Sunday, January 31, 2010

Lazy Day


I enjoy days like today. With ice and snow on the roads, it is better just to stay at home and chill. I should have used this day to finish the pile of laundry or to clean the house like a good little homemaker. Instead, I chose to read a book and then cuddle up with my sweet hubby to take a nap. Now that is what I call a productive day. I'm sure the laundry and the messy house will still be here tomorrow when I roll out of bed.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

My Winter Wonderland



The birds were having a feeding frenzy all morning. Most flew away when I ventured out into the frigid 29 degree air, however, several juncos and a friendly little pine warbler did not seem to mind my presence.




I love how a little snow turns ordinary grasses and plants into beautiful works of art.




Well, we did not get as much snow as we would have liked, however, it did manage to turn my yard into a winter wonderland.





Friday, January 29, 2010

Snow in the South






Why is it that we southerners flock to the store when the weatherman is calling for winter precipitation? Yes, I am guilty of it too. I just left Walmart and every lane was full of people buying bread and milk. In fact, I predict that the bread and milk isles will be empty by sometime this afternoon. I know people from other parts of the country think we are crazy down here, but seriously, we just don't have experience with driving in the snow like some people do. It's not like we get snow very often. We are lucky to see even one snow a winter.

I personally do not pay much attention to what the local forecast is calling for, I just watch the birds at the feeders. It always amazes me to see how much one can learn from God's creatures. It is like they have some inside information on the weather and other natural phenomenons. I have heard of pets that get up and leave the room right before an earthquake hits, or warn their owners of a coming tornado, or other impending disasters. If only we could tap into whatever senses they use , I'm sure we could be more prepared. I guess for now I just have to depend on the local weatherman and the birds at the feeder to help me decide how prepared I need to be. By the look of the frenzy of feeding birds, I'm glad I went to Walmart to buy bread and milk. Oh well, even if it doesn't snow, we've still gotta eat!!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

What Wintry Mix?






Living in the South, I've come to expect all kinds of weather. For instance, today it is 61 degrees and absolutely gorgeous outside. Tomorrow, however, the forecast is calling for 30 degree weather and what we southerners call a "wintry mix." That's the weatherman's way of saying I have no clue what you are going to get, but something is coming. Of course most everyone is hoping for snow, except for the wonderful people who work for the NC Department of Transportation. My first favorite man in the world used to work for the NCDOT. When I was little and the weatherman was calling for snow, I would go to bed knowing that if the phone rang in the middle of the night and my dad had to go to work, school would be cancelled. (You know everything stops in North Carolina if we get a little snow.) If the phone didn't ring during the night I would wake up regretting the fact that I didn't do my homework because I thought it was going to snow. My daddy did not like getting that overnight phone call to go to work. Several years ago when he retired, my brother stood up at his retirement dinner and asked just one question-"Dad, is it okay if it snows now?"

I remember being a kid and loving the snow. We would go out and play in it for hours, only coming in to take off the frozen jeans and multiple socks we were wearing. We would lay them across chairs near the wood heater in our house, warm up with hot cocoa, and then head out again. We never had snowsuits. It never snowed often enough to justify the cost. We would go sledding with our neighbors on the hills beside our house. That worked out perfectly as long as we bailed out of the sled before running into the barbed wire fence at the bottom of the hill. We worked so hard pulling the sled back up the hill. My children have never experienced the hard work of sledding since their dad drives the four wheeler down the hill to pick them up after they have completed their run. Children these days have it made!

I guess my favorite thing to do when it snows is to just sit and watch it fall. There is nothing more beautiful and peaceful than the gentle drifting of snowflakes to the ground. It is like heaven opening up to reveal a small portion of the beauty that must be kept in storehouses somewhere up there. Maybe this time we will get lucky and our "wintry mix" will not be a mix at all, but will be little flakes of heaven's beauty falling softly on our southern soil. Do you think it will hurt the daffodils and crocuses that are starting to emerge?

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Why Blog


Blogging. I've never thought much about it before, but I guess everyone just wants to be heard. As a stay-at-home mom of two teenage girls, I often feel as no one is listening to what I have to say. If I lived before the age of computers, I am sure that I would have kept a diary the old fashioned way. In fact, I have purchased beautifully bound books on several occasions hoping to one day see the pages full of my thoughts and dreams. Even with the best of intentions, those pages never quite get used. Every mother would like to think that some day their children would come across a stack of beautifully written journals to give insight into the person that she was, apart from being just a mom.


Well, here is my attempt to give insight into who I am as a person. If not for my daughters or anyone else; for myself. The title is self explanatory. I am a county girl, born and raised in rural North Carolina. And of course, being the true southerner that I am, I have been taught to always be a lady. I love living in the country and all of the things that come with that lifestyle. I feel blessed to be surrounded by nature and try to never overlook the smallest detail. I would love to be able to paint beautiful watercolors of what I observe, but being artisticaly challegned, I guess I will have to be content to take photographs of the beauty that I see around me each day. I hope one day my girls will see the importance of enjoying to the fullest the simple things in life.