A BEAUTIFUL DAY

 An absolutely beautiful day here in Georgia. It's 72*F and sunny. I think this will last all week before we drop back to the 30's and 40's. I love clouds and wanted to snap some nice pictures but there wasn't a cloud in the pure blue, blue sky. I see signs of life under the leaf liter. Little green points poking through. I'm so excited and can't wait to see some daffodils and hyacinths. 

I ran across this picture of some kitties we were pet sitting for. I think it's so cute, though I may have posted it before. Such cute kitties.

I should get outside and enjoy this spring day. I hope you have a good week. 

ASSASSIN BUG

Have you heard of the Assassin Bug? They live in Malaysia and are quite the fashionable bug. They hunt ants and kill them by turning their insides to liquid and then they suck the insides out. That leaves behind the ant's exoskeleton. They then take the exoskeleton and place them on their back. It's supposed to confuse the enemy but I think it's a fashion choice. Aren't they cute?

We're coming up on Monday. I have one task to do tomorrow then my day is free. I hope you have a great week. Thanks for stopping by.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

The skies in the mountains can be so beautiful. The picture I'm sharing today is from the north Georgia mountains, near Helen, Georgia. My daughter snapped these for me. I'll be going up in March to stay with my her for a few days. There are so many pretty areas I can't wait to visit. Her friend is always photographing the most beautiful waterfalls, meadows, buildings, etc. I hope I get to see some of them.

I hope you have a great weekend. Thanks for visiting. Take care.

I'm joining Skywatch Friday. 

 

WELCOME RAIN

 We had some welcome rain this week. It just drizzled all day. Nice and misty and drizzly. I love the rain. There is just something wonderful about a day of rain. Often our rain is at night, where you can't really enjoy it. This weeks rain was all day long. So nice.

This little cedar tree sparkled with drops of rain. I thought it was so pretty.

This morning the temperature is hovering around 35F but it will warm up nicely to 64F. The sky is breaking a beautiful blue, not a cloud in sight. Thanks so much for stopping by. Take care and stay warm!

HORSESHOE CRABS

 Did you know that horseshoe crabs have blue blood? I was fascinated by this fact, then I read that 500,000 are captured and released after some of their blood is harvested. It is used by pharmaceutical companies.  I'm not sure how I feel about this. I saw a picture of the poor animals being strapped down and it just seems a little cruel. They are such an interesting animal, I hope this harvesting doesn't hurt them. 

Horseshoe crabs aren't really crabs at all. The are closely related to spiders. Even though they look scary with their long pointy tail and many legs, They don't bite or sting. Their tail is used to help them turn back over if they are turned over by a wave. You can pick them up to help them get turned right. 

I hope you're having a happy Tuesday. I don't have anything I need to do today so I'm just gonna vegetate. 

MONDAY MUSINGS

 Super fun having my daughter home for a week. We treated ourselves to dinner out. Good conversation and good food can't be beat! While looking out the window at the restaurant I noticed this beautiful holly that was full of berries. Didn't see any birds eating the berries which surprised me. I know they love them.

There was also a plant that was casting wonderful shadows

.These aren't the best photos. Kind of hard to be inconspicuous taking photos in a restaurant! I hope you are having a great day. It's been a misty day around here, just enough for slow windshield wipers. 

Thanks for stopping by. I love comments so leave me one! It will be appreciated.

A BRIEF TRIP TO THE MOUNTAINS

 A quick trip to the mountains to pick up my daughter. She is coming home for a week long visit. I haven't seen her for a month, so I'm very excited. The drive was pleasant. Hubby and I got very nostalgic talking about our childhoods. The sky on the drive up was completely cloud free. But on the way home this beautiful cloud formation was captured.

The winds must have been really strong in the upper atmosphere. The clouds are so wispy. 

When we got home the animals were so excited to see Sally they totally ignored Don and I. We put a pizza in the oven and turned on Seinfeld, Two of our favorite things.

I hope your day is great. Thanks so much for stopping by.

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday.

AND THE SNOW CAME

We only got a little, but it was pretty. Our flakes were really tiny. I was hoping for big fat ones. The snow created a nice cozy day for us. The snow was like powder. I've never seen powder snow. I've heard that skiers like to ski on powder. I heard we actually had skiers in Piedmont Park, skiing down the hills. That sounds like fun.

It must seem silly to my Northern friends for me to get so excited over an inch of snow, lol. But I do! It's been years since we had any. It's like a holiday around here! Extra special snacks, extra firewood, Lots of quilts brought out. We prepare well. Today the sun was bright and melted a lot of the snow,  but any wetness left behind will refreeze tonight as we dip again into the 20's. My brother is a good 200 miles south of me in Florida and he got 13 inches! I'm jealous!

I hope you've had a lovely day. Thanks so much for stopping by. It's frigid over much of the country so keep warm friends. 

LAZY DAYS

 Oh boy is it cold. I know some of you are even colder, but this is super cold to me! We're waiting for the snow to arrive. We may get some, we may not. I guess it's a wait and see event. The animals are all taking the day off and have been lazing around on the sofa. 

Cold outside but nice and cozy warm inside. I've got a big pot of chili cooking and warm quilts all around and a nice fire. 

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some nice snow pictures! I hope you're having a great day. Thanks for stopping by.

SPRING MAGIC

I'm actually seeing some spring magic in my garden! Little green tips poking through the leaf littered ground.  Hyacinths and daffodils seem to be the early risers. The daffs are usually blooming by now, but are only just starting their trek up. Our sustained cold weather helping them hold off a little longer.  With Spring seemingly just around the corner I thought I would post a few mosaics of my garden through the years. 

I can't for the life of me remember where I made these mosaics. I really wish I could. Does anyone know where you can make cute frames? 

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse at my garden. Have a great week! Thanks for stopping by.

BOWERBIRDS

 I was on FB today when I ran across a picture of a male Bowerbird. Have you heard of them? I had read an article some time ago. Today I looked them up to see where they lived. They mostly live in New Guinea and Australia. This little planet of ours is so full of amazing animals. The Bowerbird builds beautiful nests to try attracting females. They use pretty colored objects they find. Small pieces of glass, things that are shiny, shells, and other found pretty objects.

Here is the male Bowerbird. Isn't he handsome. Sometimes looking blue, other times black.

Here is the female Bowerbird. A little on the drab side. But lucky her to have a home so pretty.

Aren't their nests beautiful? I wonder how long it takes them to build it.

I hope you like this post about the Bowerbird. I was just so facinated with them and I wanted to share them with you. I hope you have a lovely day. Thanks for stopping by. I love comments and am always appreciative when one is left.

OLD FOLKS AND YOUNGSTERS

 Greetings peeps. What a lovely, slow evening I'm having. My duty with keeping my 11 year old ggchild is finally over. I love her, she is great, she does nothing wrong, I am ecstatic that it's over. I'm too old for kids! Their endless "why's" make me crazy. Their messiness leaves me depressed, their constant hunger makes me stressed, their waking me up (twice!) in the middle of the night with a crazy question makes me confused. But she is a darling and I love her bunches. I'm just glad I don't have to do that too often. And at least she went to school. It was only the evenings that got me stressed. But all's good now.

I'm enjoying watching Only Murders in the Building. Have you seen it? It's really clever and funny in a sophisticated way, not roll on the floor funny, but quite a few chuckles. The three main actors (Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez) have great chemistry. I'm watching the 3rd season. See if you can find seasons 1 and 2 if possible. Then watch 3. You'll be glad you did!

We are clouding up here, getting ready for a day of rain tomorrow. That makes me very happy.  

I hope you've had a great day, thanks for stopping by and commenting! I really appreciate when comments are left.

TENNIS AND THE PUPS

 I have been watching The Australian Open with the puppers today. I love tennis. Many years ago, when I was a lot younger, I played. I did not play well, but it was so much fun. I wish I could have learned how to control the ball better. I am not a sporty girl and simple directions didn't seem to help. I am proud of the fact that I didn't fall very often, which is a big accomplishment for me! I seem to trip over the smallest pebbles. Sometimes I would fall because I didn't lift my feet enough. Geesh!

Today has been long and slow. Not sure why, just has felt that way. We're looking at more winter weather next week. Twice in one year is amazing! Unfortunately, super cold temperatures will be heading down from the Arctic. This cold weather is going to make the garden so pretty this summer. I hope my plants survive. But I bet my iris will be blooming big. So excited!

I hope you're keeping warm. Thanks for stopping by.

JANUARY GOING

 Hello friends! January is skating away quickly. Where does the time go? I'm still struggling to get all the Christmas stuff put up. I should be up and about, getting the house back in order. Instead, I'm sitting in my comfy chair watching all the birds flitting about. I just saw a House Finch. This is the first one I've seen in a long time. It caught me by surprise. Bird watching is so much fun.

Most of our snow has melted, except on the back deck. It receives no sun during the winter. It's very slippery. Scares me to have to walk across it to feed the birds. But I gotta do what I gotta do for my feathered friends. It's not pretty any more. 

The moon was gorgeous this morning. While waiting on the bus I noticed it was full with a little haze over it. Very moody. Makes me think of all those old horror movies that scared me to death. 

I hope you're having a lovely day. Thanks for stopping by!

EARLY MORNING

 My great granddaughter is spending the week with us, which means I have to remember how to get up early and make breakfast and make sure she catches the bus (we were 5 seconds from missing it this morning). I stand at the street with her in the pitch blackness of the morning. Kind of cool, the stars blanketed the sky and were a bright and happy point in my morning. It was very cold (in the 20's) so I was glad we didn't have to stand there waiting, Coming back into the house where it was warm and cozy I got me a cup of coffee and settled in for a nice morning...until the phone rang. Nala had to have her water bottle and would I bring it to her. I'm not far from the school so I ran up there and dropped it off. What a way to interrupt my nice morning!  I hope your morning was delightful in every way. 

Thanks for stopping by!

DO YOU KNOW THE WOBBEGONG SHARK?

 Have you ever hear of a Wobbegong shark? When I first heard of it, I thought it was a joke. I looked it up on Wikipedia and found it is a type of shark. But don't they look funny, with their carpet look and little whiskers.

From Wikipedia:

Wobbegong is the common name given to the 12 species of carpet sharks in the family Orectolobidae. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean, chiefly around Australia and Indonesia, although one species (the Japanese wobbegong, Orectolobus japonicus) occurs as far north as Japan. The word wobbegong is believed to come from an Australian Aboriginal language, meaning "shaggy beard", referring to the growths around the mouth of the shark of the western Pacific

For some reason, this picture of the shark reminds me of a piece of handwork I am doing. I guess it's the color and texture. This is a work in progress. 

I hope you're having  a great day. Keep warm. Thanks for stopping by.

SNOWMAGEDDEN DONE!

Yep it's all over. The snow is slowly melting, everyone is back at work.  But I'm still cozying up like it's just started. A hearty meal of chili. Fires and quilts and my favorite chair. What more could a girl want? The puppers are still fascinated by it. When they go out it's like they can't understand where all the smells went - sniff, sniff, paw, paw, nothing. 

Hubby hurt his back and is conked out on muscle relaxers so it looks like I'm going to have to venture out and get me some coke. What a way to ruin my fun, do nothing, snow days. 

Even though the snow is melting the sky is a beautiful blue today.

I hope you're keeping warm. Thanks for stopping by. 

 

SNOW BOUND

    Day two of our snow. It's been so pretty, but is starting to look a little aged (dog prints all over the place). The dogs have enjoyed the snow, which surprised me. At least for one of the puppers that is afraid of everything. Who knew she would love the snow? It's kind of mushy today, but will be freezing hard tonight when temperatures drop into the 20's. 

What better way to enjoy the snow than a nice breakfast. Warm and cozy inside, looking out at a winter wonderland. I've now had my hunger for some winter precipitation satisfied!

I hope you're nice and cozy. Thanks for stopping by!

SNOW, GLORIOUS SNOW!

I made this sun catcher a few years ago and want to make another one. I think it's so cute and it was so easy! I used a cake pan with a little water and orange peel, red berries, leaves and put in the freezer. A lot of cuteness for very little effort!

 It's been so long since we had any snow....well, actually, not snow here in Newnan, we're getting sleet. We've got about 2 inches. It is going to freeze so hard. But it looks just as pretty as snow. Just can't make a snowman. I don't really understand because the county next to ours is getting all snow. Daughter is in the North Georgia mountains so she should be getting lots of snow. Can't wait to see her pictures. 

We've got a nice fire going. Need to start thinking about breakfast.

I hope you are warm and cozy. Thanks for stopping by.

WINTER WEATHER WATCH

The watch is on. It won't be long before we have snowflakes and, unfortunately, ice. But even if we have ice, it should all turn to rain later in the day tomorrow. I didn't have any pretty clouds today but I found these pretty cloud pictures that I took last year. 

 

My son and I spent some time collecting kindling. I took a tumble, tripping over a rock. I hit my head on the ground, but it was nice and soft so no problem. I was moved to sad disappointment tears when I saw my poor bird tree (just kidding, but I was sad). We've got to carry it back into the woods.

I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm excited to see how my two puppers handle the snow. They've never seen it before. I think one will run and play, but the other will be stressed and get scared and run in to the house.

I hope you are staying warm. Thanks for stopping by.

SPEAKING OF BIRDS...

 I love birds. I love the way they flit around. I love the way the robin vigorously pecks through leaves looking for some small morsel. Nut Hatches are one of my favorite. I love the way they climb down a tree head first. Wrens with their little tail standing up - what's not to love? The Titmouse with it's little tufted head and the occasional Pileated Woodpecker is a wonder to behold. Oh yeah, and the pretty Downy Woodpecker that hangs on to my suet feeder for long periods. I love them all...but I also love their feathers and I've collected them for years. The big, the little, the in between, I collect them all.

I found out that if you follow the guy who feeds the birds at the zoo they will get you terrific feathers from exotic birds I wouldn't normally see. One gave me a penguin feather! It's my pride and joy. 

We are getting ready for some winter weather. We've got the wood stacked up and kindling gathered and full cabinets and fridge. Bring it on!

I hope you're having a lovely day. Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, Woe is Tree!!!

 Hello friends. How is your January going. We're in the middle of a big cold spell. Cold spells are good for the garden. I expect to see beautiful things this spring and summer. Before the cold spell we had a big rain and gusty winds. This was not good for my cute decorated bird tree. The rain ruined the popcorn strands and the wind knocked the tree over and the oranges fell off. Now it just looks like a poor reflection of itself. 

I guess we can take the tree and return it to the woods. Sigh. How disappointing. We had a Mockingbird eating the popcorn and oranges. It was fun watching him shake the popcorn strand, trying to get a bite off. Titmice and chickadees were feasting on the peanut butter and birdseed stars. 

Looks like we might be in for some winter precipitation Friday! Can you feel my excitement???

I hope you have a great day. Thanks for stopping by.

A LITTLE BIT OF THIS...

I'm sitting here all by myself, missing my daughter, but very proud of her. She is visiting a friend in the North Georgia mountains. This is a big deal for her to experience. She is autistic and doesn't spend much, if any, time away from me. She is 37 and I am so happy for her to have this experience. She is hoping to stay for months. We have to take it a day at a time. 

This is a heart that I made for Kaytie, the friend Sally is visiting. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Just something I love. This piece of pottery was made by a friend of mine and she gifted it to me. I've had it for years. It's a lovely piece, I love the color.

Now, just for you, a picture of my blackeye. I'm very proud of it. I fell at church and hit my head on the concrete. I had a cat scan (Which is required for the hospital to give anyone over 65). which was all clear. The blackeye lasted about 2 weeks. I wore it with a smile:

We may be in for some snow flurries this week - very excited about that. We haven't had any snow for a long time. 

I hope your day is bright and cheery. Thanks so much for stopping by.