It's a sweatpants kind of day, freezing morning and into the 50s this afternoon as we prepare for another deep freeze over the weekend (but no snow or ice).

The winter mud season has started, the dog footprints are clearly defined across the den floor - is there a scientific name for the consistency or viscosity of mud after a wet freeze? The molecules have aligned in such a way during the freeze that they are more dense and pasty.

Our first day of new bin pickup (instead of bags at the curb) - with instructions to place the bin precisely - only to see the truck come by and people roll the bin to the back of the truck where an arm lifted it to dump. The instructions regarding precise placement at the curb, not under trees, etc., so far is nonsense. I await the arrival of a truck that does all of the work on its own, with the driver operating the arm, otherwise it goes back under the pine tree as before.