These are a few of my favorite things......

Sort of makes you want to break out in song, doesn't it?!  hehehe

I was chit chatting with Lola today.  I had strapped on the snowshoes today (thanks Greg) and picked up the walking poles (thanks Jon and Sarah) and journeyed out in the snow. On the way out to the woods I told her how she is one of my favorite things about my yard. She told me she already knew that, and  so I pushed off and walked over by Jacpot to give him a little rub on the nose!  Another one of my favorites things.

Lola is admittedly a little jealous of Jacpot as I talk to him at least twice a day, but she will get over it!  :)

So, this was the theme that I settled on for my photo-taking. Favorite things.  It was one of those days that I photographed nothing new, nothing totally special, but still got some really nice pictures...   of some really great stuff!

Favorite tree!

Abandoned houses- deserving of preservation

Favorite abandoned house- the stone house. 

Ghost house outlined against the trees

I love these landmarks on my walking paths.....  the seasonal changes happen so gradually, and there is beauty in all of the times of the year.

Textures in nature are definitely some of my favorite things- the cool, white, glistening snow, the soft golden grass, the persistent greens of the conifers.  All beautiful things that are easy to overlook.

I absolutely love the way that snow outlines the branches of trees, and it is a hard thing to capture the look that I want.  These two pictures come kind of close, even though not quite like I envision.

Little cabin in the woods was looking quite fetching today, especially that nice reflection in the window!

A favorite thing of mine is to try and find unusual vignettes that might be overlooked, or trying to see things from a different point of view or angle.

Love the landscapes- try to always find a little different angle on the usual.  Another favorite thing of  mine is the blue sky and sun!!

I would be remiss if I didn't include my girl, Lola!  This pic is from last weekend, she only has slightly less snow on her hat now!

Of course this is not an exhaustive list of my favorite things, but what I came across today.  Tomorrow will hold another adventure, another walk, another chance at a photo opportunity, another joy-filled day.

Until next time, be a joy giver!!

Landscapes in the north and the south

I found a bunch of snow pictures from New Year's Day on my camera, didn't realize I hadn't downloaded and edited them!  It was a gorgeous day, too bad I was feeling lousy!  So I have here a combination of winter in the north and winter in Janesville.  I went on a walk/run both Saturday and Sunday mornings while visiting Jon and Sarah this weekend, and they live very near a really nice bike/hike trail system.  It is an interesting combination of city and country, old and new!  There are some old ramshackle buildings right next to a complex of stores and shops, and mix in some cornfields and you have a feast for the eyes.  

I love how the south has the ubiquitous corn cobs laying around everywhere, parallel in many ways to the pine cones up north!  I love seeing these similarities and relish their differences!

Yellow birch textures-beautiful colors, too

Nature's shelving units

GORGEOUS sunrise on New Years Day

Early morning light on Labrador drive

Old building on the Ice Age Trail

"dragon"

Hawk of some sort- redtailed?

Hot air balloons over Janesville

frost on the corn cobs

Frost remnants

Old and new

HAHAHA, back to the north!

Lola is all cold and snowy again!

New Year's Day

Hope you were able to find some beauty in your life today-- And a bit of joy!

Late Christmas celebration...

So the party has finally ended.  We had our final Christmas celebration this weekend, and I think a great time was had by all!

Mike and I drove down to Jon and Sarah's Friday afternoon to prepare for the annual Kutz celebration!  Jon and Sarah provided the location and I provided the pulled pork!  And everyone one else brought along multitudes of delicious dishes that we overindulged in.

Host and hostess with the mostest!

Jon was gracious enough to shred the pork for me!

Such a cute house and cute couple!

We exchanged gifts first, before the rest of the crew got there!  Jon and Sarah were not up for Christmas, since we were going to be at their house this weekend.  Oh, the Mad-Accountant did not attend, as tax season is already underway!

Mike and Greg with their tip-ups from Jon and Sarah

Jon and Sarah and their stash

Here is some of the entertainment for the day!  Bella is my nephew Eddie's little girl (my brother Ed's granddaughter) and Lucky is my sistah's new puppy.  Then there is Emily- our little sweet-pea!  Only she is so grown-up now, she really blends in with the rest of us!

Bella

Bella and Lucky

Emily!

Emily and Lucky

A fantastic feast!!

Darlene, Ed, Bella and Mike

Jeff, Greg, Jon and Bill

Rose, Lucky and Bella

We play a dice game instead of exchanging presents- we buy a bunch of random things, wrap them up and then shake dice for them.  It can get quite interesting, especially if there are alcoholic beverages involved!

Dice shaking crew

Things get heated during the game!

Then the grandkids exchanged "white elephant" gifts- something they didn't want at their house.  It was an interesting array of times that everyone ended up with.

It was one of those really nice days when everything was just right!  An easy day to find your joy!!