activeforlife.com
backyardboss.net
backyardboss.net
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“It was the kind of snow that brought children running out their doors, made them turn their faces skyward, and spin in circles with their arms outstretched.” ~Eowyn Ivey
Category Archives: Seasons
Perfect Snow
Filed under Blog Repost - Wonderful Posts, Seasons, Videos
Snow People Community 5
BoredPanda.com
“Snowfall rouses your inner child to dream and play once more.” ~Angie Weiland-Crosby
BoredPanda.com
“Snowmen fall from heaven… unassembled.” – Unknown
BoredPanda.com
“Some people are worth melting for.” – Olaf, Frozen
Amazon.com
“When snow falls, nature listens.” ~Antoinette van Kleef
Filed under Seasons, snow people
Snow People Community 4
familyhandyman.com
familyhandyman.com
via cyborgyetiking.tumblr.com
via jumping-in-puddles.tumblr.com
Filed under Seasons, snow people
Snow People Community 3
freshpatio.com
freshpatio.com
lifeasmama.com
lifeasmama.com
Filed under Seasons, snow people
Snow People Community 2
“Snowman” – Graham Kemp Watercolour Art – @KempWatercolour on X
“Photographer” – thefuntimesguide.com
“Deer vs Snowman” – thefuntimesguide.com
freshpatio.com
Filed under Graham Kemp Art, Seasons, snow people
Snowpeople Community
freshpatio.com
freshpatio.com
freshpatio.com
freshpatio.com
Filed under Seasons, snow people
Trying to Embrace the Winter Season
SnowDayProject-Etsy
I have always loved the LOOK of snow. I love seeing big, fat, flakes coming down like being in your own, personal snow globe. I enjoy being out in the yard for a few minutes, enjoying the spectacle of the snow, the way a blanket of it changes the look of everything, muffling sound. As much as I like to be in it, I love coming inside FROM it.
Arkansas does not do winter well. We have ICE. Thin ice. Thick ice. Black ice. Slick ice. TOO MUCH ICE. Usually we have ice and THEN the snow, making it almost impossible to drive safely. And even if YOU are able to move around safely, you get creamed by someone ELSE who CAN’T…
Our driveway is 650+ feet of ‘steep.’ When it’s icy, it’s very possible you can end up across the road, over the barbed wire fence, and in the pasture beyond. The ice brings down the trees on either side of our driveway, bending them over into the driveway, many times breaking them off. One winter in 2001, we were stuck up on the top of our ridge line for 14 days. No public power. No public water (thank goodness for our well). And days and days worth of chain-sawing before my husband and I could clear it enough to drive down.
We get ‘serious’ about getting ready for winter around here. We have our snow tires on the truck now (the first time we’ve taken them in to the experts to have them put on, rather than doing it ourselves.) We’ve unhooked and drained the irrigation systems in the yard. We’ve turned on the automatic electric heater in the well house. (Later we’ll light the propane-powered pilot light for more serious heat in there.) We’ve opened a couple of cabinets where our plumbing froze in the house once. (We now have an automatic electric heater in the cabinet in the utility room bathroom.) We’ve brought in wood for our wood-burning fireplace, we’ve lit the pilot light for the propane-powered heating system in the shop. We’ve drained our mower and other gasoline-powered things for the winter. The bed has our electric blanket on it and the heavier comforter. We have heat pads in our recliners and our nice throws to go over us. :0)
Since many times we’re stuck up here when the snow has melted elsewhere, we try to stay stocked up on food, water, and other supplies. We can’t get down the driveway, but no one could come UP, either, so we’re serious about having what we need to last a couple of weeks or so.
Another thing I really do like about winter is snow people. We don’t often get the good kind of snow – or enough – to create snowmen, but I LOVE seeing the creativity of people. We once caused trouble for my parents by creating a man and a woman who were a bit ‘too true to life and over-abundant in parts’ in their front yard. My husband still laughs like a loon over that. :0) Meanwhile, I collect pictures of snow people I think are wonderful, and I’ll share them with you through the season.
Jimmy Conover-Unsplash.com
We’ll enjoy our comfort foods, hot chocolate, snuggle-y sweaters, and a fire in the fireplace from time to time, not because we need the heat, but because we love the ‘feel’ of it. Happy winter!
Filed under Seasons
Thunderstorms and Hair Balls
500px.com
It was raining when we got up this morning. Raining when we went out for errands, and raining a bit ago when we drove our trash down to the bottom of the driveway. The forecast is for “Scattered (80%) showers and thunder – the top threats are pockets of damaging hail and gusty winds.” Sounds like the perfect day to stay inside, safe and warm.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
“Squirreling” As An Art Form
Jeff’s Wildlife Photography – @sykesjeff on X
We are starting to stock up for the winter. Arkansas isn’t terrible in the winter, but it doesn’t do winter well. We almost never have just really pretty snows that cover everything with a beautiful white blanket and then melt away. We have ice, THEN snow, which makes it almost impossible to drive or walk or….
Lisa Wellwood – @studio22artz on X
Compounding that, we have a 650+ foot driveway on the north side of our property – long and steep and just perfect as a ski slope, if you were wanting one. Any snow or ice storm causes the trees on either side of the driveway to droop down or break off into the driveway, forcing us to chainsaw our way out.
I once sledded down our driveway with our son, pushing off at the top and ending up across the street that runs in front of our house, in the ditch, against the barbed wire fence, with my jeans jammed full of the snow I had gathered on the way down. Once was entirely enough, though our son thought it was wonderful and wanted to do it again…
G H Holt Photography – @ghholt on X
As a result, we already have our snow tires on our truck – just in case. We will stock up on food and supplies so that we can ‘hole up’ up here on top of our ridge line if we get snowed or iced in. The worst time ever was when we lost access to both public power and public water for 14 days. Thankfully, we have a generator powered by propane, and a well we can switch to, if needed.
Squirreling away things that will help us through the winter has begun.
Filed under Seasons
It’s Monday 11-6-2023
thefunpost.com
When we bought our truck, we bought a set of snow tires at the same time and had them mounted on wheels so that we could simply change the tires from regular to snow tires and back again when needed. We had everything we needed in our shop.
For 17 years now my husband and I have changed the tires twice a year – changing the regular tires to snow tires – and back again. It has become more and more difficult as we have gotten older – no surprise – but last time was so difficult that I was afraid we wouldn’t manage it.
We had a frank talk after we finally prevailed and agreed that it was getting to be too much for us. We’ve had ‘frank talks’ in the past about various things. When push comes to shove, we either remember the talks differently or are back to square one when actually faced with the subject again, the ‘agreement’ having flown away with the wind.
I saw that my husband had printed a reminder that it was time to change to snow tires.
I reminded him that we had agreed last time that I would take the tires to the tire place and have THEM change them out for us. (This still leaves us getting the wheeled tires out of the shop and into the back of the truck, finding the lug nuts and the special ‘thingies’ included in the nuts for the regular tires.
Then we’ll get the regular tires and lug nuts that go with them out and stored in the shop again once the job is done, but that is nothing compared to trying to muscle the tires off and on the truck rims.
My husband shocked me, agreeing. He added that he would listen for the people who are supposed to be contacting us regarding a new instant hot water heater delivery while I’m gone. Can you see I’m struggling to close my mouth?
HUGE relief! We’ll gather our trash in a bit, put that and the tires in the back of the truck. I’ll drive the trash down, get it set up by the road at the bottom of the driveway, get our mail, and head for the tire place.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, Seasons
Autumn Joy
Filed under .gifs I Love, Blog Repost - Wonderful Posts, Seasons, video
Weird AR Weather
Freepik
Two days ago we had the front and back doors open, the ceiling fans on, enjoying a nice breeze. Now we have freeze warnings through Thursday, causing a flurry of activity yesterday in the Lewis household, trying to prevent pipes from freezing, turning off irrigation systems, etc.
The thing is, once we get through Thursday, we have lots warmer weather coming – no freezes and highs in the mid to upper 60s and 70s!
What I want to know is – who is in charge? I would like to lodge a note of diplomatic protest to the powers that be for this to be changed – along with Daylight Savings Time…
Who’s with me?
Freeze Prep 10-29-2023
We usually prep for the winter before the middle of November, just in case. This year, we just came in from a quick trip around the yard to prep for what looks like 4 days in a row, starting tomorrow, of morning freezes!
My husband had a couple of strokes the past couple of years, and sometimes he blanks on how to do things. He’s always been the go-to and fix-it guy who knows how to do everything, so I have relied heavily on his expertise. Now he looks at ME and says, “I don’t know how to turn off the irrigation systems in the well house.” GULP.
I found the paperwork for those in the files, thank goodness, and found it was very straight-forward. We went out there and I did that, showing him what I was doing. We then found the electric heater thingie that sits on the floor out there. It monitors the temperature inside the well house. If it decides it’s too cool, it automatically turns on, making sure the pipes don’t freeze out there. I got that going. My husband wanted to fight with lighting the propane wall heater, but I told him we could wait on that, since we’re only supposed to have 4 days of freezes and then we’re supposed to be back into the 50s and 40s for lows for quite awhile.
We made our way around the yard, unhooking hoses (after I went back into the house and found a set of pliers). I found the styrofoam caps for the faucets and we got those installed. We unhooked the hose from the free-standing faucet that controls water to the garden and got that shut down.
Inside, I propped open the cabinets under the sink in the utility room bathroom and made sure the electric sensor heater we have under there was on. I’ll do the same thing upstairs later under my husband’s master bathroom sink.
We turned on the heater for the house for the first time this season. We’ll do the same upstairs later, if we need to. Otherwise, we’ll just turn OFF the a/c up there! We’re laying a fire in the fireplace in the living room in case it’s needed.
And that should be it.
We’ll do the heavier, more serious winter prep when we see the weather has, indeed, decided we’ll skip fall and go straight to winter.
Time for coffee!
Filed under Seasons
Thursday 10-12-2023
The Epoch Times – artist unknown
I’m driving myself to the ‘rescue mission,’ my wonderful hair stylist, Michael Remillard of Tangles, in Greenwood AR this morning. If you’re in the area, his phone number is 479-357-9305 and his salon is on the east end of the square in Greenwood. He is truly a miracle worker, rescuing me from looking like a ‘dandelion-gone-to-seed’ and transforming me to look like ‘someone-has-a-plan,’ – no easy feat. :0)
Mount_Magazine_State_Park
We’re having the first real ‘fall’ that I can remember. Usually here in Arkansas, we have the heat of summer followed by about 3 days of rain and ‘fall front,’ and then it’s COLD, like the flicking of a light switch. This year our weather has been really pleasant – so pleasant my husband and I have remarked on it several times. I’m really soaking it up, enjoying every minute.
“Creating with a kid” – Alisa Burke
This afternoon, after I’m home from my haircut, I’m hoping to spend time in my art room. It’s been several days, and I’m itching to make some progress up there.
I hope you have a stellar Thursday.
Filed under playing in my art room, Seasons, Thoughts on a ________
Delicious Autumn
“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.” ~ John Burroughs
brush o trees – chocolatebaroque.com
“The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools.” ~ Henry Beston
Gord Follett Photography – @gord_follett on X
“Fiery colors begin their yearly conquest of the hills, propelled by the autumn winds. Fall is the artist.” ~ Takayuki Ikkaku
Yannick Ibanez Juniot
“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” ~Stanley Horowitz
Paper Arts by Nir
“Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.” ~ Albert Camus
Filed under Favorite Quotes, Seasons
Happy October!
Unsplash
I’m hoping that THIS month the weather will finally turn fall-like. It doesn’t need to stun me with all colors of leaves on the trees. I don’t have to have all the things I love about the fall – sweaters and hoodies, hot chocolate, videos of dogs or kids jumping into piles of leaves, etc. I would just really appreciate being able to work outside without being warned of heat stroke, conscientiously keeping my outside sessions short, having to take half an hour or more with a cold drink to bring my temperature down after one of these short sessions.
There is something about lowering of temperatures that makes me SO much more energetic. I love to putter around in my yard and my garden, cleaning things up, making plans for the spring, just enjoying the sunshine and cool breezes.
I’ve done one short session in the yard today so far. It is forecast to be 92 this afternoon. UGH. I’ll try to get several sessions in anyway, since we don’t have errands today.
I hope it’s nice where you are. I wish you a happy October.
Filed under Seasons
Sunday 8-20-2023
Greenwood is just southeast of Fort Smith, Arkansas – just above the “Feels Like 110-115” part of the image. (High of 106 this afternoon). It’s always hot in the summer, but I don’t remember having so many days of ‘excessive heat warnings.’ I think that’s new, and I really don’t consider it a good thing. I’m always griping about the weather, it seems, but Mother Nature just can’t seem to get her head on straight. Thank goodness we’re spoiled by not having to be outside for work and having good air conditioning!
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LesterLousDesigns-Etsy
Yesterday I finally finished liquid etching the stencils on the glassware I’m working on in my art room. The etching worked, but I’m pretty disappointed at how delicate and faint the etching is, even though I left the medium on as long as they said was the LONGEST time to leave it on.
Today I’m going to start experimenting, using my Dremel tool. I’m going to see if I can add names to the glassware with the tool. I’ll keep adding and adjusting to see what I can make of this. This will be a long, slow process. I’ll take my time and just enjoy. (Actually, this is the part I enjoy the most. What I WANTED didn’t happen. Now I’m free to ‘play.’ If something fun comes of it, good. If not, I can always pitch these and start over with something else. :0) )
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Red and White 3 Disc Light-Weight Hand-Painted Wooden Dangle Earrings with Bling – Length: 2.5 Inches; Width: 1.2 Inches – $13.95 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S. HandmadeHavenByLindaonEtsy
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Shout-out to Mary Lou – just thought of you when I saw this –
hahahahahahahaah
Hope you have a FUN Sunday.
Too Hot to Handle
Digital Mom Blog
Actual temperature forecast to be 104 today. I have no idea what the “feels like” temperature will be. All I know is that IT’S TOO HOT! I’m eagerly awaiting the possibility of rain late this weekend or early next week.
We’re leaving for errands in a few minutes. When we get back, we’re in for the day.
I finished my spraying for weeds yesterday. I’ll give it a few days and then see where I need to treat again. My husband is smiling at the turning-brown-and-crunchy grass.
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Yesterday I cleaned up and reorganized the dining area. Today I’ll tackle what we call the ‘go-out table,’ a catch-all for many of the things we should have been putting where they belong, but landed there because we were too lazy.
As you can see, the baskets are full-to-overflowing and things are getting ready to topple off the table. Hopefully, I can remedy that today.
I hope you have a calm, quiet day, insulated against weather extremes, with a hug or two to help you through.
Heat Index of WHAT?!
Summer became official last Wednesday and it’s already pushing the boundaries of the season.
We’re going to try to cook out for the first time for the summer this evening. The heat index today is going to be 108. GREAT. We may end up eating at midnight.
Meanwhile, after we finish our errands this morning, I’m going to TRY to get some things done outside. I need to –
- check for ripe tomatoes
- finish weed whacking
- and continue cleaning out my spring garden
I know I’ll check the tomatoes, but am not sure what else on that list will actually get done. If I DO continue out there, it will be really short sessions followed by longer resting periods and lots and lots of water.
I AM looking forward to cooking out, though, even if it’s really hot. We have a rope of LED lights around the deck cover and they give it a festive air. I can put my feet up, enjoy a drink, play with our animals, and enjoy talking with my husband while the charcoals get ready and then we cook. Tonight we have steaks – a splurge we haven’t done since last year.
I’m having to watch my husband carefully because he doesn’t ‘prepare’ for being outside. I have to TAKE him a hat and sunglasses as he mows, and bring him a cold drink if I can get him to take a break, or when he finishes. He works until he can barely get back in the house. We talk about it rationally, he agrees to try to do better, and then repeats the same behavior. Arrrgh!
He did get the mowing done yesterday, so if he’s out today, it will be puttering, cutting down branches that get in the way of his riding mower.
Be careful wherever you are, making sure that you weather the temperatures as well as possible, and watch for storms popping up that can cause problems.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
Hopeful Signs
Before winter I cut back our Rio Samba rose bushes. They had gotten to the point where I figured they would either like the pruning a lot or would croak. The jury was still out until a couple of weeks ago. In fact, my husband was talking about digging out the plant below and replacing it with a new one. I asked him to give it a bit more time.
Happily, the plants are not only putting out new growth, but there are BUDS on the plants. (I’ll have to check a third plant today while I’m wandering around in the yard later to see how it’s doing.)
Perky Pet
Another hopeful thing is that my husband told me yesterday he saw a hummingbird at the feeder. We aren’t “awash in hummingbirds” by any measure, but the fact that we’ve seen three thus far gives me hope that we’ll have a nice spring.
Celebrating Spring
joyfullearninginkc.blogspot.com
“It’s spring fever…. You don’t quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” Mark Twain
“Be like the flower, turn your face to the sun.” — Kahlil Gibran
Filed under Favorite Pictures, Favorite Quotes, Seasons
Spring Sprung!
ThePicMix
HOOOOORAAAAAY! It’s officially spring!
My heart is happy to finally welcome spring. My thermometer says 29, though, so it’ll be a few more days before I can do anything outside to mark the occasion.
I hope that the weather is improving where you are, too, and that you have exciting plans for the season that starts today.
Quotespedia.org
Filed under Seasons
Sharing Some Spring
Heavy thunderstorms are on the way, but who can be down looking at blooms like these?
Filed under Gardening, Mother Nature, Seasons
Hooray for March!
Unknown
My spirits have lifted. I don’t care that it’s rainy and cold, knowing that spring isn’t too far off. I’m hoping that we’ve broken the back of winter, but I know that Mother Nature can change her mind and sprinkle (or slam) us with more of the white stuff this month. I’m trying to keep positive thoughts about all of it, seeing lots of blooms around the yard – more each day.
This morning, for example, I noticed that several of our redbud trees are blooming.
A quick walk around the yard – it IS still raining a bit – shows lots of color. Here’s a forsythia.
The tulip tree didn’t lose all of its blooms.
And daffodils are showing their happy faces all around the yard.
My heart is full as I see all these sweet things blooming their little hearts out. I hope that you are seeing signs of promise and hope, too.
Enjoy your Friday.
Before the Storms
I’m afraid these will all be broken and battered after the storms, so wanted to share some of them with you.
This is our tulip tree. The photo doesn’t do it justice – it makes my heart lift just looking at all the hope and promise there.
Happy March 2023
Filling the Jars
Happy March! Celebrations are going on in the Lewis household that February is gone for another year and that the start of spring isn’t too far away.
We’re in for a BUNCH of rain and possibly severe storms starting today and running through Friday, with a flood watch. Since we live on top of a hill, if we make it through the thunderstorms, gusty winds, and hail, we’re good. :0)
I’m doing laundry, changing bed linens, vacuuming and other exciting stuff today. Right now we have lots of happy looking daffodils all around the yard, so it looks like our yard is celebrating, too.
This is an older photo, when we covered the boxes with tarps. This year we used fabric weed control cut to length and held down with bricks. They have lasted all winter and through the thunderstorms and gusty winds so far.
I’ll get serious about figuring what I’d like to plant in my garden this year. I’m hoping for lots of lettuce and spinach plants for sale soon. Also sweet onions of some type. Tomato plants, of course, radish seeds, celery plants transferred from buying bunches at the store. I’m thinking about trying some herbs on my kitchen divider this year. It’ll be fun to start digging in the dirt again.
I hope that this first day of March is a beautiful one for you.
Wow
Backpackers.com
We seem to have come through the severe weather last night without damage – at least that we have found yet. It was scary for a while, though, with our weather alert going off with a tornado WARNING covering Ft. Smith, but not including Greenwood. We had lots of really gusty winds to the point we were talking about possibly losing some of the siding off the house or losing our deck cover, not to mention more trees and branches down.
103.3 WKFR-Getty Images
It’s sunny and 55 degrees -thankfully, quiet and pretty now. Later we’ll gather our trash and take it down. I don’t know if the trash can will still be there. My husband tethered it to the pole, but he scoffs at what he calls my ‘obsession’ with tying it tightly. Since I have trouble not slipping and sliding over the gravel, he has taken over the dragging it up and down and tethering it to the pole. The trip down the driveway will also tell us if we had any other damage overnight. Fingers crossed.
Gusty winds like that make me wonder what the animals do to protect themselves. We heard a couple of driveway alarms that my husband said were probably deer walking around. The wind was gusting to such an extent I would think they would have trouble not being blown off their feet.
We are still under a ‘wind advisory’ for another hour or so this morning, but I think the worst is past now.
I hope you are somewhere safe.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
Spring is on the Way
I’m really hoping we aren’t blown away overnight here because I would hate to miss the coming spring. I just walked around the yard a bit, taking a few pics, feeling my heart lift as I saw so many signs that winter is almost behind us.
This display is particularly heartwarming because years ago I dug up all the daffodils here and relocated them all around the yard. Little did I know that somehow you CAN’T dig them all up. They just keep coming. Isn’t that wonderful?
This is all by itself in one of the trio planters that divide our front yard from the driveway. I just LOVE the color.
Can you hear them trumpeting, “Spring is on the way!” ?
Flirting with Spring?
Spring is at least a month away, but this is part of what I found when I was walking around in the yard yesterday! The sight made my heart soar. I really needed it.
You can’t feel down when you see things like this.
There were signs all around the yard that good things are still happening, and are yet to happen.
Spring is around the corner!
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons
Dream
“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle … a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream.” ~ Barbara Winkler
This won’t happen for awhile, but I’m enjoying dreaming about it. Each year I try to get head lettuce and then several other leaf lettuces to add variety to our salads. I also try to get spinach plants, and of course, tomato plants. Otherwise, I experiment. I grow radishes from seed, celery from cutting off the bottoms of celery I buy at the store and then replant when they sprout in water. I like to grow some sweet onions. My cauliflower and broccoli grow lots of leaves, but I haven’t had much success in growing the edible parts yet. I’ve had mixed results on squash. Maybe I’ll try some herbs on my kitchen counter this year, as well.
A little at a time, I’m thinking about what I want to start with this spring. I would love to be able to supply all of our friends with nice veggies straight from the garden.
I’m thinking about all this now because we can finally negotiate our driveway, and the ice is almost completely gone. We still have areas that could use more chain-saw work, but we’re able to drive up and down without a problem now.
I’ll get out my last planning sheets and see if I can figure out the best places to put the new spring plants. It seems funny to talk about ‘crop rotation’ in chest-high 4’x4′ wooden planters, but it’s just as important here as in humongous commercial farms.
I hope you’re enjoying a beautiful day.
Filed under Gardening, Seasons, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
creativeartworksblog 