Winter Fun

What do you do for fun in the winter?  This morning we had a beautiful, heavy snowfall, the kind when every little twig is outlined in white.  Everything was hushed and quiet.   Since I was out with the dog anyway, I decided to try to capture the snowy scenery.

 

Here is my garden covered in snow with snow falling on the lake in the background.  It's a beautiful place to be, even in the winter. 

Of course, Cassie was really the reason I ventured outside this morning.  I probably would have been just as happy to enjoy the view from the window!  But she couldn't contain her joy and energy and just had to get out and run and roll and lay in the snow.  She is still such a puppy!

 Another thing I like to do on a snowy day is bake.  I'm not sure why.  But it makes the house feel really cozy to come in from the snow and smell fresh baked banana bread!

Later in the afternoon I was inspired to make cupcakes as well.  I've been buying fewer cookies and treats, but since it's the weekend and we're indoors, I thought it would be nice to have a little indulgence!  I tried using Godiva chocolate liquer instead of vanilla in the frosting, just for a slightly different flavor, and dusted some cocoa powder on top.  Yum!

Of course, one of the best things to do on a snowy day is cuddle up with a warm blanket and a good book!  Today I finished reading The Girls Guide to Love and Supper Clubs by Dana Bate.  I really enjoyed it - it was light and fun and would make a good movie, along the lines of "Confessions of a Shopaholic."

Finally, I did a little bit of artwork today.  I managed to get my new Epson printer up and running all by myself yesterday.  I relocated that little plastic shelf unit from my daughter's bedroom where it was no longer being used and was simply gathering dust.  It makes a nice place to put the printer as well as conveniently eliminating some of the clutter from my work table.  Connecting the printer to my laptop was easier than I thought, although I did have to run to Radio Shack for a different USB cable.  But in no time at all, I was printing - and directly on fabric!

Here is the first photo I tried printing.  It's about a fourth of a photo I took in Italy, and blown up to 8 x 10 and printed on fabric, the colors look very washed out.  I printed it again, and this time boosted the color a bit, but meanwhile I thought I might experiment with this one.  I got out my Inktense pencils and added some color to the sky and some of the trees.  You can really see this in the foreground.  I like the control you get with the Inktense pencils, but even in a set of 24, the colors seem very limited.  There are only 3 or 4 shades of green, and it's challenging to get enough variety from that few.  

Here is the photo printed again, with the color boosted and another portion of the photo printed below it (I wanted to print one long 11x14-inch photo, but this small printer is a little limited.  I had to print two 81/2x11 pieces and I'll have to sew them together and hide the seam.)  As you can see, the colors still look washed out, so I think I will use the Inktense pencils on these as well.  I want the photos to be what's seen through a window in my next project.  I thought it would be a fun way to use a photo of the Tuscan scenery, as well as the new printer.  (Yes, the color of the sky definitely needs some vamping up, don't you think?)

 More about this project and my 2014 goals in the next post...

Sunrise, Valentine's Day 2013

We had a few inches of snow fall again last night, the kind that sticks to every little twig and branch on every tree and bush.  I was outside early to clear the walkway and driveway, just as the sun was beginning to peek over the trees on the far side of frozen Lake Casse.  As I shoveled away and the earth turned, I was able to stop periodically and try to capture the hushed beauty and peace as the air became suffused with warm shades of creamy peach and yellow.  Here my photos: sunrise on February 14, 2013, Mahopac NY.

After the driveway was all cleared, I walked down the hill with Cassie (actually, I must confess, one of the girls left a sled at the top of the hill and it's much easier, faster and more fun to sled down, so that's what I did!).  By then, the sun was further up and was beginning to warm the air a little and an almost imperceptible breeze was ever so gently moving the trees.  The snow started drifting off the branches, in gentle wafts, almost like it was snowing again, but this time in the bright morning sunlight.  It made the air shimmer and glitter.  As birds began to twitter and call to each other through the trees, it was impossible not to feel truly blessed to experience the simple magic of an ordinary sunrise.

Winter Wonderland

It's been looking and feeling very wintry around here (after all, it is January).  Last night we got a light dusting of snow that was made up of fairly large, beautifully formed flakes.  I tried to photograph them here.  The camera's built-in macro isn't quite good enough to get a great shot, but at least you get a sense of the sparkle and shine everywhere this morning.  Here are some more shots of our winter wonderland.

The two below are from nearby Lake Mahopac, which finally has a good coating of ice.  Some winters it doesn't freeze up at all, and some winters it's completely frozen and people go ice boating and ice fishing.

Lake Casse finally froze over completely and we've been able to venture out onto it.  The dogs have a great time running around and slipping and sliding.

Our next door neighbors have a metal dock, so this afternoon my youngest and I hiked down there with our skates.  I cleared the snow from a small area so we could skate a bit.

It was still a bit bumpy and we only skated for about 15 minutes or so.  It always feels so good to take those stiff, heavy skates off and put comfortable, warm boots back on!  With all the hiking down there, clearing the snow, skating, and hiking back up, I've gotten my exercise for the day!

My skate tracks left a funny pattern in the snowy ice.

Here is the moon rising over the lake a few afternoons ago.  Tonight the moon is full:  I'll have to check out the winter wonderland at night!

Around the Wet Garden

"Rainy Day"

I do not like a rainy day.

The road is wet, the sky is gray.

They dress me up, from head to toes

in lots and lots of rubber clothes.

I wish the sun would come and stay.

I do not like a rainy day.

-William Wise

We've been getting an awful lot of rain lately!  Now that I think about it, it seems that this year, we got all our flowers in April and all the showers May!  But dogs need to be walked, so this afternoon I put on my raincoat and took Cassie out for a wet tour of the garden.  The grass is getting long again, so Cassie is doing her part by nibbling off the tops.  Lots of dogs and cats I've known do this; it must taste good!

And look what we found near the ferns:  Robin eggs.  I do love that particular shade of blue.   I think Cassie would have eaten them if I'd let her!  Maybe the robin parents appreciate the rain for bringing out all the worms so it's easier to fill the gaping beaks of their hungry babies. 

Yes, everything is growing and swelling and bursting with the rain.  Here are some daisies coming up in a corner of the walkway, where plants shouldn't be growing.

 The apple blossoms are already gone, but here are the little apples, already starting to swell.

 And soon the irises will be blooming.

 The strawberries are filling out too.  I guess there are some good things about rain...

"April Rain Song"

Let the rain kiss you.

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.

Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk.

The rain makes running pools in the gutter.

The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night.

And I love the rain.

-Langston Hughes

Catching up...

Aside from the usual creative homemaking I do as par for the course, most of the creative things I did this week involved a camera. First, I managed to capture Cassie (left) and her best friend, morning exercise buddy, and next door neighbor Sophie (right) as they shared a chew stick. They don't stop moving much when they are together so I'm surprised I managed to snap this lucky shot!

I also "creatively" removed all the cobwebs from the back and kitchen windows on Thursday morning, and captured Cassie "helping" me, below. (For some reason, we have an abundance of orb-web builders in our backyard, and helpful as they are for bug control, they leave a mess behind as you can see!) Every fall after the spiders disappear for the season, I clean everything off so I can let as much light in as possible during the dreary winter days ahead.

I took advantage of this gorgeous sunrise that greeted me this morning. We are lucky enough to have a house on a small lake (and I've heard, if you're lucky enough to have a house on the water, you're lucky enough!). I sometimes wonder how photographers can take credit for their nature photos. All I did was push a button, and look what I got! God (and technology) did the rest!

Lastly, I have managed to layer, stitch, embellish and bind three bookmarks, from the paper cloth I mentioned in the previous post. I wanted to add words, and I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the calligraphy I've done here. In the last batch, I printed words onto tracing paper right in our HP printer, but this time it keeps spitting out the paper! I'll keep playing with it, and with other embellishment methods. I think I can get about 20 bookmarks from the paper cloth I made. That should keep me busy for a while...