Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Snow Day in Idaho

Hubby and I flew to Idaho last week to spend the holidays with family. There was snow on the ground when we got here, and a few days later we got a few inches more.  It snowed most of the night and we had almost 3 inches of fresh snow by morning.  Beautiful to look at from inside, but then there is that task of clearing the driveway and walkways.  Not to mention driving in snow, which we have not done in quite a few years.  Everything has worked out fine so far.
 
The view of the back yard at my Idaho house. I love the look of the snow on the bare branch trees. This tree is a Crabapple, and in the far background there are several tall pines next to the fence.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

BRRR! It's winter in Texas

Well, it's winter everywhere isn't it?  Most places I have lived though, there are 4 seasons and winter comes on gradually.  Here in Texas, we are wearing shorts one day and our parkas the next.  Last week we had two days of 80..then overnight, "The Big Arctic Freeze" blew down and we had a freeze.  It did not get above 30 for 4 days in a row.  Most cities in Texas are not equipped to deal with ice and snow because we don't get it on a regular basis.  Plus we have all these high in the sky overpasses and bridges that freeze over.  Makes life interesting. Our little fountain on the porch did not get drained yet, so it has had a bit of ice on it the past few days.  I like the way it looks.

The colors have finally changed here though and it looks real pretty.  I don't have an oak tree in my front yard.  I have a live oak in the back and it doesn't shed it's leaves in the fall, only in spring when new growth occurs. But my neighbors on both sides have oak trees and so I have the benefit of tons of leaves.  I find it amusing that the guy on the left rakes most of the leaves from my yard, he says it's the least he can do, since they came from his tree.  Matters to me not a whit, we eventually rake or vacuum them up when they all fall.  The guy on the right rakes right to the property line, so I always just hope that the ones on my side blow back into his yard..HaHa  He also rakes every few days, then the next day the yard is full again. He's also the guy who mows his yard 3 times a week, while the rest of us do it once a week.   Both my neighbors are great, its just funny to me, the differences in people..
 
 Oak tree to the right
 
Oak tree to the left
 
Leaves in my yard
Leaves for crafting