I love Cardinals but not our treacherous winter roads

He finally showed up today!!  I have been waiting for him all winter.  None of that cheap old birdseed for him...only the best will draw him in.

Mr. Blue jay is always around...he'll eat about anything.  

But Mr. Cardinal always seems more elusive.  Maybe he knows just how lovely he is especially against newly fallen snow.

 I tried to get some pictures of him when he landed on the ground.  He looked so beautiful against the snow.  But alas, it's gloomy here and the pics were too dark through my window.

I was housebound yesterday with freezing rain and rotten roads. Today I knew I had to get to town just to cure my cabin fever a bit.  Except today it's snowing and snowing and my road looked like this..

And this...

And the trees look glorious all covered in the newly fallen snow.
Well I made it!!
And I made it home.  And then I promptly got stuck in our driveway and then fell two times trying to get into the house.
Oh the joys of winter in the frozen tundra!!
But that beautiful cardinal sure made my day!
Now don't tell me if your sunbathing in the Caribbean right now or just got back from there.
But otherwise how is winter in your neck of the woods?
Cindy

I'm Here...Hello!

I'm here it's just been so cold and so hard to get to sit down and write a post!

And don't let that innocent looking face above fool you.

He and some of his partners in crime have managed to knock down, mangle and eat nearly all the birdseed and feeders I have set out.

Naughty deer...naughty!

Last weekend we celebrated a late Christmas and my Mom's birthday.  She is pictured here at her Golden Wedding
Anniversary party with some of her grand-daughters.  Even though this pic is 6 years old, I still love it.

My Mom had a stroke shortly before Christmas.

A lot of my time has been filled with helping my Mom on the road to recovery.

She has improved a great deal however her vision is still an issue and she can't drive because of it.

That is making her most unhappy as you can imagine.

Every year we head to a water park to celebrate Christmas with my very large family.

We started this 11 years ago and it has become our tradition.

We used to try for December but with so many schedules that just wasn't working.  We now go on my Mom's birthday weekend and it's a much better fit.

Above hubby lifting little Addison to play water basketball.

And here.  I don't know what they were looking at but I was struck by how much their expressions were alike!

And while we are freezing our butts off here with Artic temperatures dipping down to minus 20.

Little Calista was warm and toasty in sunny Arizona.

 Outside happily swinging away with her Daddy the other day.

Temps there are in the 70's to about 80.

Boy is it calling my name!!

Off to visit some of you later today.

First I need to check on my Mom.

Best Wishes,

Cindy

 

An Icy Winter Mantel

About the 2nd week of January, I start to get sick of winter.  But of course we still have a long way to go around these parts and I might as well embrace it.

So with that thought in mind, I bring you my winter mantel.

Nothing fancy but I do like the rustic look with our stone fireplace.

The only new item is the Thomas Kincaid print I found for $7 at Wally World.  Originally $29, I think $7 is more like it.

Icy trees and pine cones.

White candles and old wooden spools.

A cake platter with a jar of frosty and pine cone candles.

And of course my child size double blade skates.
Now to try to embrace the rest of winter.  

I am joining
Stonegable for Tips and Tutorials

Met. Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Snowy Scenes

Brr....it's cold outside!   We've had a good bit of snow (in fact it snowed a little bit more this morning) So I thought you might enjoy some of the snowy scenes around Applestone Cottage.

Our trees are lovingly flocked by Mother Nature.

It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful this is.

And this is the view I see from my front porch.

I love when the trees appear to be misted with snow.

On my patio.  It may be awhile before we sit out in the sun and complain how hot it is!  he he.

Can you see it was snowing here?

This is also in our front yard.  I love the tall majestic pines, they have been growing for many years and provide a habitat for birds, bunnies and various other little creatures.

My hubby saw a Fisher here this past summer. It was the first time, they are very nocturnal and for a long time they were nonexistent  around here.

This view is from the other side of our front yard.

A lot of oak trees are here and yet even they look pretty when covered with newly fallen snow.

Along our road.  And yes I do drive out there.  What can I say, you just get used to it. 

Tomorrow we are warming up to 28 degrees, it will be time to get out the shorts!

OK...not really but sometimes the college kids will be wearing shorts when it starts hitting 40 again.

You know winter is not my favorite season but I do like to have a bit of it and I do like snow. 

My Mom comes home from the hospital tomorrow.  She has been in rehab since well before Christmas.

She has a long way to go but the biggest issue is her sight.  It's been stressful but we are getting by.

Happy Weekend all.