Ahh, snow. It was easy to appreciate the beauty of it today, since it politely arrived on a Friday night when I did NOT have to work on Saturday.
Gorgeous, smoothing out the dirty wrinkles of winter.
So of course I had to pull on those snow boots and crunch around the yard.
The view out back to my field behind the yard. The remnants of last year's corn sleep now...
And I love the pines out behind the house...
But even the "sleeping" non-evergreens are beautiful in the snow...
Yep, it was a heavy snow. I had to knock all this snow off so this little cedar could stand up again.
Othercat is happy outside in all seasons. He has TWO very warm houses in which to winter. Later he was making "snow cats" by rolling around in the snow.
Hope you were able to meander in the snow today! Oh, and Mother Nature, it's just fine if you want to move quickly to spring now.
It's January, so that means it is Pennsylvania Farm Show time! And I love it!
So we headed out to Harrisburg on Saturday to take in the 99th annual event -- as did about a million other people. But it was absolutely worth the trip.
The first stop was the food court, which features all Pennsylvania-made goodies. And even though it wasn't even 8 a.m. yet, I had to have some chocolate-honey ice cream, with raspberry honey drizzled on top.
Delicious!!
Of course the Farm Show is a lot more than food, so here are a few photos of what we saw. I certainly couldn't include everything -- take that as a nudge to head out there this week.
How about a 300-plus-pound pumpkin, shown above, or a "peanut" pumpkin, shown below?
The butter sculpture always is amazing, and this year was no exception...
There are plenty of fowl attractions at the Farm Show….
And longhorns were a big attraction...
Got a beef? The Farm Show has a seemingly endless supply…
Loved the State Police drill team in the large arena.
This goat was sitting down on the job, while the sheep looked a bit like people ready to work out while wearing leg warmers and spandex outfits...
Who says pigs aren't cute?
Need a few pieces of small machinery? There is a huge hall filled with this stuff!
More food!!
You can catch the 99th annual Pennsylvania Farm Show until Saturday. And if you can't get out there, be sure to tune into PCN (channel 186 on Comcast), which is covering the event all week.
Can't wait to see the 100th annual show!
Snowfall
Softly
Gently drift down
Snowflakes
Whisper
'Neath my window
Covering trees
Misty lights
Velvet breeze
'Round my doorstep
Gently
Softly
Silent
Snowfall
(lyrics to "Snowfall")
"Snowfall" is such a brilliantly gorgeous song. And watching the snow cover the mud, rough earth and dead leaves is magical as well. Tuesday's snow certainly wasn't deep, but it was beautiful nonetheless. And it certainly reminded me how the sparkling crystals can lift our spirits with their beauty, especially when the moon sets them all a-glitter.
And, once you're done taking in winter's beauty outdoors, just snuggle up to the fire … and dream of snowfall...
Hope you're enjoying the new year! I got a great Mutts calendar -- see January's illustration below -- for Christmas that I love. It's one more push to make me think about life and others … something we all should be doing in the new year.
Something else I stumbled upon during the last year that I'm doing this year is getting a big jar and whenever something pleasant happens -- perhaps drinking in a beautiful sunset or getting a letter from a good friend or hearing music that absolutely moves me -- I jot down a brief note about it with the date and drop it in the jar.
Then on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, just open the jar and read -- and be thankful for -- all the great moments that you enjoyed during the year. They really could be anything, large or small. Perhaps a promotion at work, an addition to the family, a new pet, a health scare that turned out to be nothing, a memorable book you read.
Well, you get the idea.
But dwell on the positive, not the negative.
With the new year here, I packed away the Christmas decorations but kept out some winter items to help bring some sparkle and light into my home. Hope you did the same!
May the new year be merry, bright and uplifting for all of us!
