SUNSHINE AND BLUE SKIES ALMOST BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES

FROZEN WATER PUDDLE EARLIER THIS MORNING

Without a hint of wind I felt Old Sol’s warmth on my left cheek as I walked south along a marsh trail on this cold December morn.  Pheebs and I were again at one of our favorite Hullett Marsh spots and morning’s sunrise still low on the horizon sparkled off Whistler Pond’s ice covered waters.  Not a sound in the air not a movement anywhere.  We were alone and it was my kind of a quiet early morning walk. 

ON THE WAY TO THE MARSH I BEGAN TO SEE A FEW DABBLES OF SUNLIGHT AS SKIES BEGAN TO CLEAR

HEADING INTO THE HULLETT MARSH ON A SERVICE ROAD

WE HEAD OFF ATOP THAT DYKE TO THE RIGHT AND WALKED UNTIL WE WERE OUT OF SIGHT OF THE JEEP

FROZEN PUDDLE

WHISTLER POOL WAS COMPLETELY COVERED IN ICE

THE SHADOW COWBOY EVEN MADE IT INTO THIS PHOTO

I DIDN’T SEE THE TWO BALD EAGLES UNTIL LATER WHEN I EDITED THE PHOTO

Our sunroom faces more south than west and how nice it was to feel this afternoon’s warm Sun pouring through the windows.  And how nice to look out those big windows and see our front yard free of snow again and looking so green.  Looked and felt very much like one of those early Spring days we Northerners all look forward to.

PHEEBS SOAKS UP SOME AFTERNOON SUN

NICE TO SEE SUNLIGHT SPLASHING ACROSS MY CAMERA BESIDE ME ON OUR COMPUTER DESK

YESIREEEEEE IT’S A BLUE BLUE SKY OVERHEAD TODAY:))))))))))))))

LOOKING MORE LIKE APRIL THAN DECEMBER

WINTER’S GREEN

Being so nice out Pheebs and I once again had ourselves another afternoon walk around our Park's pine tree trail.  Aside from a few scurrying Squirrels there wasn't too much movement anywhere.  So nice to see sunlight slanting down through our tall pine trees casting shadows across the forests golden pine needle floor.  Knowing these sunny days will not last I'm trying to appreciate and enjoy their true beauty for the short time they are with us.

HI-HO HI-HO IT’S OFF TO THE FOREST WE GO

LONG AFTERNOON SHADOWS

WATCH YOUR STEP NOW AND DON’T TRIP OVER THE SHADOWS

SO HAPPY TO SEE BLUE SKIES HANGING AROUND FOR THE REST OF THE DAY

Weather people are calling for a mixture of sun and cloud over the next 3 days so we’ll see if that really happens.  As I post this tonight temperatures are at 34F and I can clearly see a half Moon peeking down through our tall pine trees.

GROANERS CORNER:(( A Few Old Words and Phrases from our Past::

Mergatroyd!... Do you remember that word? Would you believe the email spell checker did not recognize the word Mergatroyd?
Heavens to Mergatroyd!  The other day a not so elderly lady said something to her son about driving a Jalopy and he looked at her quizzically and said "What the heck is a Jalopy?"  She knew she was old but not that old. 

Back in the olden days we had a lot of 'moxie.' We'd put on our best 'bib and tucker' to' straighten up and fly right'.  Heavens to Betsy! Gee whillikers! Jumping Jehoshaphat! Holy moley!  We were 'in like Flynn' and 'living the life of Riley'', and even a regular guy couldn't accuse us of being a knucklehead, a nincompoop or a pill. Not for all the tea in China!

Back in the olden days, life used to be swell, but when's the last time anything was swell?
Swell has gone the way of beehives, pageboys, spats, knickers, fedoras, poodle skirts, saddle shoes and pedal pushers...AND DON'T FORGET.... Saddle Stitched Pants.
Oh, my aching back! Kilroy was here, but he isn't anymore.  We wake up from what surely has been just a short nap, and before we can say, Well, I'll be 'a monkey's uncle!' Or,  This is a 'fine kettle of fish' we suddenly realize everything is Hunky Dory.

We discover that the words we grew up with, the words that seemed omnipresent, as oxygen, have vanished with scarcely a notice from our tongues and our pens and our keyboards.
Poof, go the words of our youth, the words we've left behind. We blink, and they’ve vanished.
Where have all those great phrases gone?
Pshaw, The milkman did it. Hey! It's your nickel. Don't forget to pull the chain. Knee high to a grasshopper.  Well, Fiddlesticks! Going like sixty. I'll see you in the funny papers. Don't take any wooden nickels. Wake up and smell the roses.

It turns out there are more of these lost words and expressions than Carter has liver pills. This can be disturbing stuff! ("Carter's Little Liver Pills" are gone too!)  We of a certain age have been blessed to live in changeable times. For a child each new word is like a shiny toy, a
toy that has no age. We at the other end of the chronological arc have the advantage of remembering there are words that once did not exist and there were words that once strutted their hour upon the earthly stage and now are heard no more, except in our collective memory. It's one of the greatest advantages of aging.
Leaves us to wonder where Superman will find a phone booth...See ya later, alligator!
Okidoki….After awhile Crocodile……………..

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A Pet’s Christmas Card::

We, your cats,
at Christmas say,
Thanks for caring
for us each day.
We love this season,
all green and red,
And by the way,
the hamster’s dead.

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