No Snow in My Neighborhood, and Other Things.

I took a couple of pictures yesterday. This is the gravel road I live on, and as you can see, we have no snow in my neighborhood. Thank goodness for that. And the temperatures this past week have been moderate. Of course, all that will change tonight, when the Alberta Clipper arrives in the woods. But today will be in the low 40s, and I will be heading to town, and to the Chinese Buffet. Might as well enjoy the day, before the deep freeze settles in for the next couple of days.


Yesterday was a frustrating day, to say the least. Blogger suddenly refused to recognize my password. I couldn't get to my Dashboard. It told me I had no account. Huh? All this transpired when friend Patti made her blog private, and sent me an invitation to be able to view it. But, Blogger would not honor that invitation and denied me access to her blog. Finally, it was all straightened out, but not before I had to reset my password. Now I have to make sure I will not forget it. Anyone else ever have this problem?

Here is my little pond, taken from the window in my little sun room. This is my view as I sit at my laptop. Yesterday, a Great Blue Heron landed on the far side, and Felix, who was outside, started walking towards it bravely. That bird was much bigger than Felix, but it took off when it saw the cat! I have tried taking a picture of the heron several times, but he flies off as soon as he sees me. He is a beauty!

And here is a picture of my little pond taken from the field. It is primarily a wild life pond, providing water for birds and beasts all year round. By tonight, when the temperatures drop to single digits, the pond will freeze, which means that cats will have to stay indoors for a few days. Can't have another episode of falling through the ice, and having to be rescued by me!

Thank you for reading. I hope you all stay safe and warm, whatever part of the country or world you're in, friends. And if you're one of the lucky ones, living in warmer parts, send some of that warm air my way!

Blessings from the woods!

A Little of This, A Little of That.

The weather around here has been beautiful this past week, with pleasant temperatures. And my dear friend, Eileen is finally free of her cast! She still has to wear a temporary brace around the wrist, but for the most part her hand is free, and she can now even put curlers in her hair at night! :-)

She is still somewhat afraid to drive, since she hasn't had her hands around a stirring wheel in over three months, but we'll be out there practicing this weekend.


The warmer temperatures and frequent showers have turned everything lush and green, and growing at a rapid speed. I mean the grass, of course. The lawnmower gives us quite a workout these days. Meanwhile, I took a few photos this week to share. I hope you enjoy them.



The cattails in the pond first appeared a couple of years ago. At first, I thought they added a nice touch to it, since my pond is mainly a wildlife pond. But these days, the cattails seem to be multiplying at a rapid rate, and I am worried they will take over the entire pond. So we will have to do some cattail weeding soon!

I call this shrub my purple globe. Actually, the flowers are kind of a raspberry color, and the honey bees are very fond of it. I planted this five years ago, because I liked the round shape of it, and the light, yellow -green color of the foliage, which turns a pretty gold in the fall. But I forgot the name of it. Anyone know what this shrub is called?

The white wild rose at the top of the field has made one of the smaller trees its trellis! It looks very pretty cascading down from the branches. We may have to do some pruning though, this fall.

Looking out the window the other evening, I saw this guy out in the back. And when I opened the window to talk to him, he stood up on his hind legs! Since it was already quite dark out there, his eyes are glowing, but he is cute, isn't he? I did give him a hot dog, as a snack!

And this guy was making his way through the field, the other day, at quite a rapid pace, and I went running out with the camera, to take his picture. He seemed very cooperative, and then went on his way, to wherever turtles go. Since he is quite large, I think he is quite old as well. These turtles can live to be a hundred years old. There is a turtle in the pond as well, but he is a ferocious looking snapping turtle, and spends most of his time in the water. His head sometimes pops up, when I'm feeding the fish, and he snaps up some of the cat kibbles I feed the catfish.

May is almost over, and I haven't seen a new fawn yet. But I have been watching for the mothers to come and show me their babies, when they're old enough. I know they will, and I can't wait to see them.

Well, I have made this post long enough. Thank you for reading, have a lovely weekend and a great week!

Beyond the Sadness-Life Goes on in the Woods!

The pond just before daylight!
Early this morning, as I sat at my laptop by the window, looking out on the pond, I decided to take a picture of it. Although it turned out too dark, you can see the water starting to get illuminated by almost rising sun, giving the pond a mysterious, enchanted look.

After sunrise, wild turkeys in the field!

Just a little later, but still quite early, I was pleased to see eleven wild turkeys in the field. Often, there are even more of them. Of course, the chopped corn I put out for them is why they were here. Not long ago I counted a flock of 25. I took this photo from the deck, since the wild turkeys, unlike the deer around here, are very wary, and take off quickly, if approached. But I always enjoy seeing them, even from the distance. Soon, the females will be nesting and sometimes in April, will bring their young ones to the pond, for their first drink!

And look what was hiding in the squirrel feeder, below?

Sunday morning, I was surprised to see this opossum taking refuge in the squirrel feeder, in the back. I am guessing from the looks of this possum, that it's a young female, and she obviously had an unpleasant encounter earlier. Her ear is a bit bloody. But she seemed fine otherwise, and later, when she felt she was safe, she came down and ambled off for her home in the woods. She was back, later that night, and I rewarded her with a hot dog! What can I say? I am incorrigible, when it comes to animals, but I am too old to change my ways now.

Beyond the sadness of the last few days, life goes on in the woods. And there is some solace in that.

A Parting Gift from January--Pretty Snow!

It's about time to update my blog. Hmmm, lets see, what shall I blog about? Why, the weather, of course! It seems that's about all I blog about lately. But January is leaving us with a parting gift--4 inches of very pretty snow, and I can't fail to mention that!

I took this picture of the pond from the window of my little sunroom. I was hoping the cardinal sitting on the branch on the left, would show up better, but you can barely make him out. I should have zoomed in on him, for he added that lovely touch of color the photo needed.

This shot of my gravel road, is to the south. I had a photo of it in the fall, which was to the north, where the hill is much steeper. It looks pretty with snow on it. No doubt about it, snow makes everything more beautiful, but I would rather do without it. And the forecast is calling for a few more inches overnight. We'll see in the morning.

I enjoyed being out in the snow today. Then I actually did some writing as well, and a great deal of talking on the phone with friends who all wanted to discuss our snowy weather!

The forecast is for warmer weather moving in by Sunday, so the pretty snow will be all gone. Short and sweet. Just the way I like a snowfall to be.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Sunshine and Ice!

The relentless bitter cold finally moved out, and the temperatures moderated today. The sun shone brightly, and we reached a balmy 43 degrees! I spent the better part of the afternoon outdoors, be bopping around in the field and woods.
The pond from the distance looked dark, even in the sunshine.


A closer look revealed a thick layer of ice, that finally started to melt around the edges by late afternoon.

My little shadow, Orie (Oreo) followed me around faithfully. She seemed to enjoy being outdoors as much as I did. The two dogs enjoyed it as well, but they took off for the woods, following the exciting scents that the woods provide.

I really enjoyed being outdoors today. Tomorrow, we're supposed to reach the upper fifties, but along with the warmer temperatures some rain is in the forecast for Monday night. I'll take it! Who cares if more snow is in the forecast later next week. I'm enjoying a taste of spring for now!

I hope it's warmer where you are as well.

Have a blessed week, everyone.

No Snow In My Neighborhood!

The weather predictions for Saturday were ominous, with freezing rain and snow in the forecast. Well, we had torrential rains all day, but by the time the temperatures dropped to freezing, late at night, most of the moisture was gone. Oh, we did get a dusting of snow, but that melted as soon as the sun came out this morning. So, no snow in my neighborhood, to take beautiful pictures of. (Thank goodness!) But it was a beautiful, sunny day, and I decided to take some pictures anyway.

The small pond is at the northern edge of the field. It isn't a fancy pond, it is a wildlife pond. Behind the pond are the woods. The pond, field and woods are a nice habitat for the wildlife that live around here. And the birds always find water to drink or bathe in.

The field is east of the house, and it is where the deer and wild turkeys like to congregate. Behind the field are some more woods.

The grass is brown nowadays, and some of the oaks which hang on to their leaves until spring, are somewhat drab, but I like my snow-less landscape. It has its own "rustic" charm.

Of course, it never fails. Whenever I'm outside, the deer appear. Here is a doe and her teen aged fawn, posing for me nicely.

And here comes another doe with her twin fawns. The fawns will hang out with "mom" even after she has new "kids," next spring, and even after they give birth to their own young. The bucks stay with "mom" for about a year, after that they join the "boys," who usually hang out together in the woods.

I hope you enjoyed my "snow-less" pictures.

Ho Hum!

It's been a ho-hum day. The most exciting thing that happened was seeing the wild turkeys walk around in the pond! Yes, in the pond. The water level is getting low, they couldn't reach it to get a drink from the bank. So they waded in the water, for their drink. That's the first time I saw turkeys in the water. Looked comical. The Tom turkey is the friendliest. He sometimes struts around when I talk to him from the deck. Andrea says that's because he thinks I'm a turkey, too! Gobble, gobble!

Eileen was happy because the Yankee's beat the Red Sox again, last night. She has been a die hard Yankee fan all her life, and she may be living in the country now, but she is a New York gal at heart. Always will be. I tell her we may not have Macy's or Saks around here, but we have a Super Wal-Mart not too far away!

I visited New York City once, and found it fabulous and exciting. But I wouldn't want to live there. Eileen still would, if she could. But she makes the best of things, and we have fun our own simple way. And the coffee at Mc'D's is the best in town. Who needs Starbucks, with Mc'D's around?

Didn't get much writing done, and tomorrow I am out of here for a while.