There’s been alot of funky happenings in the solar system during the past week or so … we’ve seen a Super Moon lighting up the evening sky and how about those sun spots and solar flares which reportedly wreaked havoc with our GPS systems and caused us humanoids to have mood swings. On the plus side, Aurora Borealis sightings were right here in northern Michigan. Wow! Here in my little world, the moon and stars have not been aligned properly since that power outage. It seems it has been a fortnight of minor and major calamities, but the worst issue was my furnace which had a mind of its own and was exhibiting some phantom-like behavior. At one time I set it to 80 degrees to try to coax it to turn on, but it didn’t. But, when it did decide to kick on, it was only for three minutes, then off for three minutes, on for three more minutes … then promptly turned itself off the rest of the day. This happened the latter part of last week and I had three techs troubleshooting and scratching their collective heads. Finally, my regular furnace tech figured out the issue and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it is a permanent fix. It was uncomfortably cold in the house and of course there was much angst on my part about the little nipper whom I left in the other room with his cage all bundled up until the warmth was restored again. Three morning visits for the furnace and yesterday to the grocery store to finally replenish the fridge and freezer contents I lost last weekend, left me absent from this forum once again. Determined to correct that status, this morning I crept out of my cozy bed, had a few sips of coffee and a warm bowl of oatmeal, laced up my walking shoes and kept donning light layers ‘til I looked a little like a ragamuffin. I scooted out the door before anything snagged me, stopped me in my tracks and pulled me back like a big rubber band. I walked directly to Council Point Park, a long-overdue trip, and immersed myself immediately in my favorite nature nook. It was cold enough for a jacket, so voilà– I have big pockets once again, so I slipped the camera into one and a Ziploc bag of peanuts into the other just in case any of my little pals were looking for handouts. They either spied a sucker or smelled those freshly roasted peanuts in the shell, because soon after I arrived I had a slew of fox squirrels tagging along on the perimeter path. I know my walks are not only a form of exercise but my little getaway and I really enjoy them. After today’s rain, the weather week ahead promises to be beautiful so I hope I can get out and walk every day. My ultimate walking goal took a direct hit lately and I must make up for lost time and get the remaining 145 miles done before the Winter weather arrives. Hopefully the planets re-align and Mother Nature Sirius-ly cooperates with me.