DECEMBER DECORATIONS

December decorations... well, sort of...
My neighbors noticed I was putting something up in the front yard. They were very curious about a Buddhist putting up Christmas decorations! After all, I have candles in the windows and greenery on the railing, now what is going up out by the road???? Oh… well… that’s OK, I guess… at least it does not insult anyone like the Bush White House Chanukah card that had a Christmas tree on it! (SO embarrassing, that!)
Then we decided to decorate Rascal and Hadji! Can you see how happy Rascal was to be forced into the holiday mode? I am not one who likes to dress up animals - but I figured this would not last too long! Look at this expression of JOY! NOT!!!! I could use this for a Bah Humbug card?? LOL! Hadj, on the other hand, took to the scarf like he had always worn one, and will come over to you if you hold it down to put it on him. He tries to push his head thru it. Once on, he happily wears it all day. This morning, he actually brought it over and laid it at my feet and stood there waiting for help after pushing it across the living room floor with his head for several minutes! By the way, it says “Wreck the Halls” – more a Rascal concept… Hadji tried the antlers on, too, but was not thrilled. He came over to me to ask to take them off. Scarf, yes, stupid, no.
We were told we might get some snow flurries over night – didn’t happen. In fact, the sun was shining brightly at 8 AM as I sent my Sunday Musings out. It is very windy now, however, and the clouds have moved in from the south from whence cometh any snow we ever get. Now the sun is out again... Hmmmmmm, maybe… just maybe… however, the temps were in the mid 30s instead of the mid 20s. So much for someone else’s weather watchering,” eh? Ok, that would have been predicting – but that is based on watching, no? Anyway, I noticed while feeding the Punkin and Spook that the red camellia next to the carport has started to bloom. It is like having built in Christmas decorations in December – all red and green, and so beautiful when it gets snowed on! This was Punk and Spook having a moment while I was putting up my yard decoration. Is that sweet or what????? Is there mistletoe out here that I didn't notice?????

AN AWARD

I post this not as a form of bragging but as a confession of my extreme ignorance. Not that that is news to most of you - but I have never figured out how to add a blog list of my favorite blogs, I have tried (and obviously failed) to put a weather link on my blog - and someone gave me an award earlier this year which I mentioned but could not figure out how to add in the sidebar. She berated me in a private email after giving me directions twice and I still could not figure it out - or my acct will not handle it. Whatever... I have not heard from her since - :-(

Anyway - a blogger friend gave me this award - and I have NO IDEA how to put it in the sidebar nor how to properly pass it on. But I do thank you, Ancient One!

If they have an ignorance award, I know I have earned that one! ANyway... I will work at this later today, when I get some work done... I promise!

FROSTY BUDDHA SUNRISE

A FROSTY BUDDHA SUNRISE

We had a serious frost this morning. Last night I looked longingly (in the comfort of my warm Southern home) at the pictures of a Canadian blogger friend's yard and thigh high snow. Maybe it is the memories of my childhood to the north that makes snow so - um, magical. Or maybe it is because I no longer have to drive in it. Or maybe it is because snow always meant NO School down here on the Shore... I don't know. Maybe it is the way it changes the scenery, eliminating the dirt, fallen leaves, dead grass and weeds... instant yard clean up! Anyway, we are about to have a cold spell. And the frost this morning at 28 degrees was also beautiful. The BeautyBerry Bush, Buddha and prayer flags in the early morning sun.... The sun had been up not quite an hour and was rapidly burning up the frost. So I had to grab the camera and try to capture a bit of the magic of the frosty morning.

Frost on the Beauty Berry Bush and an azalea.

THE PARROT

THE PARROT

Feeling the need to lighten up a bit, I thought I'd pass along this morning's email from my cousin...

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him inthe freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer, the parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior." John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.
As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, "May I ask what the turkey did?"

Happy Thanksgiving! (well, unless you are the turkey...)

BELOW FREEZING!

BELOW FREEZING... Oh, my!

It was 22 this morning. The birdbath was frozen solid. Poor Spook had no place to get a drink after breakfast. All their water dishes were frozen solid, too, but the birdbath (YUCK!) is his favorite! See how think the ice is? was? The pattern in the birdbath, in case you aren't familiar with birdbaths like this, is from scraping the scum out every day or so. Spook says those are his vitamins I'm wasting. There is an old Algonquin story my uncle used to tell about a dog drinking from a puddle that helps me be OK with this bad habit of Spook's. Well, kinda... Same idea - vitamins.

But, at least he has crawled out of his warm nest and is now in a patch of sunlight, just getting up on occasion to take a drink, listen to a sound, a mouse? Too cold for a bug...

It is now mid afternoon - the ice is still there.
This is Punkin the other evening in the snow that didn't last. Bet if we had some tonight it would be around for a while!

SNOW IN NOVEMBER!!!!

Here on the Eastern Shore of VA, it almost NEVER snows before Christmas - and I swear I do not remember it ever snowing before Thanksgiving! And to think I almost missed it...

I was lazy this morning. It has been a hard week... first losing Snuffy, then getting my Lymes disease diagnosis... so I kinda over slept this morning, to put it mildly! I did drag my lazy bones out of bed at 7, looked out the window and thought I saw something coming down... but there was no snow on anything except one roof looked like it had a little frost. I started my new morning routine- coffee pot on, turn on computer, open curtains next to computer... I looked out the window again, frowning - Gee that looks like snow! The snow you see in these pictures which looks like NOTHING to most of you, I know, happened in the time it took me to brush my teeth, get on some jeans and shoes, grab the camera, cat food, a jacket and get out the door. You are not allowed to go out first thing in the morning without feeding Punkin and Spook! If they are coming out of their heated nest box, there had better be a good reason, and food is the only reason they can think of.

For those of you not from here, it is quite possible to go for years with NO snow at all. I was raised in the Pocono Mountains of PA, then Maine, and finally Ankara, Turkey where we had some amazing snow! So when it snows here, it is exciting! And often, it does not last but a few minutes. In fact, in the time it has taken to upload my pictures and type this - well, OK, I had to do a couple other things - but it is an hour later and the snow is almost gone. sigh..... Anyway, here it is on my new pansies, on the digitalis, the columbine, and a camellia. I love the patterns of a light snow on different leaves. Maybe you figured that out.

It is now almost 9 o'clock... it is raining... it is 37 degrees... looks like the morning fun is over.

FAREWELL, LITTLE BUDDY

After struggling for 10 years, Snuffy left us yesterday. We never thought we'd have him even for one year, but, somehow he managed to hold on for 10. He had a number of surgeries, 2 for cancer, 2 last summer for a growth under his tongue, after which he ate baby food to which he promptly became addicted. He did not start out as my cat - but the years of being his primary caregiver kinda changed things. He definitely became "mine." If he couldn't find an open window, he slept up next to my pillow.

He struggled to breathe all his life and I don't think he realized there was any other way. He was famous for his sneezes. When we could not find him - gray cats are good as disappearing in plain sight, we just listened for his labored breathing. Consequently, his name, Snuffy.

But, it all caught up with him Monday morning. One could say it was fast, but one could also say it has taken years... he has been on some kind of medicine every day, all his life. It is amazing how we changed our way of "doing" things to accommodate him, towels on all the furniture, no perfumes or smelly chemicals in the house. Not even smelly (fragrant) soaps or candles.

He also liked sleeping with the possums. I am going to miss him.

DIDJA EVER?????

Didja ever see a tree growing out of a totally different kind of tree? The big tree is the redbud out front. Obviously, the little one is a maple. Surrogate mommy in the tree kingdom????

Didja ever wonder what kind of person would be outside in the near dark planting pansies inbetween raindrops?

Didja ever wonder how many flowers could possibly grow on one bush? Didja ever try to count them?

Didja ever wonder what kind of an idiot would stand outside in the rain taking pictures of flowers in the middle of November? Maybe the same one planting pansies in the dark... Didja ever see bees and other kinds of bugs out busy doing bee things in the middle of November? Aren't they supposed to be tucked in for their long winter's nap by now?Like Snuffy - he knows enough to be napping on this drippy November day. But...

Didja ever wonder how they get their legs like that? And manage to get back up???? Or not wake up with a broken back? Oooo, that hurts to look at it!

Didja ever wonder what it is with cats and boxes? If they can't get in 'em, they get on 'em. This is where he sits to supervise the gardening.

Didja ever wonder why you wonder about such dumb things? Must be the change in the weather. 72 degrees yesterday and they say we might have flurries on Tuesday. Hmmm, that might answer why someone might be planting in the dark... ya think?

A MORNING IN NOVEMBER

After a week of clouds, rain, even a nor'easter, it was great to wake up to an actual SUNrise.
The leaves are at their peak this week, though it has been hard to enjoy it in the rain. Yesterday, the rain stopped, and the sun came out in the afternoon. I grabbed my camera to try to capture some of the color. I am sure these leaves seem dull to many of you.A young Crape Myrtle in yellow and a 4 year old Crape myrtle wearing red. I remember well the autumns in Maine and the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, and the awesome reds we do not get here mixed in with all the other beautiful colors. But, I keep reminding myself, I have camellias and azaleas here. Anyway, I thought I would share the big, bright, and beautiful as well as some of the little surprises of color here and there.

A few of the summer flowers are still blooming, unhurt by the frost a couple of weeks ago.

Some of the winter plants are up or starting to come up. I moved this one last year.

This is under a pink fall camellia.

The tomatoes are still doing just fine on the carport next to the greenhouse.