Candy Coated Ice Fog Along The Mississippi.

 It has been cold the last several days.  Temps barely get above 20 degrees (which is cold for Iowa...)  and, as a result, my camera has been "shutting down" before the battery is fully drained.    So,  even when we run in Iowa city,  I can't take any pics  of Eagles for the blog.   

But today,  we traveled to Muscatine for some River Trail running.    I love the drive because I own a Subaru.   And driving a Subaru is as close to being in Heaven as a driver can get.   Plus,   running along the Mississippi has its own perks,  with friendly people, nice trails, glittering water, and the occasional river boat. 

The hope was that the river would warm the temps up a bit and that the park's staff would have cleared off the trail again after that second wave of snow/ice fall.   

Cheryls inspects the Trail. 

I think the Picture says it all...

Both hopes were dashed!  As we finally arrived to Muscatine only to realize that the trail was impassible!   At least last time,  there was some bare spots where Cheryl could run on concrete and I could bike without slipping.   

Ice Coating.

Like Candy....only colder and 
more slippery. 

But today!   The entire path was iced  in and fully covered!  No plowed path or salted trail to see here.   I did not even dare attempt it with the bike.  Everything in the area was covered in a fine "candy coating" of ice.   Very pretty, but not very fun to run on.  Even the trees had that crystal ice formation that we used to see on the Tundra in Alaska.    

Like Frosted Flakes on Trees.
Only colder and less tasty. 

So...  back home we went.   Slightly disappointed that we could not enjoy the outdoor physical activity,  but we did get to ride back in a warm Subaru...  And that made the feeling a little less bad. 

Finished Button Puzzle.

I enjoyed calling out the Old slogans
and politicians. 

With our second puzzle finished,   I set out to change the oil in Subie and Focus on my next Mushroom foraging shirt.  Since I'm a big fan of the Russula, ( Brittlegill mushrooms) I figured I would make that my next mark.  I still have two shirts that have not been "doodled" on with any embroidery.   We shall see how far I get tonight. 

Only when she is busy. 

No project is complete
without a cat distraction.

And lastly,  Cheryl has finally experienced the joy's of being a "cat magnet".   Both Leo and Rocket only like to cuddle her when she is totally involved in  some other activity.  I figure she should enjoy the moment while she can... mostly because that keeps them off of ME.  And also,   they are both NOT OUR CATS!  (That is going to be a running joke for a while, I guess.)  

Normal Cheryl/Cat relationship.

Rocket doing the work to 
gain citizenship.

 Normally,  Cheryl repels cats with her over-eagerness to tackle, hug and aggressively pet them. I'm not sure why the cats are  so disapproving of being crushed, but they normally avoid her.  Personally I think they understand that She is the only obstacle to becoming a true card-carrying Allenbrite Studio Citizen.  They might have their work cut out for them, but I find Rocket to be uniquely resourceful and determined at times. 

Hope everyone is staying warm.  We have at least 12 inches of snow here in Iowa.   That is a rather rare thing for us.   ( We have been here 10 years now..) Normally, if we get that much snow,  it is followed by several warm days that melt most of it.   The last bits seem to last all winter long as the temps dip back down.    I wonder how this winter will turn out.   I guess we will see. 

Thanks for stopping in.