Well, January ended up as the fourth-warmest in Portland history. And as February gets underway, we have seen two more cat trackers (Feb. 1 of three inches and Feb. 7, which is this writing and we’ve already seen four inches and still snowing).

On the morning of Jan. 29, there were no less than seven gray squirrels visible at feeders — more than the usual two. They were chasing one female who had come into her estrous cycle. Across the tree canopy, up and down the oak and pine trees they raced after the lead female. Finally, she stopped, tail flicking, and the closest male caught her and they mated.

Can you believe it’s February? I hope I don’t jinx us, but it’s been a pretty good winter so far. The days are getting longer and February is a short month. Before you know it we’ll be complaining about black flies.

I can’t even attempt to pretend that I know what the play “Etty” is about, nor can I grasp the full dimension of the spirituality of either Susan Stein’s performance or Etty Hillesum’s writing. All I can say is that this play, which I saw at the Parker B. Poe Theater at Lincoln Academy, is one-of-a-kind, with a distinct level of dedication that the author as well as the actor, Stein, has paid to this production, and a depth of spiritual discussion this play has brought to various groups, from middle schools to high schools, from prisons to large city theaters.