Settling In To Winter ~ December 12, 2016

It looks as though Winter is here to stay. For a while anyways. (You never know with this crazy weather that's been happening all across the country.) And before we know it, Christmas will be upon us!

I finally took the time to decorate our tree. I didn't pull out the big tree this year, but our medium sized one will do. I also have two smaller trees on display this year - one in the dining room, and one in the kitchen.

Here's the main tree in our living room. It's strung with both colored and white lights. In this picture I only had on the colored lights.

And here it is with just the white lights. 

Lastly, here it is with a mixture of both.......

I really enjoy just the glow of the colored lights in the morning and evening. Sometimes the white lights are pretty by themselves. I guess it depends on the day and my mood! 

During the day, I like to see a more festive look to the tree, so I usually have it lit with both the white and colored lights. This year my ornaments are lots of birds and gold, silver and white globes.... This often attracts the more mischievous one of all my kitties - Ziva. She is a sly one, that precious little girl! The birds, and globes, and oh, those pretty, twinkling lights are just too tempting to bear....She can't seem to keep her paws off of them! :) 

"Is she looking? 'Cause if she is, I can't steal a darn thing from the tree!"

~ * ~

A Change of Season ~ December 3, 2016

While Checkers napped, the cold winds blew, snow began to swirl and accumulate, and Autumn gave up its last long hold to Winter. Just before Thanksgiving, Winter made it's frosty presence here in the Northeast, howling and blowing, making a mess of the roads and cancelling school for not only ours, but many of the neighboring districts. There's just something about that first, wild, crazy snow storm that gets everyone kind of excited about what's going on outdoors, despite the chaos.

I had hardly just finished raking up the leaves strewn around our yard, when the storm winds blew leaves from yards round about us back into our own yard. As the snow began to accumulate, I found the two together made for a pretty picture.

But when the winds picked up later that afternoon, howling through our trees, visibility was quite compromised, and I was glad for our safety indoors and the cozy fire crackling to keep us warm. 

Shortly after Thanksgiving, the air warmed again, melting all our snow, and bringing out some Bluebirds that I haven't seen in at least a few months! One was checking out the clay pot Dean and I made into a simple nesting spot for birds such as Sparrows and Robins. Hmmm, who knows? Maybe the Bluebird will decide that's just the perfect home for it, and will plan to move in next Spring!

No matter the season or weather, I always enjoy those times when I can capture pictures of moments of all that's going on around me, both indoors and out. ☺

I hope you're all happy and well, my friends! What's been going on in your world these days?

 ~ ♥ ~