The eagle in the background is too, now that the fields which had finally lost their blanket of white are now cloaked once more with powdery diamonds.
The bird feeders need replenishing, that will be this afternoon's task.
Some days the birds I like to call "bully" birds get to eat with abandon while their more shy, much smaller neighbors wait in the bushes for their turn.
And some days, upon closer inspection, I learn to appreciate the bully birds for their absolute beauty, even if my heart always goes out to the tiny underdog birds. It's no wonder mankind invented fashion when you look at what mother nature did without a stylist! You can see how we might get a little jealous over the millennia!
We have fresh snow and bitter temps here at Casa Low Tide, but I'm kind of embracing this winter and all of its chilly beauty. That's not the case for so many who never see snow and are dealing with all the chaos that comes with snow and ice in the deep south, and to those of you stranded and suffering, my heart goes out to you. It wasn't too many years ago that our daughter was stranded in the DC metro area for over 12 hours in her car on her way home from work, and she will be the first to tell you that it was NO fun!
I hope this icy grip will loosen its hold on you folks, and I hope the first responders who brave the elements, no matter how bad, will stay warm and out of harm's way.
I can't believe that it's March 5th and I'm doing a post about snow! How crazy is that people?!
This morning, when I left to go have lunch with Ms. M and my good friend Doug, I was amazed to see how wintry our world was, especially since we've had such a mild winter. And yes, those are Christmas lights on the railing of our patio, we keep them up year round so that in the summertime it looks like fairy lights, and helps us find our way back when we kayak after dark.
The flakes were coming down fast and furious and you couldn't even see the creek very well or the barn in the field next to us.
It was so pretty though, and it made me feel like I was living inside a snow globe.
The pups even looked like little creatures inside a snow globe as the big fluffy flakes settled onto their coats making them look like reverse dalmatians!
The weird thing was that as I drove the half hour to Ms. M's house the weather changed dramatically. Over there on that side of the county there was almost no snow on the ground and the trees were not covered the way they were at our house. And I'm glad I snapped some pictures before I left, because by the time I got back home the temps had risen and there was not much snow to be found at our house either.
I had a lovely lunch with friends and I got to see one little blast of winter before it finally bids us farewell this year. I guess mother nature just felt like she couldn't let the winter pass by without a little reminder of how things could have been these past few months.
Plus, if I were mother nature I would just want to show off what I can do, like turning someone's world into a snow globe, if only for a few short hours.
In other news, I picked up a copy of the photo editing program Lightroom. I'm still learning how to use it, but so far I love how much I can do with it, like creating very custom black and white images like the ones in this post. It allows me to adjust each color and hue so that I can really customize the shades of black, grey, and white in any image...and I'm loving that feature!
Where does the time go I sometimes wonder?! I've been so busy with work that I haven't had a chance to reply to comments, send emails, or even snap a picture in the last 4 days!
I broke the no picture streak this afternoon when I took a few photos from my back yard. What you can't see in the picture is that is was, and still is spitting snow. I doubt it will amount to much, the lion's share is expected to stay pretty far south of us, but seeing big fluffy snowflakes was fun none the less.
The older I get the more I find a certain sense of beauty in the stillness and lack of color that the winter has to offer. Though I can't imagine I will ever give up spring and summer as my favorite seasons, in winter it seems as if the world is forced to bare its soul for a few months and I think we all need to bare our souls to someone every now and again.
As I'm winding my way through new ventures I've been bending Mr. Tide's ear a lot lately and he patiently listens and offers sage advice. Someone should probably give the man a medal, because nothing I drone on and on about is really anything to write home about, but he treats it as if I'm pondering world peace or ways to save the planet. You have to love someone who lets you bare your soul and doesn't laugh when you share your dreams and aspirations.
Well it's back to work for me...at least until Downton Abbey starts! I hope you each have a wonderful week and if you have something to write home about, do tell, I can always take time away from work for a good story!
Old Man Winter decided to make an appearance today. He didn't come in quietly, or even gradually, but instead he flung the door wide open and ushered in an icy cold wind that could knock you off your feet.
Now I know it's January, and I get that the weather shouldn't be balmy, but I've managed to live in a bit of denial since October because we've had such unseasonably warm weather these past few months. As our cold loving daughter lamented the lack of a chill in the air, I was dancing a jig at the fact that it was in the 60s over the holidays.
If you've been hanging out here for any length of time, then you are well aware that I'm a warm weather sort of person. I love everything hot, well except maybe soup, but other than that I love warm weather sports, t-shirts, flip flops, the beach, and anything even remotely tropical.
Even as a kid, my mother would get frustrated on snow days when, after spending some time bundling me all up to go brave the cold, I would promptly return 20 minutes later in search of a cup of cocoa and a few marshmallows. I think I only went outside so that I could get that cup of steaming hot chocolate. You know, it doesn't seem right to drink it just for the sake of drinking it, you have to be freezing cold so that it can bring some sense of feeling back into your hands when you hug that warm mug.
There are only two wintertime activities that I actually enjoy, one is ice skating, and the other is sledding. But since we rarely get enough snow to sled, and it hasn't been cold enough for the ponds or creeks to freeze solidly enough to skate on in years here, well then I kind of quietly pass the time until those first buds warm my heart and remind me that winter is done.
I'm not a grump during winter, and I do enjoy seeing the swans return to our creek each winter, but I mostly enjoy this season from the comforts of a well heated environment. So Old Man Winter, if you are so inclined, why not give yourself a little rest this year and move on down the road. In case you needed some sort of permission, I'm giving it to you right here and now, to let spring come a wee bit early this year.
And to those of you who love winter, I get it, I don't begrudge you this season. Nope, I say enjoy every blustery day and sub zero temp you can find. But just as you hate high heat and humidity, I don't take a cotton to your beloved cold and grey skies, so let's just agree to disagree, shall we? :-)
When I think of grey days (yes I prefer the "e" spelling of grey), I think of this particular song. And on a completely different topic, I promised Lili that I would one day tell my Dave story, so here goes.
I am a big Dave Matthews fan, not like a crazy stalker kind of person, but I love his music. It makes me want to dance, sing, and it just makes me smile. Mr. Tide on the other hand, not so much. As a sax and trumpet player himself, he can tolerate the bits where Dave's band gets down with their horn section, but other than that, let's just say that I listen to Dave mostly in the car when I'm driving alone.
About 10 or 11 years ago, Dave was going to be in our neck of the woods, or at least within 2 1/2 hours, so Mr. Tide surprised me with tickets. I was thrilled, I had always wanted to see Dave in concert, so this was way cool for me.
On the day of the concert we took the kids over to my parent's house to spend the day and have a sleepover, and we jumped in our almost brand spankin new Jetta, opened the sunroof, and headed on our way. What should have been a 2 1/2 hour drive ended up being more like a 4 1/2 hour drive, and to this day we aren't sure if there was an accident or what, but it was a LONG drive.
We pulled in to the parking lot of the venue, which was a big open air concert place and we sat there for about 45 minutes waiting until the gates opened. As we sat there I noticed something, everyone around us was far from like us. They were all young 20 somethings, most likely college students, and many of them had been partying for a few hours by this point. On the other end of the spectrum were a handful of older folks, as in much older, who clearly had lost their way when the Grateful Dead quit touring, and I guess Dave was a good substitute....I can see that. But the former Dead followers were about .00005% of the general concert populace by all of my calculations.
The gates finally opened, and we wandered up to the entrance, and the closer I got the more I thought that one of two things was about to happen. I was either going to have the concert experience of my dreams, or I was going to be vomited on by a very drunk 20 something...odds were heavily favoring the latter since it was open seating in a field.
I looked at Mr. Tide and said, "would you mind if we just sold the tickets and headed home?" Now bear in mind, that this wonderful husband of mine, who just drove over 4 hours to a concert you couldn't have gotten him to go to but for love or money, in this case love, looked at me like I had lost my mind.
As with any sold out concert, and Dave sells out months in advance, there were numerous folks standing at the entrance, hands held high with the number of tickets they so desperately needed. We approached a young couple and asked if they wanted to buy ours. They told us how they had seen Dave the night before in Pennsylvania and how they were so "stoked" to hopefully see him again that night. I explained that although I loved Dave, I felt a wee bit old and out of place, which was followed by a lot of things like, "nah man, you're not old, you should go in man, he is so awesome in concert...like seriously!"
Their words of reassurance only cemented the conclusion I had already come to on my own. When we explained that we just wanted what we had paid for the tickets, they almost jumped up and down and asked if we were sure. I explained that with two children at home I wasn't really game to use our one phone call to let our family know that we were now in a Virginia jail for scalping tickets. They gave us cash for the tickets, and gleefully ran into the venue. Had I been 20 years younger I could have been them!
So back in the car we went, taking a different way home, where we dined at Mikey D's and had ice cream at one of our favorite places in Virginia. Driving down those back roads, with the sunroof open, and Dave blaring on the car stereo seemed almost better than being with him live. So maybe Dave and winter aren't that dissimilar for me, I enjoy them from the comfort of my own home.
I have told Mr. Tide, that if Dave ever comes to a much smaller, more civilized venue, appropriate for old folks like me, that I would love to go. So what do you think the chances of that ever happening really are?! The odds, I'm betting slim to none. ;-)
I'm so excited that so many of you felt a connection with my post from yesterday! I think the Year of US is full of endless possibilities!
Now that almost all of my Christmas decor is snugly packed away for another year, I thought I would throw a little color around the house. My collection of blue Ball jars and old insulators will now be providing me with a much happier version of the winter blues.
When I come into the kitchen each morning I will be greeted by their various shades of blue and aqua. And at nighttime I might just throw a few tea lights up there to illuminate their beautiful blueness.
And I will smile when I see the light dance through these wavy, undulating, bubbled, glass vessels.
Yep, now that's what I call the perfect winter blues...maybe I'll even sing the blues. What makes you sing this time of year?
This is the view out of the windows here at Casa Tides today! It has me wondering about the whole concept of global "warming" and how most years we get little or no snow, but the past few years we've been inundated! Just a few days ago it was 60 degrees here and I was happily walking the dogs in the sunshine!
So I began thinking that maybe it's because I still have all of my snowmen out...maybe I'm the reason it keeps snowing?! So I've decided to be a good Samaritan, and to pack up all of my snowmen today in hopes that maybe the winter storm Gods will realize that I don't really love snow...I just love snowmen! The fake kind, with charming faces and chubby cheeks.
Like this little cowboy snowman with his handsome blue scarf and little twigs.
Or this cute pair who are offering to sell S'mores for just 25 cents!
Maybe we should keep this pudgy little one out to help with the shoveling?!
The birds would appreciate this little snow lady on a day like today!
Having some place warm to hang your boots to dry is very important on a snowy day!
Maybe we should sprinkle a little salt from this snowman shaker to keep the sidewalk from getting too slippery.
This little snowman with his nose in the air, sparkly body, and fluffy scarf always makes me smile.
This "snow" dusted snow "woman" is all set for a day on the town with her tinsel trimmed cape, bow tied bonnet, and shining star.
These aren't technically snowmen, but they are a sweet little pair of penguins given to me by my daughter. Look at those fetching faces!
So if you're getting some of this, would you mind packing up some of these...
Then maybe Old ManWinter will get the hint and we can get back to this...
It's been a crazy winter here so far. First we had over 20 inches of snow right before Christmas and then wind gusts that would have made Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz shudder, and now our creek is frozen! It's not frozen enough to walk or skate on, and I highly doubt it ever will be since it's salt water, but it is pretty to look at and dream about gliding along it.
Here are some pictures of our ice coated world. This morning at sunrise it was a gleaming expanse of chilly beauty.
The marsh grasses refuse to bow to the frigid temps!
Fallen trees are shrouded by an icy veil
And the view out the windows is magical! I sure hope the crabs and fish aren't too cold!
To all my friends who are experiencing below average temperatures, I hope you stay snug and warm, and to all my friends who are in tropical climates, can I please come visit?!
All images, text, and content are Copyright protected and exclusively owned by Low Tide High Style, Kat Warren Photography, and Kat W. Photography. Please do not reproduce without written permission.
I am a mom to 2 wonderful children, wife to an amazing husband, loved by 2 fluffy puppies, a freelance writer, fine art photographer, and a lover of all things beautiful which I hope to share with you here on my blog.
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