Winter on its Way

Since I had purchased slightly damaged butternut squash, I needed to cook them and make soup before they decided to rot. While cleaning up I kept piling the drying rack higher and higher. Balancing it all became a challenge and at the end I just had to take this picture. Sometimes it's the truly silly things that brighten a day.

The soup was good and I've saved some in the freezer!

Then I made split pea soup. It's an easy recipe. Carol Deux gave it to me and it always turns out well. I decided to share the clean-up which led to taking the picture below!

There's nothing quite like a determined pug.

One day I heard William barking in the field. There were the 4 deer who often pass by, but they weren't afraid of William. Guess they have figured out that he won't chase them through the woods; he just wants them to stay out of the yard. This time they stood around and stared at him until he gave up, hung his head, and quietly walked back up the hill to the house.

It's not really a two-headed deer...the eight legs give it away.

We had a snow storm the day before Thanksgiving so Gregg, Sarah, and Ursula traveled to Vermont on that Thursday morning. I had gotten up early to put the turkey in the oven. Then I went back to bed for a few minutes. The dogs were quiet and my few minutes stretched into a few hours. I woke up just as Gregg and family was pulling into the driveway!

Gregg had made a swing and walked the yard looking for the best tree to hang it from. Then Ursula headed outside to give it a try.

December has brought more snow, but it's the ice that keeps me at home. Here are my clear glass porch windows coated with freezing rain. I made the silly lampshade many decades ago...

Because of the icy roads, I was staying home, working in my nook, when these guys/gals showed up! I raced around the house to locate my camera. Wild turkeys don't stand still for pictures so after getting this shot of two stragglers, I raced for the kitchen window to catch some of the others...

Sometimes our wildlife can get too close. I've never hit a deer, but on my way home one snowy evening, a big beautiful deer hit me! Suddenly there was a deer looking in my window, then he disappeared, but a moment later he was sprinting past my car and off into the field. It was so fast I could have been dreaming, but there was proof it had really happened...

Then came a storm with heavy, sticky snow that coated tree branches and wires. Our neighborhood lost power for 3 days. Fortunately, we have a generator that we can run several hours at a time. I managed to cook pork spare ribs on the wood stove. It took longer, but they tasted wonderful. Outside it was like being in a fairy land. When Mother Nature puts on a show, she is absolutely magnificent!

Uncovering the mailbox is an important chore, but with those tree limbs leaning over it, I wasn't going to stay there any longer than necessary.

Before the storm my neighbor had delivered a Christmas tree cut from his land which once had been a tree farm. It was on our deck. I was worried that if we had freezing rain, the branches might get stuck to the deck. I thought I was being very wise to set it on the ground. After all, they were predicting that we would only get about 6 inches of snow.

We got more than a foot of snow and the wind drifted even more snow up to the deck. I shoveled the deck and wondered how I was going to retrieve the tree.

My Christmas tree stuck in 3 feet of snow...

I waited a few days for a thaw, but that didn't happen and another storm was expected. It was time to rescue the Christmas tree. I figured I might end up in that snow bank. There might be some very funny pictures, so I called Griff to record the adventure. He thought it would be a great laugh so he gladly accepted the job of photographer! And here are the results...

Push!

Ponder...

Pull (I'm standing at the very edge of the deck.)

Really pull!

Lifting the bottom onto the deck.

Now to set it upright!

Success! But this tree is going to need to shrink or it won't fit in the house.

And then I lost my balance. Griff was having too much fun to stop taking pictures and I was too busy laughing to be able to get myself back up right away!

 

I sort of felt like this next fellow...

Someone had fun with a snow pile!

Later that same day I headed for the place that will be repairing my car. I hope they do a better job on my car than they did on their snowman...it's definitely in need of repair...

What a back bend!

I like her hair...cleverly done. Looks like someone got hungry and ate her nose.