Pretty skies

  This year has been fairly plain when looking at sunrises and sunsets. Or perhaps I just didn't get my butt out there to watch them. Most of the summer was dealt with smokey or cloudless skies with no moisture as we went through a summer of drought and Canadian fires.

Thank goodness right now that has changed. The mornings and evening have been presenting us with a few glorious skies.

The 4 second video below is a time lapse of a sunset a couple of nights ago. I set up the camera on the porch while I filled the big stock tank and let the camera do it thing.

I had taken a still shot too.

Friday night wasn't brilliant but it was still worth seeing.

Another 4 seconds of the sunset. It is something that I am

fooling around with. It isn't brilliant, but

this way I can see if I am getting any progress

at all.

Hobby, my minifigure 'self' likes going out and watching the skies with me. Poor thing, she is getting quite worn from bouncing about in my pockets.

Sunrises!

I'm so happy for brilliant mornings and spectacular evenings. In the winter, I can watch both the sunrise and sunset from our porch. In the summer I have to walk out to the pastures to the north.

Sundance after our last snowfall. She'd just taken a snow bath and was watching deer while eating at the hay feeder.

Hopefully we get clear skies and I can actually get out on one of these nights to view the Geminids shower this week.

Adult Activities in play...

We are working on Lego building again. I leave the Lego pieces to a complicated build in piles in pie plates. When I go to do something else, I can hear him sorting pieces as the parts clink against the pie tins.

Sorting pieces according to color and size appeal to his OCD side. He can't help himself. He has to do it and then supervise how I pick the pieces up. How dare I mess up the piles!

I went to do some chores and left some of the Lego minifigs on the table that went to the Alpine Lodge build.

I came back to this.

His comment was: "Looks like there is an axe murderer chasing the sleeping lady. That fool on the skis..."

Don't tell me that Legos don't encourage something! 

We received a Lego set as a gift in the mail. We already had a Santa set but when Rich opened it, his comment was---> "Now we can add the reindeer to the other set and take that one Reindeer from the Elf set and make the Reindeer be the right number!"

He immediately searched through the packages and sorted everything out for me. Then, he instructed me on how to do a MOC [Lego speak for My Own Creation]. He studied everything and then instructed me to .... create this...👇

We are still working on making one deer into Rudolph and figuring out how to attach him in the front.

Rich then had me search the internet high and low for a replacement reindeer. Really? 
Yes, I ordered one from Etsy which will arrive hopefully on Monday. Then the Reindeer will be all set. 

This weekend is a special 4 day doe hunt in our area. So once again I am banned from the woods as the neighbor folks search the woods for deer. 

That's fine. We'll spend more time playing and building. It does bring joy into our lives to do this together.

A certain amount of play is very healthy. It releases endorphins and reduces stress. And who doesn't want that during the Holidays?

Okay back to the fun things...

 What a bummer to read my melancholy thoughts. But that stuff happens in the dreary overcast days of December. The days rush to be darker and more bleak, depressing, dismal, dull, drab, unexciting, insipid, and well...frankly uninteresting.

That is why we have candles and pretty lights this time of the year. This is why some of us may decorate and add life to our homes. 

I personally like winter. But I get why not everyone enjoys it. I can see both sides of the coin.

So back to some fun I go....

Who doesn't think dinosaurs should join the ornaments? I think this one adds a bit of curiosity to all the little horses that reside in the tree. This is a nod to my oldest son who loves dinosaurs.

I haven't asked the unicorns and other horses how they felt about sharing a living area with a dinosaur!

This is a fairly old ornament that I found years ago. It had a tag on it that I took off. I like horses and who doesn't love a Pegasus? I always wanted to have one to ride as a little girl.

Not all dragons under the tree are ferocious. This one seems quite happy. Perhaps it is because it got the gold beads!

This Angel horse was given to me 30 years ago by one of my 4H students. We joked and named this Cheyanne after my mare I owned at the time. Cheyanne was not an angel, but she sure was something else. This stuffed ornament did have her coloring, but not her attitude.

This is the first ornament I ever purchased for myself. It is a cheap plastic rocking horse. I have treasured it for 30 years. I've always liked how the light shines through it.

Once upon a time I had a pony mare called Lily. She had a flaxen mane and tail and was half Halflinger and Arab. She was a tough little 13.5 hand horse with attitude and a great brain. She rode, she drove on a cart and she was purely fearless. We used her to sort cattle and team pen.

She looked exactly like this ornament..

A friend of ours from South Dakota needed a good replacement mount for their 80 yr old mom who'd lost her aged riding and driving mount. We sold her. She served many years for this lady who would ride Lily across the countryside to go to town. Apparently it was shorter than driving there!
When I hang up this ornament, I wonder what adventures Lily and the elder lady had together.

The Grumpy Dragon apparently has made a new friend! She presents him with a gift under the Christmas Chair. [Personally, I think she looks a bit frightful but I suppose they are a match in attitude.]

And...

If anyone was wondering how the Brother's Odd were doing....

I saw Yeti and Big Foot walking down by the creek yesterday. I don't know what they were up to....

But their brother Chewie was watching from a distance.

I just wish they'd help each other out. What on Earth is Chewie waiting for???

If you need your spirits lifted on these wintery bleh days, I will leave you with this photo of Charlie.

Here he is getting ready for colder weather.....

It's Friday. Hug someone.

Thoughtful

 

Mindful.

Thoughtful.

Winter nights seem to give me more time to pay attention to things I wouldn't normally think of.

Mindfulness means a lot of different things. To me, I just felt that it meant to be more aware of others and their feelings.  Grandma always reminded us to be Mindful of our manners so I was a bit surprised to see that Mindfulness is meditation so that you can feel in the moment.

I looked up Thoughtful, it says to be more aware of others feelings.

Color me confused or old fashioned. I decided to chalk it up to Semantics. My definitions of thoughtful and mindful are similar. Apparently it isn't any more.

December's dreary days lead me to do more thinking. Yeah. I shouldn't be doing that. I mean thinking usually gets me in trouble. I think up scenarios all night with the preface of: What If?
In the summer I'm too tired to think of What If's since I'm physically busy all day.

I recently read Annie Dilliard's Novel The Maytrees. First off, this is a hard book to follow. Her writing jumps all over the place as if she were super high on caffeine when she wrote it. 

Sort of like me on some days when I jump around in conversation or home duties. 

The book is about a couple ... the novel explores their love, loyalty, friendship, and forgiveness. It explores the human heart. 
Usually books don't move me much. I read a lot of novels and don't even know why I decided to pick this one up. I was looking for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and found this book at the library.

When I finished the book I sat for a very long time just being thoughtful while looking at the lights and decorations in the room.

What better time of the day than a dark cold night to sit and think about everything in life. I asked myself questions in my head.
How did I get here?
Where will I go from here?
Has my life been meaningful?
Does it really matter?

Will I make a difference?

What will it be like when I am just a memory?

Meanwhile at the tree

Here is another shot of my Christmas Chair and tree. 

It is the light that I really love. Oh and of course all of the toys that are running about.

These are carousel horses that were given to me years ago. Funny that three different people purchased these and gave them to me. The horses match. I've always thought that was amazing. 

The horses were on the chair and I guess that made them vulnerable to the Star Wars Storm Troopers who thought they'd go for a joy ride. I don't mind, it looks like they were having a great time.

I hope my 'chair shenanigans' don't bore anyone. After all, I do it for me and not really anyone else. 

During those cold, damp, dreary, and grey December days with longer nights and shorter days...I generally need something to distract me.

On the chair. Miss LaFleur and Yvette rearrange ribbons and add an ornament to the tree. They are so happy that the chair allows them access to the branches!

Oh my! It looks like the Dinosaurs are back giving Santa a hard time. 

I wouldn't worry too much. Santa usually has these things under control. He just keeps some of Charlie's dog treats handy....

I've heard this year that the dragons wanted in on having fun at Christmas.  I also heard that they took over the space under the chair.

I understand that they are not exactly happy about the color of the string of beads.

I heard one grumble:

I thought you said there'd be gold under this place! I want gold!

Behind the scenes, the Lego elves are getting involved. This one is busy feeding one of the unicorns who jumped off the tree for a treat.

....

and not on the chair we find Rabbit and Bear. Rabbit is always kind to Bear trying to find ways to cheer him up and make him feel better.

Rabbit to Bear:

Here you go Bear, this small box represents all my love and caring for you. 

this time of the year is not easy

for everyone

remember kindness

and

love....

Grasses

This week I finally got out to pick some weeds and try to get some really artistic grass photos.

Yeah. What about grasses? They have interesting textures in November and December. 

These were parts of nature that I'd never looked at before. I mean come on...grass? What is interesting about grass?

Years ago, my supervisor at the Power Plant and I would walk along the perimeter fence and I'd point out wild flowers. He'd point out different grasses.

I'd nod and look at the delicate grasses that he'd name and then I'd point out a wildflower.

I wish I'd paid more attention to his knowledge of grasses.

The varieties are endless: bluestem grasses, switch grass, wild rye, indian grass, and dropseed grasses. 

I don't know bupkis about grasses. Nada. Nothing.

But I was enchanted by the grasses I found alongside the cropland in the neighbor's land.

I mean, it is just grass right? Weeds? 

Fall grasses fading
glowing gold in 
the morning sun
waiting for the 
snows...

Once the winter snows flatten the grasses, they will drop their seeds and burst forth again in the spring. I guess I never thought about grasses that way. It was just grass. But like everything else in the forest that I admire, it seeks to rejuvenate just as other plants do.

The older I get, the more I realize I don't know

much.

Abstract designs by 
~Grasses

Happy December 1st

Don't mind me if I am all over the place today---> well yesterday.... a day late and a dollar short!!!!

That is how my brain sometimes works.

This is a table with a drawer that was given to us. I think originally it would have had a washbasin on it as the sides have places to hang little towels on. It finally made sense when I pulled out this pitcher and basin and decorated it.

Next up. My weeds!
Velvet Weeds, Grasses, birch branches that have fallen, and Milkweed Pods. The ornament is one of a kind and was made for me years ago. The weeds are temporarily in a copper coal scuttle I purchased at my MIL's estate sale. The Jay Potato chip can...does anyone recall these? I do!

It holds Charlie's dog food. My brother used his antique can just like this for his cat food. Great minds and all that!

This morning I realize that I hadn't been hiking in my favorite place since....November 13th. For me, that is an eternity.

I cancelled my morning gym plans and headed out the door at 8:30. The Wilds were calling. My feet needed to go go go....

I needed to Wander and Explore.

So...
I did.

...with my little Trail Blazer in the lead...

we headed out to parts unknown and places

were no human trails exist....

It was still in the 20 degree range when we hit the trails. Frost was on most of the plants. 

The Kickapoo River had ice forming on it.

As Charlie and I stood watching the river, we saw a Kingfisher diving into the water. It was too far away for me to 'shoot' with my cellphone so we just watched. My old camera was in my backpack and the battery for it was in my pants pocket [staying warm and charged].

Charlie and I got to the bluffs and walked out on the edge [carefully--it was safe!]. We heard the squeaks of an Eagle above us and Charlie dove to get under my feet. I've always made him come to me when we hear Hawks or Eagle calls.

The eagle was in a pine above and to the slight left ... but out of sight in the above photo. We could just barely see him standing in the top of one of the dead branches. What a majestic creature.

I pulled Charlie into my lap and sat with my back against a pine. We watched for a long time. Charlie shook and leaned against me hard. Eventually the Eagle flapped and took off. The sound of its wings was really cool to hear. I've never been that close to an Eagle before.

To young folks seeing an Eagle is no big deal. To me, it is a huge deal. In the 1970's the Eagle had only about 400 breeding pairs in the United States??? Yeah. It IS a huge BIG deal for me to see one while casually hiking.

We moved on and did some more exploring and wandering. 

We scrambled down the bluff and walked along the base. These pines are so incredible. Look at their wild root systems! The roots grow UP and along the bluff wall.

Isn't Mother Nature something cool?

Charlie was nervous when I stopped to exam some rock formations. 

I didn't get any good shots of the multitude of Lichen on these rocks, but I was fascinated with the intricate formations that nearly looked as if they had been carved by the Ansasazi. Well, IF they were super miniature!

I'd mentioned to someone that I was going to go search to see if I could find some 'ice' formations on the rocks. They said I'd never find them. 

Huh. 

👇

We headed back out on the paved trail to see if one of the ponds had ice on it yet.

The little pond did. The ice even had Ice Stars on it.

A light north west wind picked up and I headed back towards the car. 

We stopped at Campsite E and decided to sit out of the wind for a bit and munch on some pretzels.

Selfie:

December was starting off just fine in our book.