My Everything Corner

I don't notice the cold when the cold looks like this. I can't feel the freezing in this wonderland of bliss. Winter, knowing His visit can be quite unpleasant... Once in awhile, offers this exquisite present.                    Andrea Ostapovitch

For the past few weeks, I've had this crazy notion that I wanted to hand paint all of my Christmas cards. I couldn't get the idea of snow-covered spruce trees out of my head, and so I headed over to Youtube for a quick tutorial.  I had to improvise a little, as I don't own professional supplies, and I've now got 15 little pictures done, ready to matte and place onto cards.  I can't tell you how much fun I am having painting these little trees, I've handmade cards in the past. One year, I drew a few different snowman scenes, then I made several copies and coloured them to adorn my cards. I've used my stamp collection to make sets, and I have a Cricut machine which was fun to use one year.   In the past few years, I have truly enjoyed the process of making and writing out these cards, then shipping them off.  I would love to add more of my blog friends to that mailing list, so please send me an email with your address if you enjoy receiving Christmas...

If you truly  love nature you will find beauty everywhere.                                                                                                                               Van Gogh

We had a beautiful and unusual morning today.  It was cloudy and snowing from the North and clear and sunny to the South.  After taking Bear for a nice long walk, I grabbed my camera and went to sit with him for a while on my garden swing.  I was waiting for a snowflake. This was my first attempt at photographing something so tiny and delicate, and maybe not the best subject for my first try at macro, but I liked the way it turned out and decided to share it. The flakes are standing on the edge of the arm on my swing. What do you think? A special thank-you to my wonderful Husband for the macro lens!  I think I'm going to have a lot fun with it.

I've put together a quick mix of black and whites for Mosaic Monday this morning.  I'm fairly certain I haven't previously published any of these images to my blog.  I really like all of them, and even though it may seem as though I favor the feather, it is actually a toss up between the curled up poinsettia leaf and the snow drifts, (which, by the way, are no taller than 2 inches).  Truth is, I love black and white photography.  Long before I ever owned a camera, I was drawn to it.  I love it even more now that I have Lightroom.  I can't tell you how much fun I have been having with that program.   Thank you again Judith for hosting.  This is one of my favorite link party's to take part in.   Do you have a favorite image out of these five?

As long as I can remember, I've had dreams of there being a lake in my front yard. I'm not talking about daydreams, but actual, 'I have fallen asleep and am now wondering around semi-familiar places' dreams. I treasure these dreams and they have followed me through my life and everywhere I've lived.  I recently was inspired to recreate my dream in photoshop.  So I took a few pictures, played around for quite awhile, and came up with some art that pleased me. I shared this post HERE at Weekend Reflections.   For the first one, I aimed for a realistic outcome.  I like it, but it doesn't recreate the feeling I had in my dream. This is the second one I created, and it truly does take me back to my dreamworld.  It is my favorite. It has that soft, foggy, surreal feel to it, like if you walked here, you wouldn't be able to feel your feet on the ground. And now, when I walk in this part of my yard, I can clearly envision the scene from my dream, b...

I am beginning the new year with a flu.  A common, I'm weak, I don't feel like moving, I should just go back to bed, flu. Blech. It wouldn't be all that big a deal really, but I am going to miss a very special celebration of our Dear Uncle Mike turning 100 years old.  I am relying on my husband to take lots of photos and I may even ask my daughter to take her video camera.  I could go on and on about Uncle, but he would hate that. Suffice to say, he still lives on his own, cooks, and plants a garden.  He's always up for a chat, no matter what the subject.  He's downright friendly, and who doesn't like that? I wrote that first paragraph on New Year's Day, but I didn't have the energy to finish it.  I ended up in bed most of that day.  On the second, I started to feel quite a bit better and today I am almost completely back to normal.   I do regret missing Uncle's party, but the husband and daughter pulled through and captured the memor...

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. ...

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 .

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!

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...

Well I asked for it!  I begged good ol' Mother Nature to come around and clean things up outside.  All the brown mush was getting on my nerves.  So she dropped the temperature to minus 9C, (-20) with the wind chill, (very, very windy) and dropped a fresh blanket of snow on us.  That is why I'm here today, to show you the unique pattern the snow formed.  It looked like a huge, poofy, looped wool carpet.  I didn't want to walk on it, so as to keep it beautiful.  If it wasn't for the incredible scenery, I would be very upset with the difficult weather. 

This wasn't our first snowfall, but it feels like it.  It's the real stuff, crunchy and packable, not the mush of the last two.  It made for much prettier photos in the garden too having covering up all that brown.  I enjoyed the fresh palette, a new landscape without leaving my yard. I shared this post over at The Run*A*Round Ranch for Good Fences.

I'm very used to walking around the rectangular shape of our 10 acre parcel and frankly am getting quite bored with it.  So I decided to venture outside our fence line into the neighbors field and down into our creek bed.  It wasn't far, but it sure made a difference in how I felt about going for a walk.  I would never attempt this without my trusty snowshoes.  The spruce trees that divide my neighbor's field, (which I'm standing in) from my yard. Looking west, away from my yard.  I could go a long way if my legs were up for it. Looking down into the creek bed, where I'm headed. Most of those willows are dead because the water table has been too high for too long.  And some of them are just old. In the creek.  My kiddos call this place the 'magical land' because of how it looks when the  creek dries up in the summer.  It is a really neat experience.  The ground is very spongy,  like walking on an extremely th...