AGAIN!

Yesterday was a wonderful gift. The temperature reached 52, the sun was out and we finally saw the ice melt off our sidewalks. Today is a different story. It is 15 degrees, it is snowing and the wind is blowing so hard you can't see across the road! What a change in less than 24 hours. Living in central New York you tend to get used to it but that's not saying we like it! The photo on the left are of deer tracks on the lawn. I love seeing them but pity the poor things when the weather is so bad. Speaking of pity, my poor husband is out snow blowing the driveway as we have about a foot or more snow in it and we have guests coming for my mid winter cook out. Yes, I am still having it. The only difference is I will be cooking the meat in instead of out. The way the wind is blowing I doubt the grill would get to cooking temps. The menu is, BBQ ribs, tenderloin steaks, macaroni salad, potato salad, home made baked beans and watermelon. For starters there is, smoked atlantic salmon, spinach artichoke dip, cheese and crackers and fresh cut pine apple. We will not go hungry. This time of year summer food tastes so good!

In my last post I mentioned the bird feeder. This is a photo I took last week. There are two of them that tag team to get every bit of suet out of the suet feeder. They are such goofs. I can't help but laugh watching them. Today they have been in hiding but the birds have been out trying to fuel their little bodies against the cold. So far I have seen mourning doves, juncos, blue jays, cardinals and sparrows. The birds also love the suet. The seed feeder is always very busy (the squirrels also love it) They are lucky I like them!
The time is getting away from me. Time to get cooking. Enjoy your day and til next time.

Winter

The days are getting longer and the sky is
starting to get lighter. The winter sun is often peeking through the trees. Here in The "Hollow" seeing the sun is a reason to celebrate. Today we celebrate. The weather man has finally taken pity on us as the temperatures are supposed to climb into the 50"s for a couple of days. I fear we will pay handsomely for the warm temps but we will enjoy them while they are here. I saw a flock of robins yesterday and the bird population at my feeder is growing in number and species. Speaking of my feeders..... maybe tomorrow.
Even the "old man in the tree" is looking for some warmth. As spring gets closer his smile gets bigger.I don't think I would like snow sitting on my face as it does his. Most of the time he doesn't seem to mind. He just keeps watching and waiting. ( as do we) February is a long month. Yes, I know it is only 28 days but after a long winter it can seem never ending. The hope of this month is that when it FINALLY ends, March will be kinder to us. I have been giving my gardens some thought and hoping that winter has been easy on them. Last spring I had to replace some key plants but over all they did well. I have hopes of being able to share some of my plants this year. Several years ago a very kind lady shared with me and now I hope to do the same.
I will leave you with thoughts of spring and flowers. Till next time.

SUN?

It looks as if the sun is going to shine today. That doesn't happen to often in this neck of the woods. The temperature bottomed out at -1 this morning but it is already warming up. It won't be warm enough to get rid of the snow but we will take what we can get. The snow is good for making snow angels. This angel is my grand nieces first. She and her parents spent a wonderful Christmas with us. Bailey loved playing out side. The cold never seems to bother little ones. The day she made this the wind was blowing and the temperature was around 12 degrees. How she cried when we went back inside

Here is a photo of Bailey and her dad. We walked down to see the creek, which at that time was frozen over. As much as I hate the cold, I have to admit that the creek is lovely this time of year. I would love to have them visit in the summer but their work is done in the summer so that isn't likely. Being a rancher is a lot of hard work. I admire them for their commitment to the work.
I marvel at the deer this time of year. My back yard looks like Grand Central Station for deer! The entire yard is filled with paths and holes where they dig for food. They particularly love my patch of myrtle. I fear my patch will be much smaller come spring. I do love watching them so I guess there is a trade off. Also come spring there will be fawns playing in my yard and hopefully more wood chucks. Last year there were five babies running around. The deer would walk right up to them. Neither seemed to mind. As you can tell, my mind is on spring. It has been a long hard winter so far and a nice warm day with sun would be a blessing. On that wishful note, I need to sign off. Have a wonderful day. Till next time.

Gifts

Gifts are a wonderful thing. I love gifts. I love to give gifts. I love to wrap gifts. Even a small item beautifully wrapped brings joy. My thought is that everyone deserves a well wrapped gift.Tonight I will be wrapping for a friend. Friends themselves are a wonderful gift. A good and trusted friend is worth more than any possession or thing. I have been blessed with several of these good friends. These precious "gifts" are always willing to go above and beyond for me. They are always ready to lend a hand when needed and to share a tear or a good belly laugh. This season of love reminds me what is most important in my life. Above all Christ is on the top of my list. He is the reason for the season. With out Him there would be no hope. I have hope.

This wonderful season also brings me gifts. The best gift I could receive is in the form of family. My niece, her husband and their sweet 21 month old baby girl are on their way to spent Christmas at my home. To say I'm excited would be putting it mildly. They have a ways to come so I am wishing them traveling mercies. The path from Kansas to New York is a long one and I pray their trip is an uneventful one.
Well friends after a quick check of the time I see it is time to get a move on. Till next time. Merry Christmas

A New Season

The summer flowers are gone as are the fall leaves . What remains is hope. Hope that the winter will be an easy one. Hope that the coming year will be an easier year. Hope that the hurts of the past will lessen as the days pass. As it is well into December my thoughts turn to Christmas. I love Christmas! I love the lights, the trees, the gatherings and most of all I love the reason for the season. This is a season of celebrating the birth that changed the world. Time is set by His existence. I will celebrate the birth of Christ. Gifts come and are soon forgotten. Gatherings are wonderful but are also soon forgotten. But the Son of God is never forgotten. He is with me every waking moment and every moment of my long dark nights. My life has meaning and is better for having a Savior.That being said, I decorate. My sweet niece once told me that Christmas threw up in my house. She later explained she meant it in the nicest way. I have to admit she may be right. I do decorate everything. I even help friends decorate. I love the gold, silver, blues, reds and greens that you see at this time of year. Did I say, I love flowers? Poinsettias are a personal holiday favorite. Therefore I use several to dress up the old place. I have baskets of them. They are placed any where I can put one.
Did I also mention my tree? I love my tree! There are about 1200 lights, 1000 ornaments and 200-300 hard plastic and glass icicles hung one at a time. Yes, it takes a lot of time to do everything but it is worth it. There is a wonderful young friend who helps me put my tree up. He has grown up helping me. At 16 he still comes and says he will continue to help as long as he is able. Timothy is very affordable too. He works for peanut brittle. We work for a bit then take a break to make a batch. Then we go back to work for a while and it's time for a tea break. His father is English so he has a great appreciation for good tea. Even as young as he is I count him among my dearest friends.
Well friends, I am getting tired so I'll sign off for now. Until next time.

???????

This morning, along with the flooded yard, brought another duck. What kind of duck? It will take a smarter person than me to guess. Take note of the top knot, the white throat and white wing tips. I do believe he came from the same place Lucy (last summers goose) came from. He didn't seem at all bothered when I walked up to take the photos so I think I can safely assume he is a domestic duck. My husband and I had great fun watching him this morning as he swam around stopping only to eat. I do wish the pond was already in.


That's it for now. Click on the photos to see them bigger. Till next time.

Hope!

This photo is the site of my pond. (I hope) The low spot behind the tree collects water every time it rains. Of course the tree will have to go but my son wants it for fire wood so that will be an easy and cheap way to get rid of it. I have called the person who will be doing the digging and am waiting, not so patiently, for his visit. Now that it seems it might be a certainty, I am getting nervous. Will it hold water? What will be the bottom line? Can I really afford this? The one question I do NOT have is will the birds come. This is where the next photo comes in. As I already stated, the area gets flooded when it rains. This is what happens then.
DUCKS!!!!
I wish the pond was already in so they would stay and nest but in a few days the water is gone and so are the ducks. Next year! The ducks will come and hopefully stay the summer. Have I mentioned, that I love ducks? Ducks, geese, birds in general. They are great fun. If anyone wonders, I will not be getting domestic birds. Last year with Lucy was a roller coaster. She spent more time in the road than the yard so she went back to her original home. I am very happy to say she is alive and well with her new mate.
That's it for today. Spring has sprung and I have things to do. Till next time.