Category: The Seasons

Our day was warmish, (55 degrees) but rainy and windy and it left us feeling like we wanted to simply hibernate. However, it was recycling day and Jack had me gather everything to go to the dump.

The Highlander was loaded up and off Jack went. Poor Arnie was so disappointed, but the car was full with nary a spot for Mr. Arnie.

While Jack was gone two interesting things occurred. First, we had about 10 mini rail cars go down the track. Twice a year these little vehicles all gather to ride the rails. Here is what these mini rail cars look like. Have you seen them?

It was fun to watch them all speed down the tracks. They’ll go pretty far north, spend the night at one of the hotels along the way and then return tomorrow.

After that the dogs let me know that we had a flock of Hen turkeys in the yard. I didn’t see a Tom, but I admit, I loved seeing them all as they fed on the grass, leaves, and grains in the yard.

This got me thinking about Thanksgiving, and I started looking at recipes for the big day. I plan to cook a traditional meal that day, But I want to choose recipes that are easy to cook. One thing I am thinking about doing it to cook the butternut squash the day before and have it in a casserole to be reheated in the oven. Since I always prepare the stuffing the day before, making the butternut squash that day will be a breeze.

I rewatched “The Blind Side” on HBO. What a great movie. Sandra Bullock stars in it, and she is so good. The movie also has a great message. Just do it. Help someone, for no other reason than it’s the right thing to do. It’s what the Tuohy Family did and they found that love multiplies and is color blind.

I cooked a nice dinner, did some laundry, and got everything set for tomorrow. I sure am looking forward to Savannah’s play.

I drove out early this morning to go back to Weight Watchers, which is now known as WW. Curiously, it is very odd to suddenly feel like you are not a part of a large weight loss plan but somehow involved in a new reality. Wellness.  It left me feeling a little bit cold, but perhaps it will grow on me in time. It did feel good to be back with my friends, and if nothing else, that Wednesday time, with them is worth so much to me.

On my drive in I saw some cute Turkey Ladies grazing along the roadway. They’re all looking pleasingly plump right now, which could explain why the Pilgrims and  Native Americans cooked turkeys on Thanksgiving!

Honestly, I am counting down the days until Thanksgiving! It’s my favorite National Holiday! Mostly because I LOVE all the food!

My Mom used to tease me. She told me I was actually due at the end of November, but I arrived in the middle of the month, as I wanted my first Turkey Meal! I may not have eaten that first Thanksgiving, but I haven’t missed one of them since. A grand turkey dinner is at the top of my list!

Toward the end of the afternoon, the sky got very dark and the wind picked up. I felt uncomfortable. Like something was about to happen.  Sure enough, it did!

The sky opened up and the hail beat down, and the wind blew and eventually, the rain began to pour! It didn’t last long, but it sure was memorable! In the picture above, all that white stuff is the hail that fell. The noise that the hail made on the window air conditioners sure freaked out Lili!

The day ended pleasantly, with a good meal,  and now a little TV.  It’s nice to be home and to relax with Jack and the three puppers!

 

Autumn is upon us, even though we still do not have much color out there. I mean, we do have spotty color, but it has not grown into full color yet. And it might not, thanks to the heavy winds of the last couple of days. I’m afraid more leaves have fallen down than have stayed on the trees.

Of course, several of the trees around our home are still all green, so perhaps our colors will come late.

But, our temperatures have dropped to just below normal. So once again, I am trying to set a good temperature in the house so that we have heat to stay warm, but not so much that we feel like we are going through a second menopause!

I consider myself a bright woman, but honestly, these blasted thermostats are simply the worst! I mean, I want to set the heat for 70 degrees. I expect when the temperature gets to 70, the heat will shut off, but it doesn’t! What am I missing? I have told Jack that if I cannot figure this out soon, I will call the installer to come and both check the system and teach us how to use it! Trust me, it is not all that simple!

Late in the afternoon on Saturday, I did try something new and we will see what happens. I hope that by setting heat and then setting cool, it will look at both temperatures and understand that I do not want heat over 70!

We took Arnie for a little ride yesterday in search of foliage.

While we were out on the back roads, we discovered this beautiful young fawn. It seems wherever I go these days I see these sweet creatures!

The foliage is really spotty right now. Another week or two and a few cold nights will need to pass before the bright colors come on.

As you can see below, Arnie was very attentive during the drive. That was before he fell asleep!

Good Morning and Welcome to September!

I walked outside with the dogs and the air was cool and crisp! Just the kind of weather that I like. Soon the leaves will start to turn, and in a few weeks, there will be frost on the pumpkins! Wonderful!

Many people don’t like this time of year, but it is my favorite! Look at this picture from last year. I mean, how can anyone not love the beauty of Autumn?

My beautiful Lake! How I can hardly wait for it to look like this once again!

The pitter-patter of raindrops fell on my air conditioner, as I opened my eyes on Friday morning. Ah yes, the cool front was here! After over a week of 90+ degree days, filled with high humidity, today this cold front moved through, and cleared the air!

I do love summertime when the air is warm, the sun shines, and I don’t have to get my coat, hat, gloves, boots, and scarf on, just to go out and walk the dogs.

However, I am one of those crazy people that enjoy the somewhat slower pace that wintertime affords. I love the fact that when I go to bed in the winter, it is actually dark. I love the fact that it is nice and cool and I can make winter soups and stews in my cast iron pot! And I love that after we have snowfall, I can let the dackels go out without their leashes, and because the snow can get deeper than they are tall, they will race out, perform and then race in.

Summer is always nice, though. With beautiful sunsets, bright blue skies and the wearing of very few articles of clothing. I love the beach, I love the fact that fish fills our markets and that cookouts abound!

However living in a summer tourist area, means our little town of roughly six thousand people, more than quadruples. Traffic is bad, there are no parking spots, and it’s crowded.

Winter is wonderful because the streets are nearly empty, and when I go out I see the people I have come to know in our town, and life is…slower.

The fact of the matter is, I love our home during all four seasons here in my little town. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. With the exception of three weeks in the Spring, we call “Mud Season”. That is because I own a White German Shepherd, who loves to jump in mud puddles!

I really cannot pick out which season I like the very best. I love them all. Each one has their special qualities. Ad each season has birthdays of my loved ones that need o be celebrated!

I gazed out my window all day on Monday. Our temperatures soared into the upper 60’s and I literally watched the ice on the lake get thinner and thinner. It’s strange how the ice goes from a white color to a hazy dirty white color, to a grey and now to an almost translucent blue color. It’s then that you know that ice out is just days or perhaps hours away.

I’ve heard that ice out on Lake Winnipesaukee is still some days away, but ice out on our smaller, Lake Waukewan, is so close. I almost expect to wake up in the morning and find that the ice fairies have come and cleared it all.

I love our Lake. I love all the action I see on it during all four seasons. Summers find swimmers, boaters, and people fishing. Spring and Autumn find boaters enjoying either the first clear waters of the season or the last clear water before the ice sets in. Winters are perhaps my favorite, as the ice comes along slowly before the hard thick ice sets in. Then we have a plethora of activity, from ice fishing to skating, to snowmobiling. So much to do on this wonderful lake of ours.

The sun shone brightly today as well. Not a cloud in the sky all day and as the sun set on Monday night, and the moon rose, I could see every star in the sky.

A perfect ending to a nearly perfect Spring Day

Monday, Monday….what a day! Actually it was a pretty high energy day for me, as it found me pulling down the living-room curtains to wash, cleaning the insides of windows, dusting, vacuuming, and then doing my gymnastic act climbing around to put the curtains back up after they were washed and dried!

I thought about how things were a year ago. I was so weak, that I could only walk half way up our driveway. Today, I put on my heavy parka, gloves and hat, and off I went with Lili, Arnie and Jack for a short walk around our neighborhood. Despite the 28 degree temperatures, we walked along at a brisk pace.

The most fun was watching Lili. This dog loves to leap through the snow. At one point I was watching her and all four legs were off the ground, as she flew into a mound of snow! She loves life, long walks, and oh my goodness, she loves the snow.

Now Arnie is somewhat different. While we were on our property Arnie was a big guy, acting all tough, but as we got to the top of our drive, he started to walk right next to me, so I slipped on his leash. As we walked, he was right there next to me, until we got back to our property. Then he was pulling, so I bent down removed the lead and he and Lili played running games all down the drive! What fun to watch!

My favorite picture of Arnie!

Since I accomplished so much today, I am planning to continue tomorrow in the office. A little every day and by summer my Spring Cleaning will be done! LOL!

So, as the First Day of Spring comes to us (along with a possible snow storm!) I wish you all, warm weather, tulips and crocuses, and that all the snow will melt as quickly as it falls!

I want to know, who decided to turn March into the deepest of winters! What I mean by this is, that we had more snow in March than we did in December and January, and our temperatures are well below freezing! I got up on Sunday morning and it was 4 degrees Fahrenheit!

Now, I enjoy winter as much as the next person. In fact, just last week during the heavy snow storm that we had, Jack and I had to drive to Manchester to the VA for physicals. As we drove through the heavy snow, which had clung to all of the trees, it was like driving through a winter wonderland! So beautiful! Of course, Jack, who was driving, was not enjoying the snow as much as I was.

I digress.

Besides the bitter cold, and three Nor’easters in the last two and a half weeks, the temperatures have remained really cold. The forecast for this week is for colder than normal temperatures, with a slight possibility of more snow. Come on Winter…I am so over you!

Yesterday I had to crawl up into our attic to store some things, and I wore a winter coat and gloves, but I really needed a hat too! It was so cold!

Yes, I am over winter and I want Spring to, well, SPRING!!!  I want warmer temperatures, bulbs blossoming, and tree’s starting to get their buds. And most of all, I want it to be over 60 degrees for more than two hours on one lonely day!

I am not a fan of Time Change. Especially when one has four dogs. They are all sort of messed up by the change, and I know I sure am.

I’d say it would be so much better if Spring would arrive at the exact same time, but I woke today with a forecast of 8-14 inches of snow for our area in New Hampshire on Tuesday. And the silly weatherman said, “Oh the skiers will just love this!” Since I no longer ski, I am sitting here thinking, “Ugh!”

I asked Jack if we had enough gas for the generator and snow blower? I know we have plenty of food, so I guess the only thing I can say is…bring it on!