Oh Christmas Tree

Some of you have been so sweet to inquire about my whereabouts of late.  It's been a crazy kind of holiday season, but I'm still here, still trying to get my act together.  We went to visit my in-laws in the Midwest for a few days, and although I did some decorating the day before we left, I still don't have my tree up yet...a first for me!  My birthday is in early December and so having the tree up by then has always been the tradition.

We have had an artificial tree since my father gave us his after my mother passed away 9 years ago.  I used to be horribly opposed to fake trees, and I would threaten every year to get a fresh tree, but somehow the convenience always won out.

Then a few days ago when my helpful husband brought ours in from the garage, we realized that even fake trees have limited lifespans.  He called to me after dragging it around from the garage to our back door to bring it in and gave me the grave news.  He motioned towards the floor and the plethora of fake needles scattered about...not a good sign.  And then he asked if I thought it smelled musty...another bad sign!  He then mentioned that some of the branches were irrevocably broken, and it was then that I felt both joy and sadness.

Sad because I was geared up to finally decorate the tree, but kind of secretly joyful that this year we would have a real tree again and the smell of frasier fir filling the air once more.  I know you can buy candles and sprays to mimic that smell, but to me they are poor substitutes for the real deal.

A few days passed, we went shopping, ostensibly for a tree, but each time we never made it to get one.  So  today we both looked at each other and realized Christmas is only a few days away, and asked ourselves...do we really NEED a tree?  The kids are grown right?  We have very few presents to wrap and put under it, but that's a whole other post, so, why do we need a tree?!

And, I reasoned, we have a beautifully lit blue spruce shining brightly each night in our front yard, and we relegated our partially defunct former tree to the back patio, which looks lovely all lit up through the doors each night.  Not to mention the fact that I got a wild hair before going to Indiana and brought in an old pencil tree (think skinny) and put it up in the living room, where it's still sitting unadorned and rather pitiful looking.

Now, I could decorate the pencil tree, but it can't possibly hold all of our ornaments, and how am I supposed to choose which ones are special enough to make the cut?!  Plus, let's not forget the tradition I started years ago of giving my children a new ornament each year to commemorate something meaningful about the year, plus an ornament to honor my parents who are deceased!  I guess the kids can unwrap them and carry them around all day instead of hanging them on the tree...sure, that could work! *rolls eyes*

So you see, it appears that we will be schlepping out tomorrow to find a tree, which will cascade into needing lights, a stand (yup threw ours out in the move), and whatever else I decide we "need" in order to satisfy my inner Martha Stewart!


 

I wonder if this eagle I captured a few days ago is eyeing the crazy woman who took his or her photo and wondering what all the fuss about a tree is about.  Eagles don't seem to have any trouble finding a tree they like and making the best of it...ahh to be an eagle! ;-)

I hope all is well with you and that your trees are up, decorated, and sparkling brightly!

It's Beginning

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at my house!  After a whirlwind few weeks with no end in sight, I managed to get everything decorated except my Christmas trees which will have to wait until this weekend.  And there is still tweaking to be done, such as adding live greens and throwing out the pumpkins which still grace my front porch, but the majority of my holiday decor is out and ready to ring in the season.

And in other news, the new special double spring issue of Romantic Country is, or soon will be, out in stores.  I was fortunate to write two of the home stories in this issue, and I can tell you first hand that not only were the homes beautiful, but the people who live in them are too!  My favorite part about being a writer for home magazines has to be the wonderful people I meet...they are the best!  If you are able to get your hands on this issue, I hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them!

Have a wonderful week!

Thankful

With Thanksgiving just a few days away I have much to be thankful for.  First off I had yummy food to eat all week including the juicy grapefruit pictured above...sometimes the simple things in life are the best!

On Thursday, I finally found out that someone did in fact choose my artwork at the fundraiser last month.  I was thrilled to hear that someone liked the picture enough to want to hang it in their home or office!

I am thankful that the weather was warm enough last week for me to sit outside with the dogs a bit and capture some bird images...I just never tire of seeing them flit from tree to tree.  The weather has taken a dramatic turn and is now very windy and cold, so I'm grateful for those sun filled warm days we had.

And I was happy that I felt like doing some post processing and playing around with one of the images of a bluebird.  I'm always grateful for the bluebirds, they were one of my mother's favorite birds and always remind me of her.

But more than anything, I am grateful that my husband returned from a trip to Russia safe and sound.  His job is very demanding and he often goes to far flung places with just a few hours notice, so it makes life interesting and sometimes a little stressful.  When he left last weekend we weren't sure he would be home in time for Thanksgiving, but as luck would have it he was able to come home last night, which was earlier than expected, and for that I am so very thankful!

I'm pretty sure that in the photo above taken early last week, Quinn was wishing that Mr. Tide would come home soon...he is thankful to have him home too!

I hope you each have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

What a Way...

What a way to start my day!!!

When I took the dogs out this morning it was still dark outside with just a glimmer of light coming from low on the horizon.

As I rounded the side of my house to head back inside I was met with this glorious sight, so of course I had to go grab my camera.

It seems that mother nature doesn't really require any sort of post processing or Photoshopping, she's taken care of that for us.  Just as quickly as it came, it was gone, but the happy feeling it gave me has lasted all day.  Not a bad way to start the day don't you think?!

I hope you've each had a good day too!

Evenglo

Autumn is still alive and well here at my house.  Though fading, some of the trees have stood steadfast against strong winds and heavy rain in order to share their vibrant colors with us a little longer.  I never tire of this view, no matter the season.

And I especially love the time of day I have named "evenglo."  It's the time of day when the sun has dipped low on the horizon and the light it casts is strong and mellow.  I love it most during the spring and fall because the sun's angle allows the light to fall perfectly on the trees and rose bushes along our fenceline.

We actually get our most beautiful sunsets in the wintertime since the sun dips gently into the river from behind the trees.

Unlike the summertime, when the sun sets across the field after a long days work, the wintertime sun retires early and with a more gentle slipping away each evening.  The long shadows she casts seem more determined and vibrant somehow than her summertime alter ego.

Thank you all for your kind words about my friend who is ill, I truly appreciate them.  And I hope that each of you has a wonderful week!

Say Something

I don't have much to say right now.  Earlier this week I heard very sad news about the health of a dear, dear friend, and it has left me quite speechless and hugely sad.  Sad for his family, sad for him, sad for myself, and sad for the world.

As I drove home from a visit with another dear friend who is 88 yesterday, I heard the song below.  Even though the lyrics say "I'm giving up on you," I wish they said "I won't give up on you!" because that is how I feel about my friend who is ill.  Even though not all of the lyrics convey how I feel, some of them do and the melody somehow made me feel calm.  It is a reminder that we all need to take a moment and say something to those we care about, because not only will it mean something to you, but others around you who really need to hear those words will know you haven't given up on them!

The Buck Stops Here

Today at lunchtime, two bucks decided to duke it out in the field next door to determine who was truly the king of the forest.  Their locked antlers clanked as one would lunge and the other would parry in reply...it was as if two swashbucklers were vying for control of a pirate ship in a 1930s film!

This time of year is rutting season, and these eager white tailed bucks will stop at almost nothing to have their way with the does.  They will run straight out into the roadway, lose track of where the hunters are, and even run themselves ragged in the pursuit of this quest.

The dogs barking finally ended their epic battle and what appeared to be the larger, and most likely older of the two bucks ran off into the woods with the buck pictured above and below following closely behind to ensure his victory.

Then, as if he was re-enacting a scene from a Rocky movie, the winner did a victory lap around the field, and across the road into the other field before returning to head back into the woods to assert his new found dominance.

As you can tell from the photos above, he was exhausted, panting heavily and snorting to remind everyone that he had won, and that no one better mess with him...including us!  We keep a safe distance this time of year, because as you can see, that rack could do quite a bit of damage if he decided to challenge us or the dogs.

I wonder how the females feel about all of this?  I'm sure their instincts tell them this is the natural order of things, and his male bravado will likely be rewarded based on years of evolution.  It was quite a sight to see, and I'm glad the buck decided to stop here so that we could witness it! 

Why Not?

Yesterday was beautiful, bright blue skies, warm temps, and hardly any wind, so we decided we should take advantage of this gift and go out in the kayaks at least one more time before old man winter shows up for good.

Mr. Tide was the driver, and I was a happy passenger with my camera as we, or I should say he, paddled all around.  Part way out, the skies changed and it actually rained a bit, but our spirits weren't dampened since the changing leaves were so lovely, especially when reflected in the water and against the dark, ominous sky!

Last night our daughter stopped by for dinner and a movie, and we ended up watching a documentary called Gotta Dance.  It was about a group of seniors who became a dance team for the NJ Nets NBA team.

In the movie, the team members ranged from an elementary school teacher to a woman who owned a small dance studio, and everything in between.  It was great to see these people, some of whom were in their 80s, take on the challenge and change their lives in the process.  Lots of them felt like they had reached an age where they weren't getting any younger, so why not do whatever they wanted, and because they all loved to dance, it seemed like a perfect fit!

It served as a great reminder that no matter what age you are, you can still do whatever you want, even if it may seem silly to everyone around you.

I often get asked why I don't post more SOOC (straight out of camera) shots, why I feel the need to "mess" with my photos.  It seems that a lot of people out there think that photos should be just that, perfect realistic images of whatever you are taking a picture of, and I get that, but that's not me.

I enjoy taking something that is photo realistic and then turning it into whatever I want, making it into something I thought it could or should be.  For me, that is the fun of photography, the ability to change things, to mold them into whatever I want.

In this post I have left all but the last image at the bottom as they were SOOC, except for cropping.  And although I feel like it's so very important to take good images, and not think to yourself...oh I can fix that in post processing, I still love seeing an image and imagining what I can "do" with it!

I guess it's like life, you need a good foundation to start from, but then the possibilities are endless if you want them to be.

 Original Image 

As the clouds moved in yesterday I could have been bummed and thought, "let's just head back in, these shots will be too dark and I will need to crank my ISO up so high that everything will be a grainy mess."  Instead I cranked up the ISO and hoped for the best.  I mean, how often do we get to go out in the kayaks in early November...so why not at least try?!

Image after having a little fun with it!

Maybe that's why movies, videos, song, and stories about people saying "why not" and doing something they weren't sure about but do anyway are so very inspiring and popular.  So, the next time you think...I'm too old, too dumb, too whatever...just say WHY NOT and go for it!

“The first step to expanding your reality is to discard the tendency to exclude things from possibility.”
― E.E. Cummings