Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Thursday, December 19, 2013

Christmas Greetings From Tingsgrove...My Home~



From our family, and our little part of the world, to those who celebrate Christmas, and other holidays during this season of the year, we wish you a joy filled experience with family and friends!
The American Robins and other birds, have been busy eating up all sorts of berries the past several weeks.
The images below are of the train tracks that run the center of our Main Street. 
During the Light Up for Christmas festivities, it looks really pretty around town~

Remember to double click on the image, to view a larger slide show of the images shared
   
I will be linking up with Mary for:
"Mosaic Monday"


at:
 
 and
 I am linking up with Stewart at:
   Wild Bird Wednesday
(http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/)





December is a busy month for us...first is the husby's birthday on the 18 th, mine on 21 st, our 44 th wedding anniversary falls on the 22 nd and then Christmas...a fun filled week!
 


I have our Christmas tree adorned every year by the first weekend before Thanksgiving. 
If you are going to get all of the trimmings out, you might as well enjoy it for a while.  Everything is then put away the second weekend in January.
Top right is Meaka who just turned 6 on December 2. 
Our Silveit turned 11 months old on the 9 th...I told you it was a busy month ;) and then little Survhee Pipka turned 2 this past June~
 


When the Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers come to Tingsgrove...I really love it. 
They are such awesome birds and so pretty! 
This is the male tapping little holes, and then sipping out the sweetness of the sap~
 


The image below was taken through double plated glass in my father-in-laws Dogwood tree. 
He really enjoys the birds, especially the colourful male Cardinals.
I took the liberty of adding a touch of  hdr editing to this image and have since created some Christmas gifts using it~
 


This is the little female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. 
You can see the tiny holes that they tap...very un-intrusive to the trees and they heal over nicely after they are done~
 



One of our daughters has the loveliest Balsam Fir tree in her yard. 
I have placed a Cedar Waxwing and Downy Woodpecker in this mosaic~

 
 


More of the trees in my daughters yard ;)
 
 
 


This is our little family...the husby and myself, our 3 daughters, two with their spouse, and one with her soul mate, and our 5 grandchildren all decked out with using the fun editing tools from PicMonkey. 
 That was the greatest of fun when I got bored one day...placing hats on everyone~

 


A Red Fox Squirrel eating a Hickory nut at Cave Hill~




This is my beloved 90 year old father-in-law...Dr. William Rush Cromer...
I adore him and the feeling is mutual...
Dad suffers from short term memory loss and it is getting worse...quite sad, yet he is healthy otherwise~





This is the same Santi Ho Ho hat that the girls always placed on our hearth along with cookies and carrots as young children. 
They would hand the hat to their daddy as he was the elf on Christmas morning~


I cannot say enough about these wonderful Long Coat German Shepherds...
Outstanding dogs!



For all of the wild berries eaten by the wildlife in recent weeks, many still remain. 
Last week we had an icing and then snow and I got a few images to share in the red and green tradition of the holiday season.
You can see Honeysuckle berries, Holly, Fire Bush and Rose Hips.
Sweet blessings to all~





 

34 comments:

  1. the berries are beautiful subjects. your pups are gorgeous, of course. so glad you still have your dad. and loved the shots of the sapsuckers.

    merry christmas to you and yours, mary.

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  2. Thank you for these remarkable and beautiful "Christmas cards" Mary! I love everything about it. You have a beautiful family (including the dogs too of course) and it is a magical place where you live. Thanks for sharing it and Merry Christmas.

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  3. Mary, I so enjoyed seeing your photo collages today and especially your sweet family. A beautiful post. I wish you and your a blessed Christmas season. Merry Christmas! Warm hugs,
    Pamela

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  4. So beautiful and festive, Mary, even the birds are wearing their Christmas colors! Hope your Christmas is wonderful! God bless you.

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  5. Very nice set of bird and Christmas images! I envy you the snow!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

    PS: thanks for all the comments this year!

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  6. Your images and collages just never cease to amaze me Mary!! Your father is so sweet looking...sad about his memory loss, but still he's a loving man, no matter!! Love your santa hats on everyone. And I agree the sapsuckers are so very pretty!!! And being a cat lover myself, I can't help but fall in love with the Christmas kitty under the tree.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

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  7. Mary, Merry Christmas to you and your family! What a lovely post. So many gorgeous photos. I love the sapsucker and your beautiful dogs. Wonderful post! Enjoy your weekend!

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  8. A lovely selection of birds, dogs, human beings and the red berries, lovely time of year Mary.

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  9. Dear Mary,

    Firstly, celebrations are in order:

    Happy belated birthday to your husband!

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, TODAY!! All the very best in health and happiness and here's to more beautiful images that have your signature 'look!

    And, Happy Anniversary for tomorrow, enjoy your special day!

    All your photos today are excellent, as usual, but the snaps of your Santa hats on everyone made me smile with delight!! I had to look twice after reading that you had been playing around in Picmonkey and decided to place them on everyone! You are, obviously a seasoned stylist, in addition to all your other talents!

    I have so enjoyed visiting your beautiful blog the last few months, which is always full of inspiration, both from your pictures and words. Thanks for sharing all the splendour!

    Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and all the very best in the upcoming year!

    xo
    Poppy

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  10. You have given us a quite lovely posting today Mary. It is wonderful to see the pride you have in your family and the love that you all share. Your pictures and mosaics are just perfect for the seasonal greetings and best wishes you send. Love the hats - I had to do a double take before realising yours was not for real.

    Have a lovely festive holiday.

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  11. Beautiful picture, lovely family photos and the bird photography is great!!

    cheers from Greenville, South Carolina, :-)
    Michael
    http://michaelswoodcraft.wordpress.com/2013/12/21/winter-solstice-2013/

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  12. Wow thats a wonderful lot of celebrations to be had. I'm starting the campaign for an Aussie Thanksgiving, we need to have our trees up for longer and make it worthwhile!! Your tree is looking good, hope mine gives you a laugh! Perfect blog for me with all your impressive bird photos.
    Happy Christmas
    Wren x

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  13. Wishing you a wonderful holiday celebration.

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  14. Well Mary, you did an admirable job with PicMonkey, the family looks nice in their Santa caps. Happy birthday and anniversary together, 44 is a milestone to celebrate and in a couple of years we will too.
    Terrific mosaics as usual.
    Merry Christmas.
    Judith

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  15. I enjoyed all the photos that you showed us today. You placed them all so artistically into mosaics. So nice to see your FIL. He looks good. Wishing you all a blessed Christmas!

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  16. Everyone looks so cute in their Santa hats! Merry Christmas, Mary!

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  17. Your many mosaics are so cheery. Merry Christmas. Valerie

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  18. Beautiful birds.
    Merry Christmas!

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  19. I always look forward to your photos of birds and nature but it's so nice to see your family photos tonight, too! You have a lovely home and Christmas tree! Merry Christmas my friend!

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  20. Your photos are so lovely, and I really enjoyed seeing family ones interspersed with the wildlife and foliage.
    Merry Christmas, Mary, to you and yours.

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  21. Gorgeous images as always Mary. I really like the red berries amongst the snow. So pretty. And it is lovely to see you and your family. My mother-in-law is in the midst of dementia, so I understand the path you are walking at the moment.
    Oh, and happy birthday! My grandson was 7 on the 7th, and my husbands birthday is on the 19th, and my great-nephews on the 27Th.
    Have a wonderful Christmas, and thank you so much for all your support and comments over the past year. I really enjoy hearing from you and visiting your blog.

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  22. Mary ... belated Happy Birthday & Anniversary.

    Best wishes to you and all your family for a joyous Christmas .... Frank & Anita.

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  23. So many many beautiful photos! They are really a treat.

    Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  24. You post has made me feel even more Christmassy now. From Findlay

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  25. A very Merry Christmas !
    May the New year 2014 be a wonderful year for you.
    Myriam :)

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  26. Happy Christmas to you and your family. I love the hats you put on everyone - a very creative idea! Beautiful photos of the berries in the snow and all the birds, of course!

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  27. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

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  28. lovely snapshots Mary; my best wishes ...

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  29. Well Mary as always this is a pictorial and commentary delight. So many brilliant images, first off congratulations on the weeks celebrations to all........ than merry Christmas to you all..... then the Sapsucker images are just wonderful. And as for short term memory loss, well otherwise he looks like a fine fit and healthy man, good on him. Enjoy 2014

    Dave

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  30. Wonderful photos! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  31. Such a lovely and varied blog. Always such a pleasure to visit and read. Thank you Mary for sharing your world.

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  32. A really beautiful set of pics Mary, I don't know how you find the time, hope you are having a good one .
    All the best, Gordon.

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  33. Thank you for sharing the joys of the season with us as you experience them with your family and in nature. I love your first mosaic. It is one that I just had to enlarge just so I could enjoy every scene within.

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  34. So many beautiful photos! Love those ice ones! Happy New Year! Looks like everyone's having a great time!

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