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Snowy Speculations

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If I could paint, I would have tried to replicate the landscape very early this morning. Illuminated by the faintest hints of light and hours before sunrise, the cold, stark landscape lay completely still in its snowy blanket. Naked trees stood proudly and quietly against this backdrop, this palate of pure white an unforgiving place for any creature, big or small, to attempt to cross without drawing attention to its existence at this time. Even our ancient tire swing looked sleepy and droopy, suspended precariously close to the ground, as if the effort of hanging from a tree limb was too much for it. To the east, the only rays of light visible were the ones coming from the across the river, and even those seem hushed and muffled, like a child tired and murmuring not to wake them up just yet.  The young families down the road have gone all out with Christmas lights this year. Bright colours adorn the night skies and my neighbours even have a Christmas Cat and a Christmas Dinosaur th...
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Primavera

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  Primavera It feels like the world has been breathing a sigh of relief these last few weeks. Granted, we all held our breaths earlier in the week when, like the unwelcome gift of underwear and socks on Christmas morning, some cold, white stuff fell from the sky. But I won't use that S-word as it is forbidden this time of year but will allow a hearty welcome to the other S-word: Spring! A quick google search of "Primavera" shows us that it literally means "first spring" - a fitting title for this beautiful week!  There's been a frenzy of bird song and flight for weeks now from the crack of dawn to dusk and any plant that is able to pop out of the ground, has been pushing to the surface with all of its might. The splashes of yellow from plump daffodils and vibrant forsythia are a stunning contrast to the lush green grass wherever the eye can see. Every fall, we dump the soil from pots and urns that have finished blooming and have dried up into the compost pil...
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Coyote Chorus

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Coyote Chorus (Remembering Susie-the Howler ) I felt like one the people in Twas the Night Before Christmas last night when I was "nestled all snug" in my bed. There were no visions of sugar plums dancing in my head though! And literally, not a creature was stirring that late at night. Well, that is, except for the coyotes. It's mating season and these creatures have been making quite a stir at dusk, dawn and all through the night.  I hear their yipping in the vineyards all around us and see their footprints in the freshly fallen snow, evidence that our side yard is a footpath from the fields to the forest behind us. Each morning when I let the dogs out, they eagerly examine every bush and tree, almost incensed that another animal had the audacity to enter their territory. Gus, the male of our two dogs, marks every spot with intensity, reminding the coyotes that this is his yard. I feel sorry for the little pine in the far corner that has taken quite a bit of marking an...
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Poop and Pine Needles...

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Poop and Pine Needles...  It's a brand new year and like the once cheery Christmas decorations all around me, I feel wilted and tired. I ran the dishwasher this morning, threw a load in the washing machine and filled the deep tub for a relaxing bath to start the day and the new year in efficient relaxation.  And what a start it was! As I opened the bathroom window to let in some cool air to clear the steam a bit quicker, my senses were immediately assaulted by the smell of sewage that I was very familiar with having witnessed several septic inspections first-hand in my real estate career. I immediately looked to the side of the deck where Jim had dug out the hatch to the holding tank just yesterday as we were waiting for our local pumping contractor to swing by in the next week. The neat and tidy hole in which the concrete lid had been clearly exposed just this morning, was now filled with murky water mixed with questionable contents and a silent row of bubbles rising on each ...
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Sunrise Reflection

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Sunrise Reflection  Our first house was a little raised bungalow in the city. We bought the house and were thrilled with the greenspace behind us. Just a few years into our marriage, this land started getting developed and we began looking for another home. I think that is one of the reasons I appreciate some of the open spaces around us so much. We are minutes to Old Town, Virgil and St. Davids. Every morning when I look out the window at the endless rows of vines that seem to stretch all the way to the escarpment, I am awed by the streaks of vibrant orange and red at the edge of the horizon announcing the start of a new day. The sunrise this morning is especially stunning and taking a picture on my iPhone never equals the true quality of what I see before me. With the Christmas holidays approaching quickly and my kids still nestled in their beds, I doubt that visions of sugarplums are dancing in their heads . But I do think that the world around me is still sleeping in peaceful s...
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Bugs on the Table....

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  Bugs on the Table A few weeks ago we celebrated Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful weekend and we hosted two dinners, one on Friday and one on Sunday. The menu consisted of a German dinner for my side of the family on Friday and a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday for Jim's side. Last year's Thanksgiving weekend was much different from this year's. This year we were missing one person. My sister-in-law, Kari, had really been the one person who had relished family dinners. She was the one who would be at our dinners without fail, regardless whether she had just been through a gruelling round of chemo or spent the last month in the hospital. But sadly her battle with cancer came to an end this year and our Thanksgiving dinner with the Hale side was a little quieter without her constant chatter.  I've always gone a bit overboard with my Thanksgiving table decor, so much so that there usually was no room to put the food on the table. So we ended up setting up the me...
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Feathered Friends... with Benefits

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  Feathered Friends...with Benefits When our neighbours got chickens two years ago, our family was not receptive to the idea at all. Since we do not have a fence between our properties, we found ourselves having to coordinate letting the dogs out with when the chickens were not out. Just being honest here, but it was slightly irritating.  Our puppy, Gus, was and still is feisty and  has a natural desire to chase the chickens and ducks, which we couldn't allow. Especially in light of the fact that the neighbouring farmer's dog has already come onto their property and enjoyed six of these feathered fellows as his snack. It's terrible, but you just can't stop nature! Although I have always wanted a few laying hens of my own for several years now, my husband keeps reminding me that this will never happen. Of course I am picturing a little henhouse that is a mini replica of our home and is surrounded by a sizable, fenced-in run. But I digress!  Slowly the irritation at th...
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Home is Where Your Heart is

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  July brought with it the usual yellow, dry grass that crunched underfoot and the necessity to water the garden and flowerbeds every day. May and June's lush foliage now drooped with despair. My old wheelbarrow missing the front wheel that had been converted to a cute flowerbed, looked bedraggled and sparse. Even the mint that usually covered every nook and cranny of its surface, had died and left dried branches and crackly leaves behind. But after July's desert-like conditions, August has managed to bring a few weeks of reprieve. The rain greened up the grass right before our very eyes and our vegetable garden seems to be producing a hundredfold, thanks to the cool nights and dew-filled mornings. As I was walking around the perimeter of our little property last night, I took a picture of the back of the house. As you can see, it is surrounded by trees and foliage and the grey/blue siding blends right in with the evening shadows. But what struck me as I examined the picture la...
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