A Girl to Call His Own

At nearly 16 years, he is much, much older than she. She is aware that his life may not last many more seasons, and therefore takes every opportunity for love and cuddles. He's lived his entire life in the great outdoors, putting on thick coats of fur in Winter and shedding down to a minimum in the Summer. He has hidey holes in so many places, and favorite cat-nap spots that change with the seasons. He regularly munches on wild prey, but always away from the front porch, which suits us all just fine.

He had a brother and a dog to keep him company in his youth, but I think he is happiest now that he has his very own girl that loves him with her whole heart.

Early Winter

The new year started as usual with a late Christmas celebration with my side of the family, lovingly dubbed "Newmas". All of my state-side siblings were there with their spouses and kiddos, making for a festive and noisy celebration. We're pretty sure that we're all done with the manufacturing of babies, so it should be coasting from here on out, right?

With only a few rather frosty mornings and one skiff of snow early on, Winter has not seemed like Winter at all this go around. Mild days, not-quite-cold nights. Some days downright warm in our estimation. Rain, but not too much, buds forming early, wildlife getting fat and sassy from the feast at the feeder. A rather unremarkable and disappointingly temperate.

Ode to November

November... my very favorite month, for sometimes inexplicable reasons. I do love the light and the colors and the cozyness of fires in the woodstove. The settling in of the clouds and mists and rain. But I think I love it most for its transitional, fleeting nature. I love the feeling that each and every day the world around me is changing. And I dearly love Thanksgiving, the least commercial holiday, despite its somewhat questionable roots, because it is a family gathering time, and I am blessed to have wonderfully interesting and inspirational family members that I look forward to spending time with.

I'm going to show the entire month in my selected favorite photos in this one blog post. Because I don't have words enough to capture its essence.