Snowy Spring, or Winter’s PS

Look what happened on the first day of spring!

We woke up to a good 6-8 inches of snow on the ground!

Which drew birds by the dozens again, including some of my winter favorites:

I love how these little beauties nestle into the snowy branches.

Later in the day, a brilliant blue sky let us know spring was keeping an eye on the untimely snowfall…

And a wonderful thing happened – Daisy suddenly started enjoying the snow! She didn’t avoid it like usual, she went right into the thick of it, and after I stopped taking pictures (of course) she romped into the deepest snow in the middle of the yard – chest-high on her!

Hey, this snow isn’t so bad after all! It’s kinda fun! Now let’s go for the deep stuff!

Of course we paid the inevitable price – 20 minutes of blow-drying ice balls off her feet, legs, chest and stomach. But it was well worth it! I hope she takes to the snow much sooner next winter.

Our daffodils – the four-inch stems that had managed to push through after the ice, snow, and a flooded flower garden – took it well and now that the snow is gone, they’re giving it their all. What hardy little troopers!

And given the “all clear”, a few of our purple crocuses hurried to show their beauty before the next storm could shut them down – there are about four buds in this picture, two of which are just waiting to burst open (you can see that the garden hasn’t been cleaned up yet after winter – there are still some small snow deposits around).

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Do you think Daisy looks like…

I think Daisy’s looking for a new career – lately she’s been doing her best impressions of an old-time movie star:

That’s Veronica Lake with her famous sultry wave-over-the-eye look.

And there’s Miss Daisy, doing her own now-famous ear-over-the-eye look!

Veronica Lake starred in primarily black-and-white movies, and Daisy is already gray and white, with touches of black. She fits right in! 😀

What do you think? Does Daisy have a future as a canine film noire star?

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Happy Birthday Daisy!!

Yep, it’s official – Daisy turned FIVE on Friday! Yes, it was Friday the 13th, but for us, it’s a good luck day because that’s the day that our little sweetie was born. 😀

Daisy the Furry Caterpillar at 2.6 months old.

Daisy got big “good morning” greetings, and she actually seemed extra excited, as if she knew it was a special day. She jumped higher, romped, and did little ram-like jumps over absolutely nothing. 😀

Daisy loves over-the-shoulder hugs!

We started celebrating early with an extra long morning excursion out and about, despite the muddy grounds.

Daffodils should be shooting up in our flower garden, but instead we just have a muddy pool.

We couldn’t wait to give her her present – she de-stuffed poor Pinkie last week, but she loved him so much that we got her Pinkie’s little brother, Baby Blue.

Meet Baby Blue, Pinky’s little brother and Daisy’s new favorite toy.

I love my Baby Blue!

Daisy didn’t let go of Baby Blue all day.

Since one of Daisy’s favorite things is paper bags, we put Baby Blue into a long paper bag, scrunched up the end, and turned her present-opening into a homemade “mental exercise” toy. She had a blast and it took her a little while to figure it out.

Daisy’s day was full of kisses, cuddles and mushies. I think she’s already looking forward to her next birthday!

Daisy gave lots of lovies too!

 

Winter’s Last Hurrah – And Why I Love Winter

Winter went out in its full glory last week – it was one of the most beautiful snowfalls we’ve had all season. The air was filled with sparkling flakes floating down for over 12 hours, and we got about 8 more inches on the ground. It was spectacular.

Hunkering down during the storm.

The day after the snowfall, I went to one of my favorite natural areas with a lake that attracts everything from herons and swans to geese and ducks; I’ve even photographed huge turtles there.

Going for the deep dive…

The air was clean and ever so breathable, the cold was invigorating, and an endless thick, white carpet welcomed me and cushioned my steps.

 

Forward…march! Look at those crazy footprints!

If you think my love of winter white makes me eligible for a visit from the men in white coats, maybe this list of twelve reasons (and I have more!) why I love winter can make a case for my sanity. 🙂

1. No spiders, stinging bugs, or creepy crawlies. This I cannot overstate!
2. No major time spent on yardwork, so our weekends are free for fun.
3. No heavy traffic when driving somewhere beautiful. Places like the beach aren’t clogged with people who don’t know what trash cans are for.
4. No unbearable, unbreathable, energy-sapping heat/humidity index of over 100 degrees.
5. No spiders.
6. Absolutely beautiful, contrasting, sparkling long-range scenery.
7. Coming home late at night without dodging tons of flying creepy crawlies around the porch light while trying fruitlessly to keep them from coming in with us.
8. No mosquito bites. Not being awakened at 2 AM by high-pitched mosquito whining in my ear, then spending the next hour not finding the little bugger, going back to bed at 3 AM only to be awakened by the same screeching at 3:10.
9. I love the look of winter clothes and being bundled up in layers and sweaters. I love snuggling under piles of blankets.
10. Ironically, we have to keep all the shades in the back of the house down during summer days because the sun is too strong and heats up the house too much (not to mention fading furniture!). I feel more closed in during summer than winter!
11. Way more birds at the feeder during snowfalls than in any other season.
12. NO SPIDERS.

At different points during the day, we had over 2 dozen birds at a time around the feeder!

That said, I do find beauty in all seasons. I love our organic herb and veggie gardens as well as taking photos of all of nature’s beauty.

Our rosemary plant thawing out. Love those droplets!

We’re now dealing with The Great Thaw, which is not a pretty thing. Spring didn’t work its way in, it pounced with temps in the 40s and now 50s, so our foot-plus of snow is melting so fast, the ground can’t absorb it. We’ve got mud puddles everywhere…not an attractive look on Miss Daisy’s little white paws!

Dozing Daisy after a good mud romp and a paw bath.

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Winter’s Beauty – The Final Round?

Winter isn’t giving up easily this year – we’ve had two snowstorms and an ice storm this week. Call me crazy – as I know many will on this subject considering the endless snows we’ve had this season – but the sight of snow falling still makes me smile and makes my heart happy.

I awoke to another beautiful snowfall this morning and found this little guy waiting for his turn at the feeder.

Outdoors I love standing out in the middle of an open area during a snowfall; the frigid pre-snow chill is replaced by a distinctive warmth that makes the outdoors comfortable. I thoroughly enjoy the unique atmosphere, exquisite flakes, and unparalleled quiet that defines a good snowfall. I guess I’ll always get a bit of a childhood thrill when I see snow.

A little mid-week melting had this guy claiming the one green spot under the feeder.

But the next day came another snow, and we had another full house.

Indoors I love the cozy feeling as I watch every little aspect of nature flawlessly outlined and defined by snow. The contrasts are breathtaking. The ground is uniformly clean yet undulating with rolling heights of snow and unusual patterns. There’s nothing similar about snowfalls to me; each is as unique as every flake that falls.

Wave patterns in the snow.

The ice storm this week did make things dangerous, but there’s an exceptional beauty that comes with it too. It’s rare and one of my favorite sights.

Like it’s covered in diamonds.

Like a cut crystal coating.

Is this where the phrase “dripping with diamonds” came from?

A rare sight indeed.

Crystal-sheathed branches.

I can’t help but chuckle when I think of how extremely opposite my photographs are from my blogging friend Mary, who posts the most amazing photos of desert life. I absolutely love her photography. During winter, our photos are in complete contrast with each other, but that’s one of the things I love about this world – opposites are beautiful if we’ll only take the time to see the beauty and stop complaining about the differences. If only humans could see that in each other…

If everyone appreciates the differences in dogs, then why not in each other? I don’t understand humans…

So call me crazy, throw rotten tomatoes at me, but I love winter. And I’ll be sorry to see it go when the temps hit the 40s next week. Yes, I do find plenty of gorgeousness in spring and summer too, because every season has its own special beauty, but come June I’ll be starting my annual countdown to fall. 🙂

We’re part of a snowy Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop!