Second Nature

I'm almost finished with this book by Michael Pollan, and I'm inspired to try my hand at gardening again. Last year, I opted for a small corner of the perennial bed, growing basil and tomatoes successfully. It was enough, especially since I ended up spending most of the summer working on Marshall Island with the MCC. This year I hope to stay closer to home and to stay closer to what's going on directly around me. Not really a New Year's Resolution, more of a goal to work toward. I've been washing the house plants, and germinated some sprouts. It's a good start!

Birds

I took this photo a few weeks ago. I've been trying to sketch it and paint but I actually like the photo better than anything I've come up with. I'll keep working at it.
I made some bird suet and some bird cakes... some for gifts and some for the birds here. I think the blue jays are taking the cakes. Although I haven't actually witnessed this, I have seen blue jays circling the top of the post where I put the cakes each day, and then the cakes are gone. That's how I figured it out.
I put the suet in an orange mesh onion sack and hung it on the post. It has been attracting what appears to be a female hairy woodpecker. She's come two days in a row now.

Cutie Pies

Taken yesterday at Jen & Jason's... thought a bunch of you out there would enjoy :)

Merry Christmas

Awesome Snowblower & Awesome Snowblower Guy

Da Slockit Light

It's been crazy busy -- like it is with everyone these days -- and we (well, Richard actually) finally got our holiday lights down from the closet. We don't have a tree up, and I'm guessing we probably won't at this point but you never know...
So, we have string after string of lights -- strands of red, blue, green, multicolored, little lights, big lights, icicle lights -- and not one of them (except for two unopened boxes bought on sale last year) had all the lights work. Harumph. A few strands wouldn't work at all. Some of them had half the lights lit. Richard multi-tasked by watching the football games and trying to figure out which bulbs were burned out, and which strands had defective fuses. He managed to get a few strands operational and strung them up over the bushes and shrubs in front of the house... absolutely beautiful in last night's storm... like melted candy. While he was busy doing that, I got candle lights in the windows and tidied up the house a bit... nice to just be hanging out.
Then, while the snow was accumulating outside, we watched I-Robot.
Today we're going outside to clear the snow.
Da Slockit Light is a Shetland tune about how people move away from the country to seek their fortunes in the cities... one by one the country houses are deserted, one less light in the night.

Cold Frosty Morning

http://currierandives.net/AmericanHomesteadWinter/
This morning when I leisurely awoke and looked out the window to see what sort of weather the day might hold, I thought of the old Currier & Ives prints that were prominent in my childhood, I think because they were on various tins around the holidays. I think it was the early morning light that filtered through the blackish-greens and the steel-gray-blues, all covered with white from new fallen snow.
As I look out on this winter wonderland from the living room windows, the lines and features are more prominent as daylight climbs over the trees. While times have changed, and we don't have the old farmhouse and horse drawn sleigh, we do have the beauty of living down a snow covered lane lined with tall old trees that lead to our little clearing in the woods. A nice blend of old and new that gives a sense of timelessness that matches my mood today as I write about things that come to mind.

Winter Wonderland

It's beautiful outside today!
It's treacherous outside today!

Winter in Maine- I love it :) Travelling this morning was horrible, but I made the drive to Farmington for my final final... arriving LATE but making it safe and sound. Over an hour to make the usual 35 minute trip. I'll be glad to get home and start thinking seriously about the big holiday that is happening next week... yeah, CHRISTMAS, that's right! Time to climb up into the "attic" and decide what to take out for this season, hang lights outside tomorrow, bake and cook some yummy stuff, get B&E's package mailed (tomorrow) and start/finish some projects that, at this moment, exist only in my head, haha.

Got to swim with Avery, Paige and Jen yesterday morning, how fun! Then, a migraine caught me by surprise and had me down for the count all afternoon and evening... what's up with that?

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

That lone bird at the end of the list is getting closer each day! One more final exam on Wednesday, and 2 essays to hand in and I'll be finished for this semester!
I was listening to MPR on my way home today, and hearing about how devastating the most recent ice storm was to folks in southern Maine. We were lucky here; although the lights flickered, we did not lose our power. We do have a thick layer of crusted snow from here all the way to the end of the road. Someone (in a very, very big truck) has driven down Pine Needle Alley and left deep ruts in their wake. The tire tracks are wider than either our little truck or car, and they're deep enough that we haven't attempted getting the car out yet. We're parking the truck out at the end for now to avoid slipping in and out of the grooves and potentially getting stuck between here and there... just thought we'd let you know in case you were thinkin' about driving in here!

Do the math...

... the countdown...
1 Unit Test + 15 lectures + 1 research paper + 2 final essays + 2 quizzes + 3 final exams = 16 credits earned...
... make that 13 lectures + 1 research paper + 2 final essays + 1 quiz + 3 final exams... not that I'm counting...
... okay, I'm definitely taking some study time to update this post, but hey, it's a good mental break from the books!
... 11 more lectures, 0 quizzes, 2 final essays, 1 research paper and 3 final exam ... is there a partridge in a pear tree somewhere?
... yet another update- 8 lectures, 0 quizzes, 1 research paper, 3 final exams... I'm getting there!