holiday wind up

After a light snow last week

a sweet view out to the lightly icing-sugared trees beyond

We never took down the deer barrier with the little apple ladders so I must look past them

Blue jays caught my attention with their screechy chatter but try as I might I only got this vague shot.

I totally missed the cardinals that flitted through, a flash of scarlet.

The sun threw some lovely shadows across the hill behind the garage

The next morning we awoke to much more serious winter as the wind threw it

against our window screens

It seemed a light fine snow, as is typical when it is really cold

and it was really cold as our ash trees clung to each other as one.

This year Wally hung some ornaments from the lower branches, but one has already worked itself loose in the wind and fallen with a crack to the ground. 

I turned to our cheerful living room, the mantle revamped for Christmas

Wally brought in some birch logs for our electric fireplace. Oh well, we do like a bit of kitsch; and nature is never out of place. They are a sweet compliment  to the old Christmas stocking he found last year and our funky 1940's ('50's?) fireplace that we've grown quite attached to.

Here is a wonderful paper Christmas tree that a friend made for me many years ago as a Christmas card. It stands about a foot high.

Another display of cuties- the Santa on the reindeer is a Christmas lamp that we found with the wiring still good

on the tree a small mitten

an owl with glass ornaments, the yellow one a special vintage one

a vintage happy new year noisemaker with some modern "old style" unbreakables that I keep near the bottom of the tree in case the cats decide to knock something off- which they do, but not often.

One of my recent favourites, bought after moving out here so near to the sea.

Can you see the little fountain of "water" coming from the whale's blowhole?

This embroidered lion is several decades old, probably from India, given to me by one of my cousins

a dear felted snowman

One thing that is getting me off my duff these days is Babu hounding me to play.

Here he puts the beady eye on an elastic stringed toy, his eyes all the beadier because of my shaky photography as I dangle with one hand and shoot with the other.

He loves this interaction

and it gives him a good workout

Look how his little toes on his back feet splay with the pounce!

One of many times that he thinks he's got it

and starts to march off to some secluded corner only to be pulled back by bad old me.

We've already had one encounter with an elastic wrapped toe, so no playing with his toy alone.

So that's a bit of pre-Christmas cheer. It has since rained and melted most of the snow. Boo hoo. I so love a white Christmas. As miserably cold as it was, it became springlike warm on Saturday which brought the rain; very jarring. Which way is up?

So who knows what weather this week will bring?  At least it's sunny today and hanging around -5C (about 18F). The cats are sleeping and I must get back to domestic duty.

Kindness like love is better thought of a verb. They both come with attentiveness and a compassionate heart.  Giving them, so shall you receive

peace