On the Homefront 

Here we are in the middle of February, midwinter in Maine. I love this still, cold time of year when the house is surrounded by snow, and I can see the sky because the trees are bare.

Here is the view from the living room window during the blue hour

Another day, in the afternoon, I took pictures of our backyard through an open window in my bathroom.

The memorial bench is surrounded by and covered with snow.

Most of the garden is a sea of snow, an excellent protection from the extreme cold we had in December and January. (Not much above zero for those two months.) But there is some interest thanks to the hydrangeas that Judy of New England Garden and Thread gave me, some black-eyed Susans, and the ornaments I left in the garden.

Midwinter is a time for reading, getting together with friends, and going to the movies. All right, I pretty much do this year-round, but in the winter, I don’t have to worry about outside chores, which are often front and center.

Movies, Movies, Movies

The Academy Awards are coming right up—March 15—and we try to see as many of the nominees as possible. Even though we are adults, we are still keen on animated films. (Young at heart or arrested development?) This weekend, we saw three of the animated films nominated for Best Picture.

KPop Demon Hunters

This movie is loud and lively, filled with kick-butt female demon hunters who love to eat and sing. Perfect for its intended audience of tweens and young teens. For adults? Not so much. However, from time to time, I did find myself bobbing to the music. Available to stream on Netflix.

Zootopia 2

Can two detectives, a fox and a rabbit, work together despite their differences? And an even bigger question: should reptiles, who are even more different than mammals, be allowed to live in Zootopia? This film is beautifully animated. Most adults will certainly appreciate the message of tolerance and understand how it applies to our own human world. The movie is at times hectic, which children will enjoy, but there is enough in the story for adults to enjoy as well.  Currently playing in cinemas.

Arco

This is my favorite of the three, and I highly recommend it. A young boy named Arco lives in a future where time travel is possible. His sister and parents regularly travel back in time to gather plants, but they maintain Arco is too young to go with them. Does Arco sneak into his sister’s room and steal her time-traveling garb? Of course he does, and back to the past he goes, inadvertently landing in 2075 when the climate crisis is becoming a grave threat. There, he meets a young girl named Iris. Naturally, complications ensue, and he has a difficult time returning to the future.

This gentle, soulful movie does not preach, but it does not shy away from the worst of what the climate crisis could bring to Earth. How many movies, animated or not, examine this subject? Not very many. We saw Arco at the Maine Film Center, which specializes in independent movies, but it will soon be available on streaming services.