Mmmmmmmmmmm

I love me a cup of good hot chocolate.  This cup of delectableness was made with Nutella, believe it or not!  It was so rich and decadent I should've applied to my hips directly, since I could feel it speeding there as soon as I took a sip.  It was worth it.

Well, no wonder!!!!

After seeing the following article, I understand why yesterday's cow used a ladder......  Ah, the Midwest...full of unexpected surprises and adventures!!!  Bwhahahaha!

Snowmobiler Hits Cow

     The (C.R.) Gazette newspaper reported that an Iowa man was hurt Sunday night when the snowmobile he was riding hit a cow.
     (The driver) was southbound on a snowmobile trail at 3728 Birch Road at 6:49 p.m. Sunday when a cow entered the trail and was struck by the snowmobile, according to reports from the County Sheriff’s Office.
     The Gazette said (the driver) was taken by ambulance to (hospital) with injuries.
     The crash remains under investigation.

Enquiring minds want to know--- how is the cow????  Changes have been made to protect the identity of those involved.  The cow's name was not reported.

Just wondering...

If no climbing is allowed on the ladder, how the heck did that cow get up there?  Maybe it's related to the cow that jumped over the moon.  Evidently literacy isn't a bovine characteristic.  I laughed out loud when I saw this; other shoppers looked at me askance and sidled away...they couldn't figure out why I was laughing.  Too much holiday stress?

Bright and merry!

Not too bad for artificial snow.....

Ornamental

This was an over-sized candle ring.  Wouldn't this look wonderful on your table for Christmas dinner decor?

And another one that I just couldn't pass by...  Can you see me in the ornament?  (Where's Waldo?)
                              

Trim the tree

Don't you love the ornament displays in the stores?  So many colors, so many designs...

My little tree is all decked out in my Mom's ornaments--Shiny Bright from the 40's--which are the height of retro chic right now.  These striped ones would fit right in with them.


These are just plain fun.  I've never seen an ornament with fish-scale sequins on it before!

Seasonal Doors

Isn't this just the neatest door?  Not on a house, alas....set up in the nursery.

 A peek at the wreath through a fence portion near the display.  I think those cardinals get lost on the red door; other than that, I really like the wreath!

Seasonal Confusion

I really like variegated poinsettias.  To me, there is something so much more interesting about all that variety on one plant.  However---this poinsettia got carried away with the variety part of being variegated, and couldn't seem to decide whether it was red with pink/whit splots, white with pink, or maybe just plain red and white.  This was all on the same plant.  Talk about indecisive!!

Seasonal Changes

Gotta love the Pacific Northwest!  It snows (occasionally), it rains a lot, which means lots of nice raindrops for me to play with.  This was in a parking lot....

We get the occasional freeze--it's so much easier to appreciate ice when you know it will be gone in a day or so.


And, when we're really lucky, we get frost!  I love the way it outlines everything and turns the drabbest, most ordinary thing into a work of art.

Looking toward Christmas

A couple of The Guys agreed to let me take their photos this year.  Seeing as they only get out of the box for a few weeks each Christmas season, I thought it was the least I could do...

PuddleView

Blue sky, sunshine, and a perfectly placed puddle in a parking lot turned into a magic window...  I LOVE finding reflections like this.  Of course, you have to dodge the cars looking for parking spots, and hope no one drives through your puddle at a crucial moment...

Encased

At certain portions of the walkway near the falls, the spray blows quite heavily onto the walkway and surrounding trees.  Most of the time it is just wet, moist, drippy---but when we have cold weather, everything becomes encased in ice.

Each branch, each twig is given its own protective casing.

 Large windswept icicles form on the hanging branches of the fir trees, looking like the elaborate swag on Victorian-ear curtains.

 Pine needles are individually wrapped and frozen, becoming works of art.

Flocked

Went to the Falls last week during our snow/cold snap on the one blue-sky day that we had.  The mist from the falls coated everything with hoar frost, and turned all the bare branches into works of beauty.

Seasonal mix

This was last week.  Today we've had almost 1 1/2" of rain, and it's still raining hard--might see 1 3/4" or more.  All the lovely snow is just about gone; there are only the plow/shoveling piles left, and they are melting down as you watch, washed away by the rain.  It's so easy to love snow here, because it rarely lasts more than a week at the most.  If I want more, I drive 20 minutes up to the Pass.

I'm so glad I got out on the sunny day we had to get some winter photos!  I love the mixture of the seasons.

 This is just pure winter.  I don't think there's anything quite as striking as snow-covered pines and firs against a blue sky....especially the blue sky!

Morning Moonlight

We had a clear morning a few days ago, and this was the sight out my window early that day.  During the night the moon was shining so brightly that, reflected off the snow, it was nearly as light as day.  I used a tele-extender on my Sony P&S to get these out the window, and I'm pretty pleased with the resulting detail.

Snow Day

It's raining now, and our snow is melting like butter in a warm pan.  I'm so glad that I went out the other day on the icy roads to get some shots!

Seasonal Color

A few shots of orange to counteract all the snow around.  Happy Thanksgiving!

A Little Taste of Winter

Snow!  We ended up getting 14" out here, with ice underneath.  Love the way everything look covered in fresh snow, and I LOVE going for a walk in it, even though it is really cold--it's been in the 20s, which is bitterly cold for Seattle.

                                                         The view out the door to the deck...

                                                       The deck and the back yard

                                                     The light at the end of the driveway

 And, trying a new telephoto lens adapter for my P&S---this is the "wart" on the top of Mt. Si, from the bedroom window...