Whispers of Spring

First of all, I want to thank all my dear readers for your sweet birthday wishes - your comments made me smile and warmed my heart and soul!

Through a Country Window

I am truly blessed. 

I went through a lot of difficult times in my life but right now I am in a place where I am at peace.

At last.

It was snowing when I went to bed last night, ever so gently, and it was a frigid evening. But we were warm and cozy in my little house with the wood-stove doing it's job extremely well. 

The oil company is going to hate me....and I'm ok with that!

One of the things that drew me in when I first toured my new home were the views. I have a view of the mountains from 3 sides of my house, and the back side of my house backs up to acres and acres of woodland.

In the summer, the property is gorgeous with established gardens, privacy from the road, and mother nature all around.

In the winter when the leaves are off the trees there is a different kind of beauty. The mountains are clear in the distance and I start my day with a view of the sunrise through my bedroom window.

When I open my eyes, the first thing I see are the mountains through the window to the left of my bed, and the sun rising over the peaks. 

It's an incredible way to start one's day, to be so inspired by the beauty out your window that you just want to jump up and grab the camera. 

The dogs hear me up and about and they are ready to go out and face the snow. And I'm ready for coffee. 

I watch the pups out the kitchen window as I'm beginning my day. No birdies bathing in the little birdbath today!

I take a peek out the dining room window to the Chickadees, who are loving the sunflower/safflower seed combo I put in the squirrel proof feeder. They ignored this feeder for months....now they can't get enough of it with this new seed combo!

After letting the pups in and getting the fire going again I head back into the bedroom where the sun is now shining on my little garden cottage at the rear of the house. 

The horses have arrived outside the other bedroom window....I don't think I'll ever grow tired of seeing my neigh-bors. 

Sorry. I had to. 

I'll just have a seat for a minute with my coffee and start my day on a quiet note. 

Giving thanks for my blessings and the beauty all around me. 

My favorite way to start the day. 

Frosty Mountain Morning

It was a cold one last night with temps dropping down to 22 here on the mountain top! 

There was a heavy frost this morning making the simplest of items sparkle in the sunshine. 

And let me tell you, all this frostiness is not helping me NOT think about Christmas!

And Christmas decor. And Christmas trees. And wrapping gifts. And Christmas dinner. 

I've been trying to hold off....but it's bubbling up inside of me and I am going to break down one of these days soon!

I'm just so excited to decorate my new home for the holidays!!

But for now, let's just browse around at the beautiful frosty mountain morning. 

The front garden is a sea of ice crusted blades of grass this morning - it was a beautiful sight looking down from the upper deck. 

No coffee on the garden swing this morning!

I guess the chairs by the fire pit are a no-go also this morning - Brrrrr!!

Look how thick the frost was on the deck railings - it looked like snow. 

Like Christmas snow. Oops, sorry, there I go again!

My little garden cottage has a heavy frost on the roof. I guess it's time to dump all the pots and stack them in the shed for the winter. 

Summer grass gives way to fall leaves...which give way to winter frosts. 

The horses were up by their little barn - the lower paddock is all frozen over. Must be a bit warmer up on the hill. 

I could see the vapor coming from the horse's breath on this frosty morning. 

No warm glow coming from the solar path lights. 

The Lamb's Ear looks like it was dipped in sugar. 

And the Snow in Summer looks more like Snow in Autumn.

Back up on the deck Strawberry plants look so beautiful even in frost. 

The rubber stair treads I added yesterday are terrific - nothing slippery about my deck stairs now!

Back inside the warm steamy kitchen the bean soup I started in the crockpot yesterday is making the whole house smell like heaven. 

The sun is pouring in through the front windows and the dining room is glowing in the morning light. 

And there's a fire burning in the wood stove, keeping the house warm until I return. 

There's nothing like coming into a nice warm house on a frosty day. 

Welcome home. 

Bear Butts and Bare Trees

I saw my bear the other night. More specifically, I saw his butt. His bear butt. His bare bear butt. His big bare bear butt. He was heading across the road into the apple orchard a few properties down from mine. I'm thinking from the....ahem....deposits he left in my driveway that he eats a LOT of apples. 

Anyway. 

His butt is not the only thing that's bare around here. It poured out of the heavens all night last night along with very heavy winds - the combination took down most of the leaves that were still clinging on to the trees. 

This morning the sun was shining beautifully and it was weirdly warm. I let my fire die for the day so I can clean out the fireplace. Tonight it will be in the 30's. Very strange weather. 

I grabbed my camera to take a few photos of the bare trees around my property to share with all of you. 

I have a view of the mountains from three sides of my house now. No complaints there!

Most of the undergrowth died with the recent frosts - I can see way off into the woods now. Which is great for spotting a bear. Not that I want to spot a bear....

Remember how this tree looked just recently?  Well the leaves are just about completely gone now. And the pile of leaves that was underneath it? Also gone. I came home Monday and found my sweetie sitting in a pile of sweat and leaves. He spent his afternoon blowing them onto a tarp and dragging them into the woods. He's such a honey. I might just have to keep him!

My resident deer loves to hang out behind this shed. In the spring I think she had a fawn bedded down in there - she would let me get fairly close to her but then would hiss at me. I never had a deer hiss at me before! It was a little frightening, not gonna lie. 

There are lots of leaves left to take care of back here. When they are done coming down they will be mulched into the lawn so they can break down to feed the lawn. Eco-fertilizer. 

Any pots that had any sort of a flower still blooming are now gathered around my garden cottage. Many pots were dumped and stored inside and there was some more work done around the foundation this week, again by my sweetie (see - a keeper!) but that's a post for another day. Making progress on the fall cleanup, bit by bit!

I can see right into the horses' paddock now. I think they may have been in their little barn this morning - the paddock was a giant mud puddle after all the rains. 

The front trees are just about done also - which means a better view of the mountain but also a view of the road. And the folks driving by can see my house now, if they bother to look for it. 

The sunshine is gone now and the rain has returned with a vengeance. 

Like I said, weird weather. 

What's it like in your neck of the woods? 

The Wildlife Outside My Window - Good and Bad

I love the wildlife outside my window! Even when I was living in the city I had a little bird feeder and a bird bath outside my bedroom window. I took such delight in that little bit of wildlife that would come eat the treats I would put out for them.

On that note, most of these photos were taken through the window so excuse any fuzziness.....

I felt sorry for the little critters when I moved away, as I do with each move. They get used to having regular meals provided for them and then all of a sudden....nothing.

Well, that's not happening again since I've decided I'm never ever moving again. Ever.

I love looking out and seeing all the critters, large and small, that bring me such joy. Like my little chipmunk friend.  And my neighbors' horses, seen so clearly out my bedroom window now that the trees are getting bare. They are my favorite neigh-bors - ahem. Sorry. 

Not all the creatures bring me joy and some of the wildlife up here on the mountain can be quite scary. 

Like the coyotes. And the bobcats. And the snakes. Ewwww, I hate snakes. And the skunks. And the porcupines. 

And the bears. They are the scariest of all. 

And I had my first real visit from one last night....well, first time in this house. 

I went to put the peanuts out for the birds this morning and one of my feeders was missing. I found the feeder pole on the stairs and a chunk of wood torn from the deck railing where the bear had climbed the stairs, reached over the gate, and tore off the feeder pole. And took the feeder. 

He carried it down by the driveway and broke it to bits. Destroyed it. Grrrrrrrrrr!

It's not the first time I've had a bear take the feeders....not in a long shot. It's just the first time in my new house. 

Crap. I was really hoping they didn't know where I lived!

We gathered the pieces and my sweetie will figure out what parts I'm missing and I'll contact the company for replacements. This company is fabulous, they truly stand behind their product. 

Funny that it's a squirrel buster isn't it? I wish they  made a bear buster! 

It doesn't exist. Not that I know of. If anyone knows of a way to truly keep the bears away from the feeders please share! 

I'll have to bring the feeders into the garage every night before dusk now. Until I'm off his regular feeding route again. Or he goes into hibernation. 

The bear at my last house didn't hibernate in the winter. I had to bring the feeders in every single night, all year. It's irritating to have this extra chore every evening but for me, watching the birds outweighs the annoyance. 

I found a replacement in the garage, installed the feeder pole again, and waited. It wasn't long before we were back in business!

The Nuthatch is coming for the suet. He'd like to get to the peanuts but the Blue Jays won't let him. 

This will do for now!

This is the first time I've seen the Mourning Doves on the flat feeder. 

I honestly wasn't all that sure they were bright enough to figure out there was seed in there! My sweetie calls them the Doofus Birds. He's kind of right....but don't tell him I said so!

The Blue Jays have been regular visitors for a while now but this is the first time I ever captured three on there at once - usually they are too busy fighting!

It didn't take the Gold Finches long to figure out how to work the replacement feeder. Smart little pipsqueaks!

The Dark Eyed Junco comes around looking for tidbits on the ground. Although they are primarily ground feeders they will come to the feeders as well on occasion. 

The Finches like this little thistle feeder outside the kitchen window. I really enjoy being at the sink and watching them up close! 

This poor little Mourning Dove was trying to stay warm on Sunday morning when the temps were in the teens - I felt so bad for him! Look how he fluffed up his feathers to try and stay warm! Yup, that was snow on the railing. That was this cold blustery day.

I love watching the antics of the squirrels. They are such goofy little critters! This guy looks like he has ants in his pants waiting for the other squirrel to have his fill. 

Waiting not so patiently for his turn at the feeder.....he's looking a little anxious now. 

And he gave up. Perhaps the Blue Jay bullied him away. 

The Blue Jays are ganging up on the squirrel but he doesn't seem to be bothered at all. 

Getting a little impatient now....."Come on, you've had enough - it's our turn!"

What kind of wildlife do you see out your window?