Saturday, January 05, 2019

Happy New Year! (and a different version of winter)


It's a new year although I'm really not caught up yet, as I have one foot still in the old one. I have a post in the works recounting the books I read last year in 2018, but that's taking me a bit to round up all the titles, so in the meantime, I'm sharing my post-Christmas trip to see my parents in Pennsylvania.
I knew they didn't have any snow on the ground, so the kids and I only packed our rain boots and left our snow boots to keep warm back in Ontario. And it was a good call as the last day of 2018 was very rainy, it actually was pouring in the evening and the neighbors were still letting fireworks go off.  But after a good earth scrubbing, the mild partly cloudy days returned and I got myself outdoors for exploring in between some shopping trips. One trip was to Target to buy their calendars and planners from their dollar bins as seen above with Flossy. Since it's all just paper, I see no reason to pay for the expensive ones, so these three together cost me five US dollars. Perfect and similar to what I found last year at Target, so there's some continuity from year to year in my planning spaces.

The next five photos are taken from various vantage points around or adjacent to my parents' property and you can see how green it is and not white at all!






I took my kids over to the nearby game preserve lands in the hopes of seeing the elk and bison, but when we got to the river crossing, it was inaccessible so we had to content ourselves with only looking at the river from the pedestrian bridge before leaving the conservation area by the road we had come in on. I don't know if fording the river to see the roaming animals is only a seasonal offering or based on river height, but we will have to try again in the summer.
A lovely covered bridge on the way to the game preserve lands.

Winding our way up and down hills to get to the river.


The pedestrian bridge for the walking trail.

Where the water ripples is where you drive across when permitted. Perhaps the increased rainfall this year has forced them to gate the 'road'. 




At this time of year, green stands out in the woods and wild areas because of all the empty deciduous trees, bushes and vines. And not only green things, but also non-green things. Ha, that sounds obtuse. I mean, the empty or nearly empty branches help you see things that you miss when the leaves and flowers unfurl and bloom. You see colors like reds and yellows on branches and needle arrangements that are less striking in the summer months. You also see nests, cocoons, galls and unfamiliar items hanging about. I drove past a row of trees and the bright yellows and deep reds of the empty branches were simply fascinating. And when the clouds moved on leaving a blue-covered sky, the afternoon sunlight poured out so soft where it landed, yet so dazzling bright when you searched for it. Knowing I was headed home to snow and ice, I tramped in and out of the woods, grass and fields, seeing and savoring this mild week of winter. Here's some of what I saw.

















2 comments:

  1. Excellent narrative and wonderful photos! It looks like a fantastic place to be a child and a good place to retire! Our clocks seem to count the minutes differently, you get more accomplished in one minute than I do in a week! Thanks for sharing :) I enjoy reading of your adventures and living vicariously through them.

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    1. Thank you, Devanah. You are always so kind in your comments. I'm blushing. :)

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