My Everything Corner

I relay hate mowing around these trees in the summer months.  Round and round and round, getting slapped in the face with branches, bugs falling off the leaves and onto and into uncomfortable places.  And, I still have to finish with the trimmer to really make it look nice.  I'm too fussy, I know, I know. But just look at them in the winter!  Several months of them looking gorgeous without any attention from me.  In the winter, I love these rows of trees. With that, here is little poem I whipped up.  I'm sure it's destined to be among the greats... Winter Solace A long tunnel of trees Swaying gently in a breeze. The leaves clatter, Sounding like rain. Letting me forget the pain Caused to me all summer. Mowing around them Was such a bummer. Bugs getting in my hair, Missing strips everywhere. Then in Autumn Offering up their leaves, No longer showy in a breeze. Snow slowly gathers round Old Jack, no longer bo...

I did not think I would be doing another post until after Christmas, but when my daughter decided to make everyone in the family a special card, and I fell in love with all of them, well, I just had to share them.  She asked me to pick a favourite and I really couldn't. You'll see what I mean... I shared this post HERE for Mosaic Monday.  Thank-you so much Judith for hosting!

After spending the last two days cooking and hosting, it will be nice to take a break before getting together with our other side.   Although it was fun, and I was well prepared so everything ran smoothly, it still tired me out.   Sitting down at the computer and having plenty of time to type up a few words and play my part in a link party while sipping my tea, is a wonderful thing.  While some people have not even started their holiday obligations, mine are nearly half through.   My munchkins go back to school on the fourth, so that leaves me with plenty of time to snuggle up and enjoy my little family of four, (10 if you're counting our pets).  Yes, we are outnumbered by the animals we so love. I've really enjoyed visiting the blogs during the link parties, and it is great how everyone returns the visits.  It truly is a wonderful community, and one that I don't have to venture out into the cold to enjoy!  It just doesn't get better than that. ...

I love all of my Christmas ornaments, and have collected them slowly over the past 20 years.  Here are 5 of my favorite and I'm sharing this post on Amy's lovely blog for Five on Friday . I hope you all are enjoying the time leading up to the holidays.

Who knows what sort of bird this little guy was modeled after, but my husband called him "Frank the Finch', so there it is.  Frank came home with me one day, because he wouldn't stop whining about how lonely he was on that shelf.  I tried to reason with him, and explained that he had a huge family surrounding him.  He continued to complain saying that their beaks must have been attached improperly, because they couldn't chatter it up like he could.  All they could do was mumble inaudible sounds. So, I let him hop into my cart, and he hasn't shut up since.  He even insists I take him on walks, which I refused to do for a long time, explaining that if my dog ever got hold of him, it would be his end. But he persisted, and so I eventually gave in, thinking to myself that if Bear did catch him, it might not be the worst thing. He perched himself on my shoulder, and out we went.  I had my camera, I always have my camera, and why wasn't I surp...

This giant, 100 year old spruce stands in the formal part of my yard less then 50 feet East of my living room window.  It is many things to my family; my son's favourite tree to climb, a place to feed and watch the birds, a perfect shade cover during the summer's hottest days and a wonderful place to stand under a canopy of freshly fallen snow and listen to the deep quiet of winter.  I love this tree.

All of these photos were taken in the late fall before our big snowfall last week.  The casual, easy walking over the prairies is over!  I can also forget about having a fire, because the snow is sure piling up around the pit.  But, the landscape is lovelier then ever, and the birds seem more active, like now is the time get serious, because winter has finally arrived and finding food isn't as easy as it was a week ago.  Don't worry little guys, I'll keep the bird seed coming... This post was created for Mosaic Monday... HERE .

During the first week of my life, I was given a black kitten.  My parents named him Zeke, and that cat was mine through and through for nearly 18 years.  I was devastated when he passed away.  It was nearly 3 years later, out and living on my own, that I went down to the local shelter with the intention of adopting a black kitten.  But instead, I met Winnie, a 3 year old former barn cat.  This cat stole everyone's heart and had been in the shelter for months, even when other kitties were being euthanized due to a lack of room for all the strays.  I took Winnie home, renamed him Zeke, Jr. and Junior became his name.  I had him for 17 years, and he died at the age of 20.  I did not expect the grief that hit me when that cat passed away.  I had grieved over other pets before; our wonderful Shepard, Ginger; our sweet, but weird Sarah cat, but nothing prepared me for Junior.  Plenty of people advised that I go out and rescue ano...

It has been a wonderful, drawn out fall.  I've enjoyed easy walks around my yard well into December, and more time outdoors than I usually get during these first two winter months. This balance between indoors and outdoors is essential to keeping me feeling good.  I hate being cooped up in the house for too long without a breath of fresh air.  It makes me tired, and I'm a grouch when I'm tired. Yesterday, Old Man Winter decided to correct his oversight in our corner of the world, and deposited between 6 and 8 inches of snow.  It looked light and fluffy, but it was actually very dense and it took a lot of work on my husband's part to tidy up the driveway. The prairie I walk in out back was so completely whited out, it seemed as though I was getting nowhere, even though I could clearly feel the muscles in my legs straining to get me through the snow.  It is actually quite dizzying to be looking at nothing but pure white and trying to move forward.  I had ...

This dreamy photo was taken yesterday morning when the fog was so thick, it blurred out what would have been a blinding sunrise.  It was a lovely, quiet morning for a walk.  Today's morning is quite a different scene, and I have yet to get out there and photograph it.  We had at least 6 inches of fluffy snow fall and it is still lightly coming down.  I'll get pictures of that up later. But for now, this one, because I really wanted to take part in Good Fences, HERE .  Have a great day everyone!

Christmas exploded into our home yesterday!  I spent the entire day putting up everything but the tree, and after dinner we all joined in decorating and that made this the first year that we have all worked together on the main tree.  The cats are the ones most excited about the change in decor, but so far, there have been no major mishaps. I did manage to get an adorable picture of my girl kitty, Georgia which I just have to share.  I hope everyone is having fun getting ready for the holidays! After getting all the decorations up in one day, I feel a whole lot better, and now can move on to the baking! I shared this post at The Enchanting Rose, HERE .

We spent this past weekend celebrating our daughter's 13th birthday with decorations, cake, cards, gifts, and of course, friends and family!  Thank-you to everyone for making my little girl's day so special.  Now, here is a dreamy, (some might say cheesy) collage. I shared this post HERE for Mosaic Monday.

I took this photo, and was reminded of an old favorite.  The last time I visited this piece was probably 20 years ago, but it still speaks to me.  The winter brings with it a sadness I can relate to.  That does not mean I like to dwell there, but it makes sense to me, and with it's understanding, helps me to better accept the difficult things in life. What does this poem say to you?  Winter: A Dirge BY  ROBERT BURNS The wintry west extends his blast, And hail and rain does blaw; Or, the stormy north sends driving forth The blinding sleet and snaw: While tumbling brown, the burn comes down, And roars frae bank to brae; And bird and beast in covert rest, And pass the heartless day. The sweeping blast, the sky o’ercast, The joyless winter-day, Let others fear, to me more dear Than all the pride of May: The tempest’s howl, it soothes my soul, My griefs it seems to join; The leafless trees my fancy please, The...

I'm taking my morning tea with Lightroom and a few of last night's photos.  As I'm typing, I keep looking up and out a window from my basement and just noticed  a blue jay that has perched himself on a branch.  Maybe I will be lucky enough to capture him in a photograph later today.  Our jays seem to be very shy around here though, even though they know who fills their feeder every week. Oh, and now I see a very large woodpecker, another camera shy bird.  Maybe I need a more powerful lens, so I can get up close without having to get up close. On a different note, I have a nephew who is turning 19 today, and I was able to claim him for lunch this afternoon.  He is the oldest of all my sister's and my children, and there are 10 of them.  I am truly looking forward to this get together, as I rarely get to see him on his own. Almost never, in fact. But every time I do see him, he shows me a gorgeous photo of a sunrise or sunset on his phone.  The k...