Winter Scape Wanderings~ Keeping the Wonder

I hope that your

new year is off to a good start.

I'm sitting here by a crackling fire, 

(that needs a log ;)

drinking tea with my feet up. 

My day started very early today for 

which I'm happy. 

That allowed me to get my work done early

and have creative time.

What a lovely "wintry" winter it's been so far.

Most days, when it's cold and snowy outside,

I can hardly wait to lay footprints

in the brand new blanket of white.

I have such wonderful memories 

of roaming the hills of our farm in Ohio.

That was way back when I was a girl and teenager.

Now the mountain you see invites me to

 wander and roam it's canyons, slides,

draws and ridges. 

If you've visited before, you know that we live

 at the base of a mountain. We call it ours,

but it really belongs to the 

National Forest Service ;)

Some mornings, we are 

awakened by the beautiful

creatures that live alongside of us.

Their antlers scrape the house as they bite off the

grass that grows there.

Last winter, it was so dry, they were drinking from

a hose that was draped in a tree.

They heard the water as it 

trickled down to the ground.

So we are very grateful that the mountains

have several feet of snow.

Aren't they such magnificent creatures?

we never tire of seeing them

but we do have to chase them off at

times because they make a snack

of the things we work hard to grow!

They roam the mountain among the trees. 

I saw them this morning skirting 

across the meadow at the tree line.

The deep snows have driven them to the

lower country to forage.

Here is a Yucca plant.  

Pronounced yoo-ka in Spanish. 

They grow wild here. 

They produce tall spikes of beautiful,

creamy white flowers during the rains!

My son and his wife lived in Ecuador for

 a year and they learned how to

cook the root. He baked us some

 Yucca root fries when we visited 

at Thanksgiving. They were delicious! 

Crispy and chewy.

Being the first snow of the season, makes it extra special. 

 I was blessed with a window that day to take a

luxurious amount of time. All I wanted really. To hike around

and take in the sparkles that wink at you when the sun hits 

each tiny little flake. To breathe in that 
cold, fresh mountain air...
Oh my.

I always want to keep the wonder

that creates excitement over these

tiny miracles that pile up and spread the

beauty of winter over mountains and valleys.

Don't you truly believe that there are those 

special little miracles and wonder in every day?

Something that touches you down deep.

I thought this little dried plant 

was so pretty even in it's simplicity.

Maybe especially because of it.

Simple pleasures.

It looked so frail but yet has held up 

through all the rainstorms and wind

and now it stands through 

the snowstorms, too.

Are we like that sometimes?

We will experience times of feeling fragile 

but we are stronger than we know.

Isn't it so lovely in all it's slenderness 

just holding up that snow 

that's reflecting the light of the sun.

(Some of my pictures are sunny and some cloudy
 because the skies cleared up while I was out.)

Thank you for coming by and sharing in

 my wanderings around the mountain.

I hope I haven't bored you.

I get so caught up in nature and life and can

obsess over the smallest thing!

I'd love to hear about something

 that you have found 

that causes you to stop and wonder.

That makes me think of Mary Poppins!

Enjoying the wonder of the simple

things in life seemed to be part of her very being.

Have a wonderful rest of your week.

Tamara xo