Frosty stuff and longer days

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas - it goes by in a blur!  We had roast turkey on the grill and Mark used the "turkey cannon" that I had ordered after hearing about it from George (my brother). It is a little scary looking (see below) but does the same kind of job as the beer can chicken concept. Hopefully you know about that, if not, it's all over the internet, and makes great chicken.  Anyway, it was a hit and we'll use it in the future. Somebody was clever - hope they have a patent...

I know weather has been crazy up north and I shouldn't complain, so I won't, or maybe a teeny bit. We are not supposed to get cold and definitely not have freezing temps, but here we went again, and again I went out to cover the tender flowers with sheets. Broke a record last night evidently.  A big warm up begins, just in time for the girls & guys to fly down almost 80 degrees to bring in the new year. Hurray!

Wild wind at the beach - I don't think volleyball was going to happen... And look and the white stuff (aka frost) on the boardwalk. People freaking out around here...

Another sighting of one of the otters. Not sure where the rest of the family is, but this one sure moves fast.

So isn't it great the days are getting longer again?  I'm always excited when the solstice happens, granted it's only added seconds - but still.  In Naples it's 16 seconds today and at Star Mt. it's 28. They're an hour shorter in daylight right now - they're working to catch up. It does make a difference where you're located.
Finished book #63 A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny. It's the second in a series and the second one I've read of hers - fun read. She's the Canadian author who writes homey (if that's possible) murder mysteries set in Canada. Even though it's fiction, there are true facts sprinkled throughout.I'm learning all kinds of Canadian facts I didn't know. Did you know that they celebrate Thanksgiving (I didn't) and it's on the second Monday in October.