I'm sitting in our living room right now looking out on a green world instead of a white one. Normally at this time of year we have 60+ inches of snow already, with temperature highs of 15-22 degrees, sometime with high winds. But not this year! So far we've had two small snowfalls, each about 1-3 inches, which melted by the next day. There is only one problem with this - the winter businesses are hurting. Our skiing, winter frolicking, and icy businesses are asking for a very white Christmas right now.
When it did snow, we had the largest snowflakes I've ever seen. Some of them were the size of quarters - see below!
We've had BEAUTIFUL fall weather - the kind of weather that we usually have in St. Louis - mid 40-50s (even as high as 60) during the day with mid 28-35 overnight...and low to moderate winds. Deer season here was easy for our hunters - most of them were in light jackets or shirt sleeves in their blinds and camps. With deer season over, we have had quite a few deer in our fields and yard.
Mark could have hunted from any room in our home - they are bold creatures as you can see. This young buck/doe was right outside our living room window, snacking on the trees and grass. Cleo sat, growling under her breath, watching from her seat on the window sill. They saw each other and just watched each other for quite a while.
Our girls and their families came to visit for Thanksgiving - what a lovely holiday! We lunched at the Four Season's Tea Room with Rory, Sophie, and Liam (we're hoping to include Claira next year) - it appears to becoming a tradition! Now we're looking forward to Christmas and the New Year!
I thought I'd share a great little item we found on one of our apple trees. I JUST finished canning our yearly applesauce and as I was prepping the apples, I ran into this little oddity - looks like a heart doesn't it? We had four of these - Siamese apples!
Soon, I'm sure, it will start snowing and not quit until mid April - maybe even May, so we are enjoying the mild weather while we have it...but it doesn't quite feel like Christmas yet. They are predicting snow for next Monday, but they say it will be another dusting. But I'm hoping for more than that - just don't tell Mark as he is the one that has to plow it with the truck.
Whatever the weather - we hope that this season of wonder and generosity gives you all the joy possible!
