Porter's Preserve - again!

A walk cannot be complete without finding a heart or two....I have walked this trail dozens and dozens of time and usually can find a different heart each time.

These tiny feathers were frozen in place in a small puddle near the shoreline. I think the upper feathers are in the shape of a heart...a heart made of "angel wings"!

The ocean looked just like glass...so very flat and calm.

Just floating....

I really like this photo of the icicles hanging from the shoreline, out over the seaweed covered rocks. The tide line is very definite!

Here is an example of how the weather has been here lately....cold and in the 20s. There is ice along the shoreline and on the rocks. And just a few months ago we were walking here covered with bug spray!

Here is a photo of the Memorial Grove located on the Preserve. It is beautiful no matter what the season is. The wooden benches invite one to sit...in peace and quiet.

Odd appearing icicles in a little brook we cross over on the trail....the semi-circle of ice has water trickling down through it....it just amazed me how it froze into that shape....

The Canadian Geese evidently are content with Maine's weather....basking in the sunshine.

I think this leaf resembles a heart, don't you? Hearts show up in the most amazing places.

Some of this and some of that....

One chilly afternoon BuddyTheElf and I took a nice, long walk behind the house. We walked through the woods and along the marsh. It felt nice to be outside, even though the temperature was only in the 20s. As we were heading home I spotted this heart in the snow.

I love this little tree. I've watched it grow over the years and it is so pretty now. I bet the birds would love to find pine cones covered with peanut butter and seeds hanging on it. That would be a nice "Mommy and Me" project to do with Ashton since her fall semester is done now and she doesn't have to go back to school until January 18th.

Do you see the mossy heart on the tree? I think Mother Nature likes to surprise us with hearts in unusual places.

After a recent "dusting" of snow I headed out for a walk and spotted this snowy heart in the driveway!

The two chairs will have to keep each other company from now to spring.

I have wanted a "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" forever...and found this little beauty on-line for a bargain....$7.99, shipping and tax included. I love it! It brings back memories of looking forward to watching Charlie Brown's Christmas Special when I was younger.

Ashton has been working at the YMCA's Day Care Center part-time and brought me her snowman from a project she worked on with the little children. Never too old to bring your mom artwork and hang it on the refrigerator!

What a pleasant find! I stepped outside and spotted this heart on the damp step, with just a "touch" of Buddy's pawprint on it. I hope you have enjoyed the different hearts I have spotted!

Snow days

Yesterday was cold here, 30s but perfect for a walk in the woods. The trees were still dressed in their white coats from the snowfall a couple of days ago.

The little brook that flows from a marsh on the Zak Preserve had ice on it!

I spotted a snow heart! This one is especially for Rainfield.

Last night Ashton put up the Christmas tree and decorated it. It was bittersweet for me, listening to her memories around each ornament. In the past I purchased an ornament for each child, based on a special event of their year. I couldn't help but think of Ashton in her velvet Christmas dress, eagerly hanging ornaments on the tree as a child. Each child would hang his or her ornaments. My two sons have their own homes to decorate but Ashton is still at home to decorate the tree. I miss the "oohs and ahhs" from little children on Christmas morning, the opening of their stockings and paper and bows flying all around the room.

Today the temps were in the 20s but Buddy and I bundled up and headed out in the crisp air. I enjoy walking in the cold. The neighbor's pond was lightly skimmed with ice.

The trail next door is still covered here and there with snow.

The creek that winds around behind our home has ice along its banks.

A wee snow heart on a branch.

The fern was still so bright and seemed to be holding up the snow. A very pretty contrast.

The first snowfall....

Today we received our first snowfall. Here on the coast we had about an inch or so of snow. To me the first snowfall is always the prettiest.

This tiny little tree was so cute, it was only about 10 inches high. It would be perfect for an elves Christmas tree.

BuddyTheElf wore his winter brown suede jacket. He came upon a pile of tires and started digging. I would say he doesn't mind the snow as he had his little nose stuck into the snow while digging!

The branches were pretty in their new coat.

Queen Anne's Lace is so very pretty in the snow.

I thought this dried plant looked somewhat like a star as I looked down upon it.

Perhaps a heart??

I guess the kayak and canoe will stay right where they are for the next few months.....

And once home where it was warm and dry, BuddyTheElf snuggled down into his blankets and took a nap while I went out to shovel!

The little things....

Finally! Deer hunting season has ended and BuddyTheElf and I can safely walk on the Preserve next door. I thought it would be fun to document what is left behind by summer. When we reached the little marsh way out back I spotted this foam "heart". The water had some skim ice on it in places. It is dark under the trees but the little heart stood right out!

I checked out this tree stump that I have passed so many times and realized that it had a heart shape within it.

A left over flower's top. I think its as pretty as when it was a colorful flower!

Looking at the trees along the trail I spotted the bright red leaves. It looks like an outdoor stained glass window to me.

The milkweed is so pretty with its gossamer strands blowing in the breeze

I found a solitary red berry, just as bright as it could be. It stood out bravely against the cold earth.

I am not sure what this is, but it was very intricate. Makes me think of the snowflakes that will soon fall.

In this dried up dreary appearing plant there is a pretty little star. There is so much in nature to explore....not just in spring and summer but in the fall as well.

How Thankful I am!

I have so very much to be thankful for. Its too bad Thanksgiving isn't celebrated every day, in that we tend to pause just one day to give thanks. We should give thanks everyday!

I am thankful for having a most understanding, loving and compassionate husband. When I met him 9 years ago I had no way of knowing that we would marry and he would help bring up my two younger children. He has always been there for all my children, a shoulder to lean on, helping the two younger ones go to college, helping them establish their lives. He does these things daily and is helping with the care of his 97 year old grandmother. I couldn't have asked for a better person to share my life with.

I am thankful for all three of my children. Each one is so unique and special in their own way. They have grown into hard-working and responsible adults. I am so very lucky in that they all live close by. They all look out for one another and would do anything for each other.

I am so very fortunate in having a nice, warm home to live in. I am fortunate in that my sister Margaret is nearby and that I have two wonderful nieces to take shopping!! I am so thankful for my dear mother. She has always given so unselfishly of herself to any and all. She has had major health issues and personal issues in the past and never, ever has complained but kept on going on. She has been such a wonderful person to look up to and model one's life after.

I am so thankful for all the wonderful friends I have. I am so lucky to live in a small town where people look out for each other. I am lucky to live in America where opportunities abound for all and where we can come and go as we please, worship freely and can express oneself as we chose.

I am truly thankful for all of you, my blogger friends, who have opened up my world! I have learned so much from each one of you, explored new places, traveled the world and laughed with you and shared in your triumphs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bode arrives with a flourish!

Bode is a four month old goldendoodle. He is staying with us for a week while his parents are on vacation. Ashton and I picked him up Friday night. He brought along his crate, a pup tent, lots of toys and treats. He settled in quickly as he has been here before. HOWEVER, there is a certain dog who owns the house and his nose appears to be bent over the new arrival.

Bode tries very hard to get Buddy to come play. So far he has had no luck!

My nieces and their mom came to visit on Sunday. Buddy was happy to sit in Robyn's lap, finally someone who wasn't constantly ooing and ahhing over that little puppy.

Bode is at my heels everywhere I go, he even volunteered to help out with the laundy!

Miss Tiz scooped up Bode as soon as she arrived yesterday.

Ah, how I wished I could just plop down just about anywhere and take a nap!

P.S. I haven't checked the blogs I follow for over a week or so....I will be back around to visit all of my blogging buddies in the next few days.