Now that all of the delicious Christmas baked goods and candies have been consumed, and I’m back to paying attention to what I eat (and yes that means joining Weight Watchers…for the 3rd and final time!) winter has lost most of its appeal for me. While I don’t like snow, ice, wind, or cold weather, I really do enjoy those warmish days ahead when the sun is bright overhead reflecting off the snow that is left on the ground, creating a fabulously clean, fresh landscape pleasing to the eye and to one’s sense of smell. Just look at this poor chilly Blue Jay trying to warm up on our front steps.But I miss my flowers. So looking ahead toward one of my favorite times of the year, Spring, I thought I’d post a couple of pictures in and around our yard taken during the Spring and Summer months. Every once in awhile, I remember to go grab my camera when a Swallowtail Butterfly or Dragonfly land in the Butterfly bushes surrounding our Bluestone patio.
So looking ahead until Spring and the warmer months I'm ready to go pack to Pleasure, Texas and see if I can't get the youngest Garahan brother, Jesse, into trouble which will include an independent young woman just passing through town, with a little bit of baggage...her four-year-old daughter...
What are you looking forward to? The end of Winter? The arrival of Spring? Getting sucked into your next work-in-progress?
What are you looking forward to? The end of Winter? The arrival of Spring? Getting sucked into your next work-in-progress?
Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures! I'm ready for spring. It's been cold and cloudy for so long.
ReplyDeleteWith my present WIP, I'm at 65,000 words, cruising up to the Big Black Moment. I like this part of a book because it feels like a horse turned toward the barn. The sense of forward momentum is gathering, and I can look forward to scenes organizing themselves into a brisk canter to the finish. And then I can write one more name on the back of that envelope where I've listed all my completed MS. THAT is a good feeling, and--of course!--I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for the sight of that first crocus when all this snow melts.
ReplyDeleteLove the post and lovely pictures, CH. Here in Texas, we already had 70 degree weather, although in the house it was still winter. (It wouldn't warm up no matter what.)...So spring will be here before we're ready and gone and the blistering heat of summer will take over for way too long! Although a cold front is hitting tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteGrace, I'm at the halfway point on my mss, and I can't wait to get where you are! But even being at the halfway point makes me feel as though I'm swooping over the mountain peak just before I glide down the other side into the valley and woohoo, end the journey, so I can begin again! I love that feeling!
Colleen: Awesome pictures. Yes, yes, yes...looking forward to spring and playing in the flower bed dirt. And like Grace and Terry, finishing the WIP so I can jump into the next idea bouncing around in my head. I'm to that half way point with number 4 of the Spikes & Spurs. Finally at the top of the mountain, looking back at the climb to see what I could've done different, and getting ready to climb in the wash tub and slide to the finish line at the bottom! (In Oklahoma the slide down the mountain without a wash tub would guaran-damn-tee me a miserable bait of green briar scratches and chigger bites.)
ReplyDeleteHey Tracey, pics of our yard keep me sane during the dreaded winter months. ;)
ReplyDeleteGrace, don't you love the black moment??? Congrats for hitting the halfway point. I can't wait for the Crocuses to bloom...but my Snowdrops usually show up first.
Terri - good grief I wish I was physically in Texas right now instead of in my wip. I could use some warmer weather just to remind me what it feels like! Congrats on hitting the halfway point!
Hey Carolyn - there's nothing like playing in the dirt, is there? Wow, another SB author hitting the halfway point in their current wip!!! WooHoo, ladies! Carolyn, we're going to have to set aside some time to chat...I'd love to talk about living in the Great State of Oklahoma with you. ;)
I'm off to take my mom and her live-in to do grocery shopping, run errands, and to do her bills now that I've just finished mine! Soooo I'll be checking back hopefully before dinner time EST.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the day, everyone, more schmutzy weather headed our way (aka snow, ice, cold, yuck)!!
Lovely photos! For me, I'm looking forwzrd to seeing my son run when track season starts. He's a nationally elite runner and his senior yr of cross country got cut short by mono. Fingers crossed, the doctor says he's well enough to compete again (he trained even while sick, just couldn't compete) - we're hoping he gets the season he worked so very hard for these past years.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post! When there's this much snow (16 inches in CT last week), I tend to need to escape:
ReplyDeleteThis weekend I went to NYC and made a bee-line for MOMA where I sat my tush down in the Monet room and soaked up the beautiful colors. Aqua blue, green, pink and fuchsia. Water lilies and sunlight. Then I meditated in front of Van Gogh's Starry Night for a spell. The swirling brushstrokes and deep colors - I never know if their effect is alarming or peaceful but I walk away so moved.
I also curled up with Laura Kinsale's Prince of Midnight - my first Kinsale book. Wow. What a wonderful rough-around-the-edges aging hero! I just loved him.
In that spirit, Susie and I saw "True Grit" last week. Just wonderful.
During the cold months, I try to expose myself to as much inspiration as possible. I'm looking forward to: less snow, warm weather, my community garden, and reading reading reading: Romances that rock my world. I think it's time for another Georgette Heyer...
Oh, my! Those flowers are gorgeous! But even Texas is about to be cold. they're saying snow is possible in Houston on Thursday. I think the end must be near... :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, spring! Give me give Spring and those beautiful, beautiful flowers. I am a sunshine kind of girl and the gray days of winter get me down. I didn't even like reading it's still 48 days away!
ReplyDeleteAmelia
Almost finished with my current WIP. About 5K left. And then it's on to the fifth and final book of the Sinners on Tour series. I am looking forward to that.
ReplyDeleteI was sick of winter in November. A blizzard is brewing outside right now. -35 with the wind chill. Gusts of 40 MPH. 5 inches of snow forecasted by tomorrow afternoon. Maybe if we get a snow day tomorrow I can get that 4th book done! Or it will have to wait to this weekend.
I am so ready for spring.
I miss my flowers too! I'm trying to look past the ice we're supposed to get tonight and focus on spring instead, but it's difficult when the forecast sounds so awful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the flowers! It'll be a while before we have anything like that in Wyoming - you can't plant anything here until late May unless you want to risk losing it to a snowstorm. We've had snow as late as June, so we've got lots of winter left.
ReplyDeleteI'm halfway through a manuscript, too - with a red-hot rodeo cowboy hero. I'm not sure I want to get done with this one! I'm enjoying it too much:)
I love your pictures of the flowers. I'm so ready for spring. I have a huge hydranga bush in front of my house and I can't wait to see it bloom. We're expecting ice and cold. I hate cold.
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures. I love it when my lilacs bloom, but here in the NW I have a while to wait. I hope to be finished with the edits for my current manuscript long before then.
ReplyDeleteCatherine - I hear you, having had one of my three...my darling daughter...end up with mono her senior year, it was tough since at the time she was competing in Irish Step Dance and was captain of the girls fencing team...and they wonder why they get run down?
ReplyDeleteI hope your son is on the road to recovery and gets to compete in all of those events.
I'll add him to my prayer list. ;)
Cat! Thanks for stopping by!!! I hear you, but think you get the prize for having more snow than we do in NJ. ;)
ReplyDeleteI LOVED Monet's Waterlilies and did the exact same thing...simply soaked up the light, color and dreamy aspect of his paintings. It's been years...I'll have to go again. ;)
Hmmm...I'll have to check Laura's latest out. As for True Grit...does it top John Wayne's version? I'm kindof stuck loving the Duke as much as I do, trying to envision Jeff Bridges in the role...but hear it was a fab remake.
I can't wait for the warmer weather and definitely agree about Georgette...it's always a good time to immerse yourself in one of her stories.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hey Shana - on no cold in Texas? Darn...then I can't escape the cold out there, can I? Keep counting the days 'til Spring!
ReplyDeleteAmelia - me too...I really don't like winter at all...and miss my garden and the flowers...I always feel rejuvenated sipping my morning cup of tea while watching the hummingbirds dart in and out of my flowers.
Hey Olivia - Finishing the 4th book in your series? You go girl! Where they heck are you that you're having a blizzard??? Good luck on the wip and the weather!
Cheryl - I hear you! They're forecasting ice and snow...schmutz...here in north Jersey! YIKES!!! We have NO place left to put the snow!
Joanne - I've always wanted to visit Wyoming...but I guess I'll have to plan to visit in July! LOL. Snow in June? Wow...maybe I should put my visit off until August ;)
ReplyDeleteHey Anita - I love hydrangeas...is yours blue or pink? Can't wait to see mine blooming again.
Amanda - hmmm...my Sourcebooks Sisters are really spread out over the US...how cool is that? I think there are about 5 states we didn't get to visit as kids...we'd get in the car and drive one or two weeks every summer. I've still got the Pacific NW to visit. Someday, but not until the snow's gone. ;)
Love the pics. I can't wait for spring. It's been one long, brutal winter.
ReplyDeleteLoved your pics, CH! We don't get the snow here in AZ, but we don't get the glorious blooms either. Sometimes I miss them both...until I remember shoveling snow. :}
ReplyDelete