New Years eve, 2010

December 31, 2010, the end of another year.  How quickly the time passes....to quickly. 

It has been a very nice, low key holiday. Doing what i enjoy and sticking close to home. Visiting, chatting via e-mail and phone with family and friends. staying warm, and now finally a break in the intense cold!

plans for this evening:  hanging out with family. some snacks to eat, movies to watch, and a book i would love to finish! we are having mimosas to drink too.

We spent most of the day trying to activate new phones. switching from AT&T to Verizon. The reason, Lockheed Martin employees get a 20% discount and time for a change too. 4 hours later, 2 phones still need to be activated.  Looks like i will be texting in 2011. time will tell.

To all of my faithful readers,  drop in's and hardly evers',
Hope the year ahead is better than the one we leave behind.

Happy New Year!!

Christmas time 5

Juliette enjoys gift unwrapping Christmas morning.

waiting patiently for her presents.

 

 

i know there is food in there but how the heck do you get it out????

peek a boo treats!

just checking but i got them all!

Christmas time 4

It is amazing what a difference in size leads to with dogs. 

I have had the terriers since 1978 and have continued to enjoy the look, and personality of each individual dog. Small enough to pick up and remove from danger, but with big dog personalities.  Size wise, easier to have more than one as they don;t take up much space in a small house.

When i decided to go with a  spaniel breed, a dog with a longer leg & ears and the stamina too be out in the cold to hike with hubby, everyone of my friends was shocked as i had never really talked about another breed, much less a spaniel.  I was a closet spaniel lover!  looking around the homnestead, i see i have a number of nice concrete statues outside, cats, rabbits, frogs, pigs and 2 spaniels. neither have the look of an american cocker to me, more of an english cocker look. But the breed i went with was one of the lesser known spaniels, field spaniel. Just a solid liver colored (or chocolate as some prefer to say) unassuming spaniel smaller than the best know English springer, larger than the English cocker.  I am still surprised by the difference in personality.

Juliette is like a three year old child in terms of understanding. she can perform somewhat intricate tasks if you use the word TREAT in the sentence. Example... "bring me the other shoe and I'll give you a TREAT", and off she goes to fetch that other shoe.  Some mornings i wake to find all the loose shoes in a pile next to my side of the bed.

Since Christmas is all about the young, we have gotten Juliette a few toys each Christmas.  She loves soft toys especially if they make noise. This year she got 2 dogie games along with the red sock monkey.

new sock monkey

enjoying new baby, note the old baby to the right.

Christmas Time, 3

Shopping this year has been a little trying.

For years, i was the lone shopper.  Reading ads, driving around, hunting for the perfect gifts.  I had wish lists, and ideas of what sons and hubby wanted, needed, liked.  As we accumulate everything our hearts desire, and we all age, shopping has become a little more difficult.  Seems like just a  few years back, while older son was still in college and not working,  He took over the black friday sales and comparing ads, then running around from store to store to get the best prices for what we wanted. He enjoyed the hunt for the perfect gift at the perfect price too.  Now that he has a full time job, getting up at the crack of dawn is not so much fun,
and i am back to being the main shopper.

This year, there was no big ticket item to purchase. no wish list, no ''would like to have''.  We have it all, and what we don;t have we probably don;t need. Shopping was a little frustrating for us all with the exception of Younger son who  has a huge list of things he wanted.   After age 21, all those things desired by either son  are best purchased by those who want them so the correct items arrive home for wrapping.

Being ever resourceful, The lack of ideas this year did not stop any of us from finding things to wrap,,, well hubby is not into shopping or presents.. actually if christmas never happened again he would be fine with that too.

as you can see, there was plenty of presents under the tree.

christmas time 2

One of the things i have been doing all month was to ruthlessly pack up items to donate to salvation army.  Clothing, household, decorations, books, you name it and i dropped it off at the shop for them to resell.  I have been trying not to bring anything new into the house unless i have gotten rid of something that i have and have not used in a long time. I have been somewhat successful too.  Let's face it, we like to change our inventory of things periodically, and for most of us, the old stuff is perfectly fine, we are just tired of it, or our taste has changed, or something more interesting has arrived on the scene. The idea of a lawn sale in the spring/summer is always enticing, but the reality is that it is too much work, and yields too little cash considering the initial  value of what is being sold.

In between drives to salvation army i made my way to the back of the storage area and considered what to decorate the tree with.  I could easily decorate 10 trees. all the soft things from when the kids were little, the houses, the birds, the toys, the rocking horses, the india type decorations, the nut crackers, the star fish, the Santa's, the snowmen, the barbies, the star trek, then there are all the old fashioned Christmas ball.

As far as garland... i have pearl beads and clear beads, wood beads, and beads that look like cranberries. Garland that is shaped like candy (one of my favorites), gold beads, silver beads, and the tinsel garland from 40 years ago. i also have the newer  strands of garland wired with different colors, and themes, music, trees, hearts... maybe i could do more than 10 trees??

Trees i have recently done: the barbie tree, the santa tree, the snowman tree, and the star fish tree. looking through boxes, i am just not ready to let any of the tree decorations go.  I decided on the rocking horses for this year. all the things that are not really tree ornaments are in a box to go to salvation army when it next opens, Monday. and i am not going to go through that box again... what ever is in it is going. the end!

Tree with candy garland, and rocking horse ornaments..

christmas time

Well i have been busy all month with Christmas day prep.

We got the tree up and lighted the weekend of the 18th/19th, a week ago.   I like the idea of the earlier the better, starting just after thanksgiving for decorating and spending the month doing holiday things. If a real tree is in the mix, you need to go out and get it which somethings requires the combining of several people, schedules and weather conditions.

All through my childhood, My parents always started the house decorating the weekend after thanksgiving. Everyone in the neighborhood was out putting up lights.  After that weekend, it usually turned cold and windy, so better to get out there and decorate before it was too uncomfortable.

During my young adult life, i utilized the time from thanksgiving through New Years day to enjoy the christmas season.   Even thought i worked, i tried to visit with friends a few nights during the week, as part of my holiday event.  No sense cramming a month of activity into a week.

It takes just as much orchestration to start the holiday early as to start last minute.  Having gotten older, i have also gotten slower, and after 5 hours of furious work, i tend to need a few hours to chill out (read.. take a nap).
anyway... here are some shots of the lighted  tree.

The tree is up, with lights

cool photo of lighted tree and unsteady hand.

One week to christmas...

I have always wanted to get dogie photo's taken with Santa.   To date, i miss the day for the photo shoot by a country mile!  It definitely helps to have someone that assists with the dogs day to day so life does not get backed up at that crucial time.  And that someone has to enjoy the prospect of socializing with other dogs and dogie people. Until i make it to Santa with dogs, i will enjoy photo's from friends.

this one today:

Ch. Nicholas Romanoff the Leash
Owners:W. Sparks & R. Giotta

Happy holidays to everyone!!!

More tea time.....

One of my favorite teas was the Christmas tea. Aside from the Christmas spices, it  had a sweet cherry taste. Unfortunately,  from one box to the next, that flavor was more pronounced or less so. The first cup of tea told what the contents of the box would be like.  When it was good it was very very good, but when it was lacking in that one taste... it was disappointing. For several years i ordered it by the 12 box case and enjoyed it all year round. Finally the inconsistency of the cherry flavor caught up with me and i lost interest, actually throwing away the last box..

About two years ago, a tea drinking friend introduced me to the Celestial seasonings Decaf Chai Tea, black tea  with exotic spices.   It was very similar to tea i had once had in an Indian restaurants which I osometimes made  at home and enjoyed it, but assembling the spices was just a little too much work. This Chai tea is fabulous. a little sweetener of choice and (almond) milk and a nice comforting, enjoyable evening cup of tea. 

Checking out the web site, i see they are offering the sweet coconut Thai tea, also in DECAF. i have ordered a few boxes and looking forward to trying it as the Thai tea i have had in restaurants has been very good.

Do check out the web site or just go to your local big chain grocery store. Everyone carries this brand of teas and more. 

If you are still not sure, stop by for a cup of tea!

Tea time...

As you may remember I am a coffee drinker.  I have tried to LOVE tea but it is not mean to be.  As a young adult i had the opportunity and means to try all the Twinings teas. They smelled lovely, they tasted fine, but it was more of a duty that i drank tea. We used loose tea and tea bags. Brewed it by the china teapot or by the cup. I tried it with milk. I tried it with lemon.  I tried it without either. Sugar, honey, artificial sweetener.. with no sweetener at all.  i always got it down, but there was no real enjoyment. I never looked forward to that cup of tea. I drank it to accommodate tea drinking friends. Tea and I were not great friends... That is till i started to drink and actually enjoy the herbal teas.

My original next door neighbor, Helen K.,deceased now some 20 + years. First introduced me to the delight of peppermint and spearmint tea.  she had a nice row along her driveway of both mints.  Often when i visited and we chatted in the driveway, i ran my hands over the fragrant stalks.  her recipe was to take about 20 fresh cut pieces of one mint or the other (and i am partial to the spearmint for some reason),  rinse under cold water (to remove the bugs) and throw them into a big pot of boiled water. cover and let sit for the good part of the day. Remove the used pieces when the color is right, add sugar or honey, bottle up. the tea sort of made itself.  It smelled nice, it tasted nice. it was nice!

Since i was a long time patient at the Clymer health clinic, i got to shop in their little grocery store. all sorts of herbal teas grown locally and Celestial Seasonings tea was sold there, which became a house hold name for me.
http://www.celestialseasonings.com/ 
i have not tried as many teas as they sell.  But the ones i have tried have been enjoyable and i look forward to a later afternoon cup of tea and drink it into the evening.

coffee in the morning.  tea in the afternoon.
life in the country!

i was wondering about....

I continually come across a phrase, an idea, a word that makes me wonder about the origins.  Having access to a computer day and night is the most  wonderful devise for a person that has a lot of questions to be answered. Recently, i came across a jeapordy question and did some exploring on the web.

"a murder of crows"
-This more poetic term for a flock of crows can be traced back at least to the 15th century, when it was recorded as a murther of crowes. Murther is a variant of Middle English murthre 'murder,' though the th sound had begun to be replaced with a d around 1300 C.E. There are several theories as to how this particular term came about, but all of them have to do with the supposed behavior of crows. For instance, crows are scavengers and therefore often seen feeding on rotting bodies of various sorts. Survivors of wars have described how the battlefields were covered in black as crows (and ravens) came down to eat the dead. Another theory hearkens back to old folklore which told of groups of crows essentially holding court over members of their flock that had committed offenses. If they decide against the "defendant" crow, then the rest of the flock swoops down on it and kills it. There are legends outside of the Germanic culture that relate to crows being judges over people as well, and how their appearance is an omen of death.

"a murder of crows....." I think i will still call them 'a flock of  crows' as it sounds so much kinder,
and i am in a kind mood today!

Hoot no more....

We have Two cats: Kitty who rarely leaves her chair in the kitchen, and Sister (of kitty) who loves to be outside during the summer and warm fall to hunt and do things cats do under cover  of dark.

Girl cats are not the roamers that boy cats are.  Girl cats tend to stay within their home area to hunt and play with mice. Sometimes they will spend time with me in the garden, or accompany me on an impromptu walk back to the woods.  Boy cats travel the neighborhoods looking for likely breeding stock and fighting other boy cats that came up with the same idea.  Either way, cats and cars do not mix.  It would be interesting though, to know if  the majority of  dead cats seen on the highway are boys.

Any time there is a furry dead animal on the road, we do a cat head count to make sure it is not one of our two.  A few times when our cats have been unaccounted for, we do a quick scan of the highway to make sure there is no recent fatality thus the setting for this story.....

One late spring morning, we noted something newly dead on the highway.  Closer to the color of kitty and right in front of the house on the shoulder of the road.   Kitty was immediately accounted for. Out we went to investigate.  i was surprised to find  it was a screech owl. Probably hit as it was flying  in hot pursuit of a meal.  i got my gloves on and brought it onto the porch to examine. Might as well take the opportunity to see something up close that was still very beautiful and unique even in death.

country living can be sad, but educational.

screech owl, may 2009

screech owl, May 2009

Not a hoot....

My second  experience with owls here in the country.......

Years ago, an owl caught a rabbit in the back yard. The rabbit was enjoying the bird seed i had put out during an extended snowy period. Unaware, the Owl  arrived and claimed its victim. I would think the rabbit put up some sort of a fight, as the evidence the next morning was a bloody area and scattered snow where the seed had been.  The scene was right out of a godfathers' movie and i wondered if we had made some sort of country enemies.

As the city girl, i called the neighbor across the road to come over and investigate.  He was kind enough to humor me but pronounced it an Owl kill during the night. A few days later, during a dog walk,   I came across a rabbit head, one of many i would find over the years.


Life in the country can sometimes be Yucky!

whooooo are you, too!

My first experience with an owl here in the country was during the first few years we were here.

I was very conscious of having no clue how much water was in the well. I did what i could to conserve.  I had a routine of dish washing (yes of course by hand) where as little water as possible went down the drain.  Most was caught in the dish pan to be disposed of, by watering the flowers or bushes out side the back door. The used water, of course, contained bits of food too.

One late night, as i was about to do last of the night dog walking,  I turned the back porch light on. Much to my surprised,  I caught sight of a small screech owl sitting on the rail, about to pounce on the mice that came to eat the bits of food from the dish washing water.  His head swiveled around toward  me like something out of the exorcist.  I was astonished, he/she was astonished.  The Owl blinked at me and i blinked back. Then he flew off to disappear back into the night.  

The mice survived that night.....and so did I

WHOOOO ARE YOU?

Last nights' dog walking netted a pair of great horned owls hunting very close to the house.

Must be a mated pair,  as you hear them calling back and forth while moving through the woods.  They definitely were sweeping the property south from the highway,  North to the woods and  all along the east side of the house.  The prey?   Probably rabbits and mice that come to the bird feeding stations in the dead of the night to scarf up the fallen seed.  What an eerie sound though to open the kitchen door, stand on the screened in porch and hear the sound so close by.

I kept  the little girls in until i could no longer hear the Owls. While not  not rabbit sized, they are small enough and interested in the same rabbit scented areas as the Owls.  Better not to chance any type of bird vs dog altercation in the dark.

Life in the country..... always something interesting going on.

Remembering the less fortunate

Teva Pharmaceutical.  Bear Tree. donations for kids in need.

 -photo by R.K.

ain't it the truth?!

Heaven is Where:The Police are British,
The Chefs are Italian,
The Mechanics are German,
The Lovers are French
     And
It's all organized by the Swiss.
Hell is Where:The Police are German,
The Chefs are British,
The Mechanics are French,
The Lovers are Swiss
     And
It's all organized by the Italians.

Friday all day.....

I had scheduled our new bed, Tempur-Pedic queen size with metal bed frame, to arrive between noon and four p.m. Friday, DEC 10th. This is a Friday hubby is home.  i liked the idea of two of us to move things around and supervise.

Patty, from the store, called last evening to confirm what was coming and when. Noon on the dot was the new time frame.

I have been spending a few hours every day this week dusting, vacuuming, getting rid of and moving things out of the bedroom to accommodate what was coming. Certainly an opportunity to start fresh with a bedroom, instead of another storage room.

At 9:55 this morning while i was still shifting things around, i got a call from the delivery person that they could come at 10:20 a.m.  Swell. 10:30 was the earliest i could let them in as i had to get the dogs squared away and the mattress hubby has been using  also had to be moved out to hubby's summer sleeping hut.

Talk about hitting the ground running.  Everything was getting done and all going well with the delivery till the tempur-pedic mattress came in, Hard as a rock from sitting in the truck. No way was it going up the steps.

We had ordered a split platform base as the doorway to the 2nd floor is not large enough to accommodate more than a double size box spring and that has been tricky at times too. the split platforms, sort of 2 small, single sized boxes came up the narrow opening with no problem. the tempur-pedic queen, huge after what has been up there, is a pliable bendable mattress. Pliable and Bendable unless it has been outside in the 10 degree temperatures for several hours. As the delivery person said, "it is like a refrigerator in the truck!"  We agreed to leave it in the living room to thaw, and reschedule set up for tomorrow morning. Likely my sons will be able to help hubby get the mattress upstairs once they are home. We can cancle the set up, so no problem there.

In the mean time, i have spent 3 more hours trying to shift the furniture around before the mattress make its way up. I still need to get queen sized sheets too.  I think i will take a break. walk the dogs and run to the store.

i do believe.......

MERCURY STATION RETROGRADE - Fri.12.10.10
© 1997-2010 Sarolta DeFaltay Haardt. All rights reserved.
http://moonspells.com

MERCURY STATION RETROGRADE 7.04 am est  [05 deg 56' Capricorn]
When Mercury turns retrograde, matters ruled by Mercury are likely to manifest in unusual or unexpected ways: be prepared for confusion and miscommunication and have an alternate course of action; flexibilty is needed now.  Mercury rules communication and transportation: make sure that you give yourself extra time to get where you are going!

There ARE many positive uses for the Mercury retrograde period.  look at this time as an opportunity to get unfinished projects taken care of and go with the flow [esp regarding matters ruled by the house Mercury is transiting in your personal chart].  By being too rigid now you could cause unnecessary stress for yourself; a
flexible attitude and a good sense of humor are needed since things are likely to operate according to their
own time frame.

You can almost expect car trouble or crazy drivers...NOT the best time to buy a car!  Be especially careful a few days before and after Mercury goes retrograde.  Matters regarding communications, electronic equipment, contracts and negotiations are likely to undergo many changes.  Agreements negotiated now are likely to flip flop, so wait for a few weeks before signing any paperwork, if possible.

Mercury will be retrograde through Dec 30th, 2010.

i do like fruitcake

 I love fruitcake. So did my mom. we preferred the Claxton fruitcake and my mom would buy them after the holidays and freeze them.   Fruitcake all year long!  I only tried it one time (buying and freezing).  I realized nothing is fabulous if you have it day after day, all year long.


i actually made fruitcakes a few times.  I  enjoy reading a recipe that seems straightforward, and easily accomplished.  This one from Rodale.


 Sober Fruitcake

Ingredients:
2 sticks softened butter
2 cups candied cherries
2 cups candied pineapple
2 cups candied citrus peel
2 cups pecans, chopped up
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1½ teaspoons lemon extract
1 handful golden raisins
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups flour

Directions:
1. Use some of the butter to grease a mini-muffin pan.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Toss fruits and nuts together in a bowl.
4. Mix softened (but not melted) butter and sugar together. Add eggs, lemon extract, and salt and mix some more.
5. Add the flour and mix some more.
6. Now add the fruit and nuts to the other stuff and mix everything together.
7. Fill the muffin tins and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.

Note: This can be baked in a traditional loaf too!

The cold continues....

It is just too early for this bitter cold!  It is not even winter as yet.  Every night is colder than the last. 10 degrees when i walked dogs at 2 a.m. even they did not want to stay out long.  With this intense cold, I can only hope we are getting it now, and will have a more seasonal, reasonable winter in January and  February. well ....i can Hope!

 New bed coming today and bedroom must be cleaned and in order for the arrival.  I still need some nice flannel sheets too.  With the clutter control and letting go of things that have not been looked at or noticed for a few years now,  I have been  making trips to salvation army with donations. best to load the car as i have a container of stuff and get it out before i change my mind.  i know i am not the only one lightening the load, as there is a line of cars making donations every time i stop in and i had stopped 3 times this week.

I spend an enormous amount of time thinking about what i would like to do.  In reality that is about all i have time to do... think about it.  One of the things i have been thinking about is baking.  My mom would spend a day or two, with or without sister/sister-in-laws help and bake. i mean bake up a storm and have 3 huge trays of cookies to make up smaller dishes for friends and neighbors.  As youngsters, My brother Vince and i would play the run around the table game.  After each lap, we would reward ourselves with a cookie.... until mom caught on and ended the game.

My mom went all out and baked many many different types of cookies. i tend to bake what gives me a large yield and just 2 or 3 types.  I will have to look up my favorites and post. After all what is a holiday without desserts and cookies are just perfect for  holiday sharing.

Feels like Christmas!

It is sad to heard commentaries on what is politically correct for the Christmas holiday.  I do feel that my rights are being infringed upon when the courts say no mention of 'Christ' and now, 'Christmas' should be replaced with ' holiday'.

As far as i am concerned, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ.  We give thanks for all we have at Thanksgiving, and share the bounty of a year of good fortune at Christmas time with gift giving.  

This says it all.

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=2007134554829&source=jl999

susurrous

susurrous adjective  full of whispering sounds

Doesn't take living in the city or the country to get the Merriam Webster " word of the day".  One way or another, i have  read the "word of the day" for years and years.  How many words have made it into my vocabulary is anyone's guess, but probably few.  

We live on a state highway with more noise than visiting city friends think we should have. So much quieter than the city and 12 lanes of traffic day and night.  The quiet times here, and there are quiet times, sometimes bother me.    The sound of silence.

Spending the day with a friend who has acreage of her own and all around her, i was surprised at the sound. Quiet like i had never hear... but also the wind whispering through the tall grass.  The sound was relentless.  This sound and no sound left me with a very eerie feeling.  I am too used to a little nose to live in the extreme quiet.

"The Big open fields that surrounded the house were susurrous, which left me feeling very unsettled". 

I need a little noise in my life.

 

Beverage of choice

I have always been a coffee drinker. i love the smell and the taste. no black coffee for me though, make mine sweet and light.  Interesting to look back over 40 years of coffee enjoyment and see what remains the same and all the changes.

Over the years i have used just about every brand of coffee. Maxwell house was the staple for so long then it seemed to become bitter to me.  Folgers is ok, but my favorites are chase & sanborn and chock full o' nuts.  I even had a period of time when i drank Postum, a non coffee substitute.  honestly, you can get used to anything given time.

I have used every type of sweetener, both artificial and natural.  White sugar, honey, raw sugar, and now agava syrup:    http://allaboutagave.com/     Most of the artificial sweeteners too;   saccharin, equal,  splenda  (the current artificial rage). 
One of the new natural sweeteners, Stevia, is also gaining in popularity here. http://www.steviaextractintheraw.com/Our-Products.aspx
but it can  leave a bitter taste, so finding one that is non bitter is a must.

i have never been a fan of  dry creamers. Dry serves no purpose in the equation. even the liquid coffee creamers have not interested me.  When we bought milk from the farm, i often used the cream that rose to the top.  Milk went from raw whole milk to 1%.    I   use  Almond  milk now too.    The liquid component of my cup of coffee is to cool it enough to drink it down.  Cream does not work, as i always use too much. 

Using other than sugar does require a period of trial and error, fine tuning the amounts used make for the perfect cup of joe.   Most times, less is exactly what you need.    Many claim artificial sweeteners seem to leave a taste, making it more important to use just enough and not spoil the coffee drinking enjoyment.

Over the years, i have learned to tolerate and finally enjoy the flavored coffees.  There was a time, when i could just be hooked up to the caffeine I.V. to get the jolt i needed. the flavored coffees distracted me from my enjoyment of the scent of coffee brewing.  With the advent of cappuccino and latte and coffee houses dedicated to the brew, we are all exposed to coffee being elevated to an art form. Once you could get coffee, sweet and light, now you need a college course to decipher the many ways to have that morning eye opener.

The future comes to upper bucks county.  We even have a starbucks here!  my my, how the Washington state love of strong coffee has spread here to the east. Just a little too strong and bitter for me. 

And the reason for the coffee talk?  a recent trip to BJ's and i noted "winter spice coffee". how interesting.... nice container, 28 ounce. (28 oz is the new 32oz) not sure why i decided to try it, but after the first pot i was hooked. A good arabica coffee with the addition of nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and allspice. The smell is delightful.  I mentioned to a friend, a coffee drinker, and back to the store i went to get some for her and more for me.

coffee is just one of  the best companions you can have  to start the day.   I don;t need to fly around the room any more from the caffeine overload.  i just need a little nudge after i read the paper and start the day's routine.

Good Morning Coffee!

windy day....

Lines Composed in a Wood on a Windy Day

My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze; For above and around me the wild wind is roaring, Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas. The long withered grass in the sunshine is glancing, The bare trees are tossing their branches on high; The dead leaves, beneath them, are merrily dancing, The white clouds are scudding across the blue sky. I wish I could see how the ocean is lashing The foam of its billows to whirlwinds of spray; I wish I could see how its proud waves are dashing, And hear the wild roar of their thunder today! Anne Bronte

snow flakes

Snow flakes
36 Snow flakes. I counted till they danced so Their slippers leaped the town, And then I took a pencil To note the rebels down. And then they grew so jolly I did resign the prig, And ten of my once stately toes Are marshalled for a jig! Emily Dickinson

when the wind blows

The wind is incredible today. the steady sound, sort of a dull roar, has gone on for hours and hours. The wind races down the highway. Very windy in the front. not so windy in the door yard thanks to many evergreen trees.  It is cold without the wind, but way too cold to be out without a coat when the wind is blowing like it is.

Dark and light clouds, breaks of sun. flurries coming fast and furious. Blue and white sky now but more dark clouds to follow.  The wind is still humming away.

The dogs are in and glad to be. They all have had a few spicy dog treats and chews to keep them busy. inbetween munching they snooze, what dogs do best.

This is the kind of day when i wonder how the little birds manage to survive the cold. I do the best i can, making sure there is a variety of seed and suet  always available.  Water..all the birdbaths are  frozen, but they can stop at the fish pond. While ice floats on the top, there are still several areas of open water. I do wish more birds would find the pond and use it, especially once the heater is on.  The water will not be warm but it will also not be frozen solid.

A good day for people to be inside.

later that same day

well a busy day and i am beat!  Looking around i wonder where the time went and how so little was accomplished. Yet when i go over the day i see a lot was accomplished.

Had a visit from a dear friend, and while the occasion was sad, we still found time for a few laughs. You need those friends and those laughs to lighten the dark clouds that sometimes hang in the mind.  life is... what it is.  All you can do is make the most of every moment, regardless of what you do or how much you accomplish.

More kitchen clutter control, my every day job, and then a movie at 8.  A cold day.  Now a peaceful warm evening. Everyone, including dogs & cats are all settled for a comfortable evening.  Warm dreams, warm wishes
for tomorrow.

Saturday, first weekend in december

There is excitement in the air! A trip to the bank the morning and i noted a craft show at the old train station. Christmas crafts!  Festive decorations inside and out.  many cars in the lot.  I had a destination in mind, so did not stop but they will be there all day.

The sky boiled with dark clouds between here and there.  Brilliant, bright sunlight broke through the cloud cover, accentuating the dark clouds. Breathtaking.  The spark of sunlight also illuminating  the lighter colored wing margins on the underside of a soaring turkey vulture.  he was looking at his next meal but with the traffic was finding it difficult to set down.

Not too cold and snow flurries along the way.  It feels like the holiday's are coming quickly. People putting up lights and decorating outside trees.  Garland on fences. Hubby and i talk of getting our tree ( a fresh one) and setting it up early. why not?! I love the christmas holiday. and plan to make the most of this one.  You should too.

DEC 1ST, ALL DAY LONG.

The forecast calls for temps to drop from 60 through the 40's.  At 12;30p.m. (noonday) it is now 50 degrees. A little too cool to keep windows and doors open. 

We have had a few more cloud bursts of rain between 11 and 12;30.  I will be interested to see how much rain has fallen since 9a.m. this morning, when i put the rain gauge out.

In between phone calls I have been on flood patrol this morning.  Making sure water is not running down foundation only to reemerge in the basement.  

There is always something to keep track of here in the country.

Ode......... by Robert Southey

Ode Written On The First Of December

Tho' now no more the musing ear Delights to listen to the breeze That lingers o'er the green wood shade, I love thee Winter! well. Sweet are the harmonies of Spring, Sweet is the summer's evening gale, Pleasant the autumnal winds that shake The many-colour'd grove. And pleasant to the sober'd soul The silence of the wintry scene, When Nature shrouds her in her trance Not undelightful now to roam The wild heath sparkling on the sight; Not undelightful now to pace The forest's ample rounds; And see the spangled branches shine, And mark the moss of many a hue That varies the old tree's brown bark, Or o'er the grey stone spreads. The cluster'd berries claim the eye O'er the bright hollies gay green leaves, The ivy round the leafless oak Clasps its full foliage close. So VIRTUE diffident of strength Clings to RELIGION'S firmer aid, And by RELIGION'S aid upheld Endures calamity. Nor void of beauties now the spring, Whose waters hid from summer sun Have sooth'd the thirsty pilgrim's ear With more than melody. The green moss shines with icey glare, The long grass bends its spear-like form, And lovely is the silvery scene When faint the sunbeams smile. Reflection too may love the hour When Nature, hid in Winter's grave, No more expands the bursting bud Or bids the flowret bloom. For Nature soon in Spring's best charms Shall rise reviv'd from Winter's grave. Again expand the bursting bud, And bid the flowret bloom. Robert Southey

The First Day of December 2010

Tuesday morning was gray.  Tuesday noon time was gray also.  As the temps moved up the thermometer  we had rain off and on. It wasn't a bad day. No days are bad in the country.

The really heavy rain finally moved in overnight.   At 9a.m. Wednesday morning, The first day of December, the last month of the 2010 year, it is 60 degrees!  The rain, as forecast,  is torrential.  I made a fresh pot of coffee (winter spice) and have been walking dogs in between the downpours. They don't like to be wet either. If the temps had remained in the 20's and 30's the 2 to 3 inches of rain could easily have translated into 10+ inches of snow. Snowing in the western part of the state. Remind me never to move to Pittsburgh.

I have been taking advantage of the warm humid day to walk out onto the back porch and watch the rivers of rain water make their way down the driveway, through the dog yards and down the walking paths.  The dry creek is running high, but draining the rain water as it always does.

No birds at the feeders at this time. guess they are waiting for the rain to let up too.  High winds for this afternoon into this evening.  i hate the idea that big old trees might be affected, but not much to be done about that. Wind chimes are singing. Dark day, but not an unpleasant day, turn on a light.  Good day to putter around in the house... well every day is a good day to putter.

Welcome December!