A walk through the woods

BLUSHING WITH EMBARRASSMENT. The 11 year old that I watch fixed our t.v. See that little 'eye'. Well, it had fallen off the t.v. Which is why the remote wouldn't work....enough said. And yes, he is the genius he says and thinks he is...

OK - so I'm in a rut. I think it's the weather. And seriously, I'm tired of all these southerners being so happy about snow. What's the big deal? We've had it since November. OH I suppose if it got up to 60 - 70 degrees and sunny outside, I'd probably be all giddy about it and be outside posting about my happy sunshine days. But it isn't - and I'm not.

I'm tired of putting boots on every time I want to go somewhere. See the white streak on the boots? That's from the salt they put on the streets and parking lots.

I'm tired of the scarves, gloves, hats and heavy wool sweaters and coats.

I'm tired of adding layer after layer after layer of clothes just to go outside. But you have to because if you are going from outside to inside, such as grocery shopping, then you have to unlayer a bit or you get too hot. See my WIPS over to the bottom left of this pic. I really am working on them, but as I told 'places where grace is' I think being in a rut encompasses crafting too. It's hard to get in the mood to do anything.

So, on Tuesday I decided to take myself to our land. We have 37 acres of land that has trees and ponds. I know, how can I be in a rut? I sound like a spoiled, self-obsessed, brat. I don't mean to, I'm just trying to get myself out of this rut.

This is the road to our land during the snow storm on Tuesday. It was a bit scary and I probably shouldn't have been out, since the roads hadn't been cleaned off yet. Rebekah (the city farmgirl) couldn't believe we could get out during this weather. She's one of those southern gals having lots of fun in the snow! I had to explain that we don't have a choice. They don't close our towns down for snow, and if they did, we wouldn't have gone anywhere since November!

This is the entrance to our land. It is beautiful...

Just walk with me and enjoy nature...

What's this???

Footprints??? But they can't be...it's private property.

I followed them for awhile but they lead right to a tree. So I assume it was a squirrel. However, while following them, I stepped on the end of a stick and the other end popped out of the snow! Scared me to death and my heart started pounding! It's very quiet in a woods, during a snowstorm, when you are alone! Things popping up in the snow tend to be scary.

I just figured out why I'm in a rut. I was wondering if something was wrong with my camera...they all seem to be in black and white...I need color!

Now THIS made me laugh out loud. And my heart soared and I praised God right there in the cold rain/snow and thanked him for blessing me with our land. I'm a nature girl and I still can't believe we have this land. Do you see why it made me laugh out loud?

It's a C. For Cindy. Do you see it? Hey when you're in a rut, little things like this help.

See this...well it's a bunch of briars and multi-flora rose bushes. They have a beautiful bloom on them, but they are invasive and mean. Warning - stay away.

Who knew they'd be in my path. I think I can maneuver through....

Nope - this is where we scuffled. The rose won. They always do. As I'm walking, and almost made it through, it reached out and grabbed me on my backside and my head. I couldn't get away and before you know it I was all tangled up. I had to take my gloves off, which were wet, set my camera down, and take my coat off, somehow twisting it over my head to get out of it without ripping it. After about five minutes I got free.

And got all of my stuff back on. Gloves are hard to put on when they're wet by the way. Then just as I got everything back on and started to journey on, it got me again!

Then I got a bit turned around and couldn't find my path out. When it's fresh snow you can't really see the path.

So I kept walking....and this next picture. It's the pic I took as I stood there pretending to be enamoured with snow on the dead flowers, when the truth of it is...

I had to pee. You know the kind...you can't move, or walk, or you're gonna pee your pants.

So I finally start walking back to the car. As I'm heading back to the car I come across this tree we planted.

See the bottom of it. That's from hungry deer. Winter is hard on the wildlife too. Hmmm I wonder if animals get in ruts....

Walking back to the car...

More beauty...

I think I'll follow this plow home....My Dad always told me to follow the snow plow. I have a friend who followed one for hours and found out she was in a Wal-Mart parking lot! (sorry - I know - bad joke - but I thought it was funny)

Heading home, I made it!

Cindy Bee

Next post - I'm adding COLOR!