo by Paul Green on Unsplash

It’s icy. Sidewalks are shoveled, but the melt and refreeze cycles create a slippery pathway of frozen footprints. Walks with my dog become balancing acts, and my joints ache from “ walking like a penguin.”

Or are the achy joints more the result of the weird “ bugs” going around. And, this bird flu thing is kind of scary, as it’s deadly to cats and dogs already.

I’ve followed a vegan diet for many years, and my dog eats V-Dog, along with whatever I cook for myself. I’m not trying to push a brand of dog food here, but when I realized that the top brands of dog food recommended by veterinarians (Iams, Blue Buffalo, Hills Science, Pedigree) have had numerous recalls, I switched to a “human grade”, non-meat kibble for my dogs, about 15 years ago.

I rarely see young people shoveling snow anymore. Years ago, a “snow day” (when school was closed) was a money-maker. Young people, with shovels over their shoulders, roamed the streets offering to shovel walkways and driveways. My husband remembers making a few hundred dollars in just a few hours.

My parents gave me a child-sized snow shovel when I was about 5 years old, and now, at the age of 65, I still have no trouble shoveling my driveway and walkways. My neighbors, in their 40s, 50s…