Morning glory

I posted this for all my friends on Facebook, but I wanted to share it here too. This was such a stunning sunrise, and I was up alone, so I had to capture it to show the rest of the family what they missed :)

The shadows in the clouds created by Rainier's three peaks were fascinating!

Mel's friend

This is one of three pals who benefit from Mel's love of animals. We not only feed the birds, but make sure the squirrels have something to satisfy them, too. This particular day was just so funny to watch I couldn't help but capture it. The big feeder is full of squirrel food, which the jays love too, and the squirrel was literally hanging by his (or is it her?) toes and would reach up, get some food, then hang down to eat it.

Missing blogger...

I know, I know. I haven't posted in months. It's not that I don't want to share what's going on ... it's that I can't find the time to post. With classes, life, and now volunteering at the library here in Yelm, my plate is full. And after doing so much of my schoolwork online, spending more time on the computer to blog doesn't excite me either. Besides, the blog is for fun, it isn't a job.
I post because I want to...as I expect you read because you want to. Neither of us is required to do so and that's how it should be.
It's a free world.

More Christmas magic

I finally got a good photo of our "Candy Cane Tree" we created in our front yard.

We've had these large plastic candy canes for several years and tried different ways of using them in our Christmas displays. We like to decorate the yard for Christmas, but we're not the over-the-top types.

This year I was inspired to create a different sort of tree. We have rope lights in white, red, and candy-cane stripes, so I wrapped them around the trunk of a tree. This is a birch tree that had just the perfect limb structure to adorn with red and white lights for the best effect. Then we hung the candy canes along the limbs and we have a real crowd-pleaser. Not that we have too many neighbors, but those who live nearby or drive by have given us lots of praise.

We just have fun with it.

(The lights in the background are draped on the rhododendrons along the house.)

Christmas with the Crists is shaping up nicely, don't you think?

Apple Blossoms in December

This year I chose an amaryllis of a different color. This is my gorgeous Apple Blossom Amaryllis, which ended up having SIX blossoms. It's brilliant white with pink streaks and a rosy glow on the edges of the petals. I think it has a lovely scent too. I would definitely grow this type again.

For those who don't know, growing an amaryllis is a tradition that I started only in the past 5 or 10 years. I think I was inspired by my Dad, if memory serves me correctly.

Does anyone have experience with saving an amaryllis from one year to the next and getting it to bloom again?

Meanwhile, enjoy.

:)

Did I say COLD!?

Yesterday I posted about turning off the waterfall and how lovely the ice was. Last night it got down to 6 degrees. For here, that's what one weather person on TV called "brutal cold."
It's really good we turned off the waterfall when we did, because it is not expected to get above freezing until the weekend.
Well, I have to go stoke the woodstove again. Cheerio!

Cold Snap continues

As you can see from this picture, we're having quite a bit of COLD weather. Now my Colorado relatives might not think that a week of temperatures right around freezing during the day and low 20s at night isn't cold, but for Western Washington, IT IS COLD!

The waterfall this morning had a lovely coating of ice, so I decided to snap some photos before we turn it off for the winter.