Let it snow, let it snow

The view from my office window.
This time of year, I actually like the snow. It gets me in the mood to decorate and bake and just settle in like a hibernating bear. After Christmas I simply tolerate the snow, and by February I'm longing to get a break from it (and by March, well, I'm pretty much hanging on to my sanity by my fingernails.) But when I see a dusting of snow on the ground right around the beginning of December, it puts me in a New York state of mind (if you substitute "Christmas" for "New York")

So I'm off to buy fresh spices like allspice and cinnamon and nutmeg, some sage for the turkey stuffing, dark chocolate and butter and nuts and cream for truffles, wrapping paper and special ribbon, green boughs for the window box, and maybe a new Christmas CD. Look at me. I'm going all nesty!

Then I'm going to light a fire, pour myself a teensy eensy glass of Glenmorangie, and put on my ancient canvas apron stained with feasts of Christmas past and fill the house with the aroma of warm shortbread. Perhaps, if you put your ear against the door, you'll also hear the sounds of soft jazz and a gently snoring dog.

So, you ready for Christmas?

Because my sister is sick of the bird photo

I was going to look around for a story to post instead of more photos, but I'm dashing out the door and these were at hand. The allium, that large purple ball, popped up in my garden out of nowhere. Any ideas how that got in there? The others are forget-me-not, lily-of-the-valley, and a dogwood branch at my front door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flowers blossoming in Spring whoo hoo!

Right now, I'm not sure which I love more - my camera, or the fact that it's finally finally FINALLY warm outside. The little violets were the first things to pop up, and the roses, well, the roses were a gift from my sweet husband, "just because" he said. The top photo is pretty close to their natural colour - a brilliant, vibrant yellow. I toned them down for the close-ups. I'm amazed at what this Nikkor 18-200mm lens can do. I thought I might get a macro-lens, but now I'm not sure I need one.

If a picture tells a thousand words...

...then Rarindra Prakarsa is a master story-teller. Each photograph is like a fairy tale come to life. Some may find the photos a bit twee, but I think they're magical.

http://photo.net/photodb/member-photos?user_id=2231437&include=all

Tell me what you think.