My Mother used to say that. ‘I am feeling bloody.’ In other words do NOT Bother me with mundanity today – you might just lose your curly little head. Yesterday I wandered about the farmy in the cold, just feeling bloody. Everything just looked cold and grey. 
Camera house followed suit. Feeling bloody is compounded and much more satisfying when shared. The Camera and I felt cold, unenlightened, heavy and grey. Just tired, tired, tired. 
The Old Codger and I worked out the other day that we could possibly, without too much imagination or fiddling with dates, trick ourselves into thinking that we might be half way through the winter. 
And I don’t mean that stupid calender winter that has nothing to do with the season at all, I mean half way through the cold period. Yesterday I threw down more straw for the animals to deepen their beds and fed them a little extra hay so their little compost bellies created more heat than usual. Feeling bloody helps you to work faster. And the thought of the cold to come just digs into the bloody.
Daisy had tracks of frozen tears down her face yesterday. I could not wipe them off. The chooks and the pea hens spent all day hunched, sitting on their frozen feet, waiting. Waiting, like Dr Seuss would have said, for the warmth to come. Waiting for the sun to sun. Waiting for the spring to sprung. Waiting for a thrown crumb. Waiting. 
Four times I went out with my crowbar and broke the ice on heated water tanks. 
And every single time the kitchen door opened and I emerged feeling grim and bloody, dressed in layer upon layer, after fruitlessly searching once again for my favourite bloody gloves, clutching my ice bashing tool, stomping my double socked feet into boots, the little barn cats wooped with meowing delight, raced out from the barn to meet me and scampered and paraded and rolled like jesters ahead of me as they led me back out into their cold outside. Completely unencumbered by my bloody mood. Oblivious in their curly little heads.
It was hard to maintain feeling bloody with their little warm furry bodies pressing against my thermal ankles. But I persisted. A good seriously bloody mood does not come around every day you know.
But that was yesterday and now it is morning again. Another week has begun. The temperature is 13F (-10C) and it is blowing snow. But I have had my Bloody minded day so now I must switch to Stoic because at 6.02 am we have already reached our high for the day. The animals are beginning to call. Time to start putting on the layers. Then out I go.
Have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
77 responses to “Feeling bloody.”
There’s been some research that shows this day is the worst Monday of the year: holidays over and nothing fun close; bills from the holidays, most are already giving up New Years resolutions, people are sluggish because of the dark dreary weather…and feeling some extra pounds. Total UGH.
It’s not just you. Hang on!
And YES, those bloody extra pounds! Ah well, i need them out there in the cold! c
It’s been bitterly cold in these parts too. Makes me glad I have a job that I can be inside most of the time. We had our friends from Illinois up for the weekend, so I am way behind commenting and blogging!
you should have kept them another few days, they will be back to the cold!! c
Oh, bloody hell… oh well… life goes on… stoic, as you say and then there’s cats, who love you every day 🙂
I’m feeling more of this cold. I’m impressed now by all your outdoor in the cold photos!
and now i had better get out that door and start on tomorrows photos! c
I’ve been thinking of you these past few cold mornings. I can’t imagine working for hours outside in these temps. I have effectively convinced myself that winter/cold is half over for the year. I’m sticking with that belief too. I can relate to a good Bloody day. For me it’s referred to as Salty. Sometimes a bad mood day is what we need though…I think it’s cleansing. Hope you stayed warm this a.m.
So cold, Celi. We have had record cold weather here, which would probably feel balmy to you at 35, 36, 39. It has persisted for a couple of weeks with a one day exception. The gusting winds add chill to it all. I have to play with a fingerless glove on when I play in the mornings and my strings won’t stay in tune at all. I make soup and bake bread and I would be blogging about it all but I can’t find my bloody camera battery recharger despite going through all of my belongings one by one day after day. Welcome to January.
Losing a charger is deeply annoying and every single charger for every single camera is different.. poo.. I shall pop over today and see what you are saying, even though we have no lovely painting photos to look at yet.. c
Celi, I know this feeling. I refer to it my “take my handbag” moment, because one time years ago, when I felt like this, I was walking down the street, glaring at passersby, thinking, “Go on, try and take my handbag, I dare you. I’m up for it..” 😀
OK that made me laugh! Brilliant!! just make my day!!! awesome.. c
Ah, how I know that cold front. It was here, and now there. Hang on because our lovely warm THAW will be heading your way and the other nasty clipper from the north pole will be heading into here. At some point spring will come…the dogs, cats, chickens, and cows plus myself, are more than ready…and yes, I do believe you are too!
Chin up, as my Daddy used to say….life can only get you down if you let it. (He was left without a Daddy by the age of 9 and then had a horrible step-father and three horrible step-brothers. — Do you ever wonder why there are no fairy tales about horrible step-fathers? ) Anyway….we shall trudge forward, won’t we!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
This is a very good point Linda.. why are there never horrible step fathers in the old stories.. because men wrote them? And yes.. as i said to marie, you get the weather first, you beat it up a bit and send it on to me, then I use up as much as i can and send it on to her. the good thing is – now I know that there is a small window of kind-of warm coming.. the bad news is that marie is next for this miserable cold. c
The weather sounds bloody anyway, and January in the Northern Hemisphere was always bloody for me. – had a Christmas card from a friend of forty years ago reminding me how I always ( unwittingly) made them all laugh by wailing Will January Never end?
Is it colder than usual, or is this normal January Blues and Bloodiness???
No this is just the normal blues,, and from now On I shall go out under the big tree and wail Will January Never End! !! c
Hang in there, Celi. We’ve got one more day of this and then the high temps will double. Granted, we’re a long way from sandals & t-shirt weather but at least Daisy’s tears will melt. In the meantime, I’m glad that John is there to lend a hand. Gets you back indoors sooner.
You had blowing snow? I’ve not seen so much as a flake fall since Christmas Day. What a Winter!
Stay warm!
It was more of a blowing flurry once I got out there and within the hour.. nothing.. feb is coming though.. might get that snowblower out yet! c
C.mon, Celi – you’re half way thru’ the bloody winter – it’s all uphill from here 🙂 ! [Almost shocked your readers by inserting another letter twixt ‘bloody’ and ‘winter’ :D! ]
bad girl!!! c
😉 !
Ah, yes. This is a saying in our family too, usually associated with illness though, as in, “She was feeling absolutely bloody with the flu.” So important to embrace the emotional bloody as you did and not judge it an inferior feeling and try to change it.
When I was young I learned that word from my English neighbors. I liked it, stored it away, and then one day used it in front of them and my parents. I was instantly given the arched eyebrows and dropped jaws from the neighbors, and then a chuckle emerged from their open mouths, because after all… Where else would I have heard that expression? 😉
I’m sorry you had such a bloody day, Celi, but glad you got so much done in spite of the bitter cold! The weatherman says that it will take all day just to get up to 32 deg. tomorrow. though I imagine 32 would feel warm to you right about now.
I feel for you and the cold. I always ask myself in the middle of a Texas summer which is bloody hot, why do I live here? Then winter comes around and I remember and say This is why! We have highs in the high 50’s and low 60’s. If I could i would send you some!
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