In ice

It is amazing that a simple icy rain can cause a national catastrophe. One day after Slovenia was covered with ice still quarter of its inhabitants was without electricity. We, modern people are not adjusted to such catastrophies. I can’t even make a meal without the electricity and my house would be cold without it. We can heat the house with gas, too but the gas stove needs electricity to work. The only thing working in case of a power breakdown is a house alarm … I keep thinking of having a proper closed fireplace in a living room but it costs lots of money and a good part of my house should be demolished. Anyway, I can’t afford it at the moment, no matter how much I wish to have it.

This catastrophe brought more joy to birdwatchers because birds couldn’t feed on trees and shrubs as the branches and trunks were totally covered with ice. This meant that some interesting birds came closer to our homes. I did a yearly Birdwatch count and put some more “new” species on my yearly list.

I was lucky that my home was still warm because I caught cold again. Ž’s viruses are strong and I had never been able to avoid them. Teas of all sorts, C vitamin, Iceland lichen pastiles, sage, apples were my diet in those days. It might be a long winter; this year the Carnival days are as late as March …