Do you see it there on the dark side of the tree?
In Every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.
Japanese Barberry
"This bow is in the way, I need to get a good spot to view the package opening"
After a bit of fussing with the bow Jack found a good spot to watch everyone open gifts.
Some folks love the snow and others don't like it at all. 
Shoveling, plowing or snow blowing the driveway takes time or money.
We received about 12 inches on Friday and another 12 on Sunday. 
Blue sky breaking through the clouds raised everyone's mood.
Cedar waxwings are very social birds. They are non-territorial and will often groom each other. They travel in flocks of 40 or more birds. They often will appear in a spot with a good crop of berries. When they have eaten all the berries, they move on! 
We are recovering from Friday's Ice Storm. The ice is terribly beautiful and mighty destructive. These ice covered trees and more farther up the hill hang over our 450 foot driveway. Luckily none of the white pines fell into the driveway, just in the woods. We have been without power since Saturday at 3am. We have a coal stove that heats the house and a brook to gather water for flushing. All the stores are currently sold out of batteries, candles and lamp oil.
Look how nature decorated the river.
On the surface things don't always seem to be as they really are.
“Nature has no mercy at all.
Nature says, "I'm going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that's tough. I am going to snow anyway."”
Maya Angelou quotes (American Poet, b.1928)
Jacki is such a sweetie. He was sitting pretty in the afternoon sun and I thought...great picture. Of course, as soon as I got within range he fell over. Natural cat reaction I suppose.
O Lord, that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
~ William Shakespeare
Yes....it was snowing on my drive to work today. I had noticed this apple tree still loaded with apples and knew that I'd have to take a picture. I thought the snow could tell the story of how cold it was this morning.
I had a surprise when I went out to the garden. One last pansy! It was sheltered by the quince shrub and though it couldn't stand-up tall it gave one last colorful flower.
With a little rain and wind all the oak leaves are finally on the ground. I have raked twice already and now the lawn is no longer green but brown with a super thick covering of leaves. I hope to get lucky enough to have a great big wind gust come up and move them for me. Wishful thinking! I really do love to rake.
Mosses have no roots, but instead have a rhizome. They do not need a substrate to grow, but absorb water and nutrients from the atmosphere. The rhizome tends to be fuzzy, this helps the moss absorb water and nutrients.
Moss relies on living in dense, compact mats to obtain enough water and nutrients. Within the moss mat, particles from the environment mix with water and create soil.
Moss is adapted to drought conditions. During the summer, its metabolism can slow down to almost zero.
Moss does not only grow on the North side of a tree. Moss will grow wherever there is an adequate amount of moisture and sunlight.
This information found at http://canopy.evergreen.edu/
This little nut got stuck between a rock and a hard place. The water is moving fairly quick but the acorn is snugly stuck.
Frost has come to our region. Most annual plants have been killed by it. And most mornings we are now scraping it from our windshields. The temps go down just below freezing at night and most days are 40 to 60 degrees. The leaves are still falling and there remains a lot of raking to be done.
We can learn a lot from trees: they're always grounded but never stop reaching heavenward.
~Everett Mámor
Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine. ~Jeffrey Glassberg
One of my favorite roads home through hills and valleys and past this lovely farm. None of the black Angus cows were near the road but the fall colors were there. I love this time of year. Brisk air and warm sun on your back, great for being outside.
Today on my walk I noticed that our neighbor had some very lovely roses that where still blooming. It makes me smile when I see simple treasures like this.
