Oh Ale, you two timing rascal. How could you do this to me?? I found this bottle cap at the bottom of a lake in a state park in Indiana. Loved the color and most of all loved the name! I need to do a little research to see if Two Hearted Ale is still around!

We are not sure how much more winter this guy can handle! Just going outside to take care of business presents quite a challenge-especially when short legs break through the crusty snow. All a fella can do is take a nap to recoup one's strength-but wait a minute-I could take the exact same picture with the same pose in the summer months

Okay Mother Nature---all is forgiven. After your spectacular sunrise made our area look like a crystal ice palace, we are back on good terms. Now, if you could just make the fallen limbs disappear!

If we did something to offend you Mother Nature, we are sorry---honestly! The ice storm passed through last nite depositing almost an inch of slipperiness on everything--and down came limbs, trees and power lines. After that storm left this morning, the snow storm started and we will probably have 4 inches before all is said and down. AND THEN, 2 days of clear weather before another storm rages in. I consider myself very lucky however---our trees are all standing and we have electricity(and heat). And we are staying put inside tonite!!

I am testing out the blogging capability of a new phone. My blackberry died-except for the alarm and it rings but I can't turn it off! So judging by this ice storm, it is a good day to sit inside and play. Although I just realized this picture has made a liar of me because I do have one more Christmas lights still up-but it is on the backside of the house and looks so pretty in the snow-and ice!

Is this a sign of Spring or a sign of laziness. The LAST of the Christmas lights are down from outside. To be fair--to myself---these lights were on an evergreen by the pond and I purposely left them up in case we did any night time ice skating. However, when we were actually able to skate at night---the extension cord was buried in the snow and we never turned them on!

Everyone around here has Spring Fever today---the sun is out, the temp is in the 50's and the wind is gusting! My friend wants to go to a restaurant with a patio and my husband wants to go for a bike ride. I am keeping a level head and know that wind has brought the chill factor down to the 30's so I am staying inside and knitting. I did, however, finish a great pair of socks. Striped! Made with some incredibly soft yarn given to me for Christmas by someone who knows I love the Ohio State Buckeyes. It is always a great feeling to finish a project----especially when there are more projects in the queue and ready to go.

We have revived the annual "throw the old Christmas tree on the pond" tradition which leads to the "guess what date the old Christmas tree will sink" lottery tradition. Try and contain your excitement. All for a good cause because when the tree actually settles on the bottom, it becames a refuge for the smaller fish to hide from the bigger fish. Stay tuned for progress reports.

Whether you be human or canine, I hope you found a special treat for yourself on this Valentine Day. And hopefully you are surrounded by people who you love and who love you back!

I should have cleaned my house this weekend---and laundry and balanced the checkbook. Instead, Saturday was sunny and relatively warm so my Valentine and I packed up our snowshoes and headed to a local metropark and hiked for the morning. I know I said I was tired of snow pictures, but these deer were irresistable. They were all sunning themselves on the side of a hill and watched us hike into the woods and were still there on the way out.

So-Good Slow-Cooker Recipes: Wild Rice and Chicken Soup

It is that soup-time-of year and my crock pot is one of my best friends. I found this recipe in my Midwest Living magazine and it is EXCELLENT!!!!!!! I attached the link-click the title and it will take you to the recipe. What could be better than coming home and smelling dinner already made and cooking----and delicious!. What is better than that? Well, maybe finding a care package from California containing Whipped Cream flavored Vodka--but that is another story!

So-Good Slow-Cooker Recipes: Wild Rice and Chicken Soup

I had my Sharpie markers out today and when I glanced down at the pile of them, I liked what I saw. So I posed them and played with them and bundled them-----and finally took a picture. Because truth be told-----I have done all I care to do with snow this year. I have skied in it, shoveled it, snow shoed in it---shoveled it some more and photographed it and now I am ready for color. Bold splashes of color---daffodils, hyacinths, forsythia--you name it!

I find it interesting that our little corner of NW Ohio produced two major players in yesterday's Super Bowl---and----we saw both of them play during their high school years-thanks to the 2 young men in the picture. When our oldest son was in high school, we heard a lot about a young man that was playing football for Fremont Ross High School and his name was Charles Woodson. We saw him play at our local high school stadium and he was a stand-out. When our youngest son was in high school, his high school team was in the play-offs and they played a high school from Findlay Ohio with a young man named Ben Roethlisberger on the team. If I recall, we were more impressed with Charles Woodson than Ben! And on a further note---we also saw a young man named Lebron James from Akron Ohio play in a high school tournament at the University of Toledo and I still have that program with his name listed!

A herd of humans looking at deer--

A herd of deer looking at humans---

Another winter weekend--another snowstorm and another winter outing. This time we visited Sidecut Metropark that we rarely get to on foot. It winds along the Maumee River and the group of 8 of us and our snowshoes had a great afternoon. Actually, we went looking for coyotes and although we didn't see any we did see a lot of deer---we observed them and they observed us as these pictures show.

The best cure for "cabin fever" is to get outside and so------I did! This time on cross country skis. Yesterday the park was closed to autos so today the snow was pristine and glittery in the snow---with all kinds of animal tracks. Deer, rabbit, birds, and some very interesting unidentified tracks. And when I left there was a new track--------2 parallel ski trails!!

The Great Winter Storm of 2011 roared through last nite and depending who you talk to it was either "not as bad as they said" or "wow that is a LOT of snow". We are in a Level 3 snow emergency and I have a snow day from work(a little unusual when you work in a hospital). I was out taking pictures and it is over my boots with some ice and LOTS of drifting and still snowing. There was a lot of talk about the way people shopped and stocked up and I will confess to putting extra food and water in my refrigerator--not because we would be snowed in but in case we lost electricity with the ice. And I know of people who shopped for the elderly who definately would be snowbound. So what to do with my snow day? Knit, read, snow shoes, watch one of my favorite movies-Tombstone, drink tea-------perhaps a nap?

We are experiencing the beginning of a huge winter storm. People have been preparing for the last 3 days and now the grocery shelves are depleted, the gas pumps are empty----and the snow has started. Any picture I could post of this would be dull----the wind, the wood piled up or the snow drifts. Instead I will post a picture of my favorite shoes-----I have a feeling I may be using these snow shoes in the next few days and besides they are a lot of fun. This picture was taken on an outing to Maumee Bay State Park last Sunday---when the temp was a lot more enjoyable, the wind wasn't blowing and the sky was blue.