10 minutes / 30 day commitment, who will join me?

[Bucky]

Is anyone still going outside for some fresh air??  I walked down to get the mail today, came inside, put the mail down and then went back outside for a little bit.  I've been couped up in the house and I wanted some fresh air . . cough, cough, cough . . . well, they must have cleaned the barns out down the road . . . nothing like fresh country air!!     Hmmmm, I only saw one bird while outside . . they must be sensing the winter storm that is coming today and have taken shelter.  Another reason I wanted to stay outside for a bit today is I know the landscape will be changing here by tonight.  Right now, there is just a dusting of snow with green grass showing thru . . this time tomorrow, will be another story!!  I'm thankful for the people who work thru the night keeping our roads clear.  My own Dad, at the age of 82, still plows snow all winter. (Personally, I wish he'd fully retire from that - I worry about him out in the harsh winters that living in the Ohio snowbelt brings.)

I realize some of you are sweltering in the heat "across the pond" . . . want some snow??   

Bucky

"I shall be telling this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence; Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by - And that has made all the difference."              Robert Frost

[harrigan]

Bucky, you quoted my favourite lines of poetry, EVER!  Wish I could see your snowscape, all is dark and damp here and I'm stuck in bed with chest infection and antibiotics which are sending dashing for the loo!  XX Ailsa

[Katybarstool]

Ailsa

Sorry you're feeling so unwell. Shall I pop over the Pennines with some nice soothing chicken soup?

Hugs
Kathyx

[Linda196]

Just for Harrigan... this is the back yard I awoke to Sunday morning, having had NO snow at all Saturday when I went to bed.

[RobinBat]

Your snow scape is very pretty but you may keep it there! I moved south to Florida for a reason, I HATE TO BE COLD! 

[roetta]

It poured rain here in San Diego yesterday. A full 24 hours of steady water falling from the sky. It's the closest we get to winter, which is just fine with me. I grew up in the midwest and do sometimes miss the seasons. I'll content myself with your beautiful pictures of snow; it's not as cold!! Hehe

[harrigan]

Kathy = yes please on the chicken soup, I'll expect you about 1pm.  Kettle will be on 

Linda - how beautiful!  Hope it has stayed so pretty and thankyou for sharing your back yard with me 

[Katybarstool]

Ailsa

Are you feeling any better today?

Kathyx

[harrigan]

Thanks Kathy, yes I am at last!  Slept without coughing fits most of the night and temperature back to normal again so I think I will brave it back to school tomorrow.  Thanks for asking XX Ailsa

[JannaLee]

Linda!
Such a gorgeous photo!

Janna

[Bucky]

Good morning from Central Illinois.  TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!  Thursday - Feb. 18, 2010

This post is for the 46 members who took part with me in our little 10 minutes / 30 day adventure back in the fall. 

Remember back in the fall when we collected leaves as they had changed colors and released their hold from the branches and fell to the ground?  Well, TODAY is the day to get those leaves out!!!   

I've had my leaves tucked between several pages of a book.  As I open the book and the pages where my leaves have been hibernating for the last three months I can "smell" fall.  I remember this smell as I picked up these leaves off the ground back in November.  I remember walking thru the piles of leaves on the ground that looked like a sea of oranges, yellows, reds and browns.  I love the sound of walking thru leaves.

I also got my camera out this morning and went back to the pictures I took of the trees in October and November - the trees were so pretty in their fall colors.  Such a dramatic difference from the bare branches I see today.  However . . . . before long, they once again will start producing new leaves - new beginnings and the cycle of life starts anew.

As you have read in my daily journal on our 30 day adventure - I like nature - the beauty of it's landscape and the creatures (animals) of this land.  They too - like us humans - have gone through some rough times these last three months.  Due to the extreme weather patterns this winter, some of the trees and bushes have broken limbs and branches, some have even died.  Some, we don't know yet if they will produce new life this coming spring.  Nobody - human mankind or the animals or nature can know 100% what tomorrow will be like.  What storms of life will come our way.  So live today - make the most of what life deals you today.  Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday!!  Live life well!!

I can't wait for the warmer weather to come so I can get outside again to take walks, listen to the birds and watch as nature transforms from the dry browns and yellows to fuzzy buds, lush green grass, tiny shoots of plants rising from the ground.  I promise . . . Spring is coming . . . it will be here before we know it.

Hmmm, perhaps we should all scoop up a couple of snowballs and keep them in the freezer to bring out in the heat of the summer to remind us that life goes on.  Yeah, I think we should do that!!   

Have a great day . . . keep the faith . . .  know that no matter how tough today might be in your health issues and this journey called life . . . tomorrow will be a new day.  Take one day at a time.

In 30 days Spring will officially be here!!  Yay!!   

Bucky


"We don't develop courage by being happy every day.  We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity."     Barbara DeAngelis, Ph. D.

[Joy Cox]

Hello from the foothills of TN    The birds are not feeding heavily today which leads me to believe the weatherman that  said on noon broadcast we may see SUNSHINE tomorrow and 40 is right.

Walked down to check pussywillow. Buds are beginning to 'swell' which means Spring is, as you say Bucky, probably 30 days away. Even a yellowish cast to forsythia. AND, the daffodils are are about 2 inches high.


BRING ON SPRING, IT WILL BE MOST WELCOMED AND A JOY FOR JOY!!!!


 

[Chickpea]

Hey Bucky

I got my leaf out from between the pages of last year's diary and memories came flooding back, just as you predicted they would.  Today's been grey and rainy here in Brighton, UK but yesterday we had glorious winter sunshine.  Blue sky and sharp winds but the most beautiful light.  We haven't had snow for a week but who knows what tomorrow will bring?!

We moved from our old family home into a flat/apartment last autumn and we overlook a park.  The branches of trees come close to our second floor windows, and squirrels and birds play nearby.  Now I have my powered wheelchair I'm planning some solo trundles in the park, and down to the seafront only 5 minutes away. 

Looking forward to hearing everyone's spring stories.

Love to all - Chickpea

[genko_b]

Here's what's going on in our corner of the country:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/genko_b/

I've been out in the garden every day for a couple of weeks now, clearing out last year's brush so the new plants can get through. We are a good 2 - 3 weeks ahead of usual here because of the warm weather, which is playing havoc with the Olympic games. I have my pea seeds ready to plant, along with some lettuces. On Monday I went for our weekly walk with my daughter and sister, and we ate our lunch outside in the sun!

It does make it easier to commit to the time outside.

Genko

[Bucky]

Genko - as usual, your pictures of your gardens are beautiful.  None of our spring flowers will be up for a couple of months yet. 

Thanks for sharing your photos.

Happy gardening this year.   

Bucky