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







Friday, December 4, 2015

Thanksgiving Done, Christmas On It's Way~




Those silly girls, what are they doing with Santi Hoho hats on anyway ;)  Their mommy was having too much fun using Pic Monkey again.  That is our Silveit who will turn 3 next month on the left and our Meaka turned 8 on this past Tuesday.  We love them so much~

I wanted to introduce you to my friend Peter Jones blog.  He works so hard to make such beautiful and interesting post shares and I think he deserves a few look-sees and then you decide.
http://spanishnature.blogspot.com/


Remember to double click on the first image, to view a larger slideshow presentation after you have read the narratives~

I will be linking up with Judith for:

www.lavendercottagegardening.com

&

Stewart for:
   http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/


&
Sylvia for:
Skywatch Friday



We had the tree on the left for a good decade and it had begun to lose way too many of it's little greenery and so last year, I pitched it and began the quest 2 months ago for a new one.  Oh My Goodness...sticker price wake up call!  The old tree was 7' and cost under $100.00 brand new.  The new one on the right is 9' and the sticker price was $596.00.  Ah but I got it at Belk for $219.00 including shipping and handling.  I had a couple of things that I had to work on once it arrived, such as section three had none working lights even after changing out bulbs.  Hence I had to un-wire a pre-lit and then use lights I had already and rework them in.  Then the lower branches just did not seem full enough.  You could see through the tree too much for my liking.  I purchased 24 of those long twigs and all was perfect after that~





Above a Red-tailed Hawk and below during the Thanksgiving Day holidays, my older daughter Hillary, her twin boys and my youngest daughter Ashleigh and her husby who were visiting from Florida, all went ice skating.  No I did not, do not, will not ever ;)
Oh and yes, that is a goat, she lives in the yard behind the ice skating rink~






An American Kestrel enjoying a tasty treat of a Grasshopper~




I had to go out early a couple of mornings and I became a sunrise chaser along with my two dogs.  Yes that is sunrise, not sunset, and it was glorious~




The image below, I tried placing on a different setting, but the truest colour was what you see above~


I have seen a bunch of Wild Turkeys in my life, but never had I seen one preening before, at least that I remember.  I could hear the strangest noise like someone raking leaves.  It turned out to be their tail feathers dragging the ground and making crispy leaf noises~







Part of the family and friends that came to our Thanksgiving Day brunch.  My daughter Ashleigh's husby, in-laws and sister-in-law, as well as Ashleigh and her friend Limor~



That kit-cat is my adorable Survhee Pipka, always fun to be around.  She has the most pleasant disposition, and Meaka with Silveit below~



Before Thanksgiving, we also had the pleasure of treating Miss Maci to a third birthday celebration.  That is my middle daughter Brittany and her family having a great time with our youngest grandchild~




Another American Kestrel posing for the camera as well as another sunrise, this time at Crystal Lake down the lane~




24 comments:

  1. Your girls are so beautiful. Have I mentioned I love twilight.

    Happy Friday 2 ya

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  2. lovely to see the pics of your family Mary. How lovely to have them with you for Thanksgiving. I think Thanksgiving is such a lovely tradition you have in your country. It seems, according to my American friend, that since it is a 4 day weekend it really is a family get together time that rivals Christmas Day which is only 1 day - whereas Christmas here is 2 - Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Oh, and those sunrises are stunning Mary. Have a lovely weekend ahead. xx

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  3. Bbbbbeauutiffuulll images Mary, the birds, your family, nature, sunsets and those dogs, their precious.

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  4. The turkeys, the hawk, the kestrel...all so gorgeous as are your sky shots. Wow. And the family portraits...can't get enough of those smiles and faces full of trust and wonder!!!

    Your furbabies are so darned pretty/handsome/gorgeous!!! Ho ho ho!!!

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  5. A beautiful series of photos! Love those sunrise shots. Have a nice weekend.

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  6. I always love to see Kestrels. Lovely images of the birds and everything else :)
    Have a great week ahead.

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  7. All very nice images, great family collages, spectacular skies!
    Happy weekend!

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  8. Oh, those dogs are adorable - and the girls too! Lovely sky shots.

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  9. So many great captures .... love your sky shots :)
    And your dogs are adorable!

    Happy weekend ..... Irene

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  10. How annoying. I was in the middle of typing a message when we experienced a power cut. Our neighbours 40 miles up in the lake District of NW England are far worse off with flooded homes, streets and major routes. Just 20 miles away in Lancaster City people are without electricity power for a day or more. All due to too much rain and too much Atlantic weather overwhelming our infrastructure. Such is life.

    Meanwhile the sunny days gave you wonderful views and pictures of Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels, not to mention those stunning sun-ups.

    I loved you photos from Thanksgiving where Silveit and Meaka almost stole the show from the family but your Turkey pictures reminded me that there really is a Wild Turkey.

    Have a lovely week Mary.

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  11. Hello Mary, I love your cute Santa doggies. The kiddies ice skating are awesome shots. Great captures of the hawk and the turkeys. Your family images are lovely. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

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  12. Beautiful images of kids and birds.

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  13. I am just astounded at your bird photos...incredible captures....and oh my what fun ice skating. I have had some sunrises like that too...just breathtaking as is that tree....popping over to your friends blog!

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  14. That is a beautiful red-tailed hawk caught in flight! And nice family photos. I can't believe the trouble you had with your new pre lit tree. I'm sure we would have a shock if we tried to buy a new tree. I sometimes wish we had a smaller one now but ours is really fine. Enjoy these festive days!

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  15. What a happy Thanksgiving you had. You have a lovely family. Your wildlife photography is stunning. Have a wonderful day.

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  16. Fun to see the family photos. Everyone looks so happy! And wonderful photos of the flying red-tailed hawk!

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  17. MAry All the images are marvellous and I had tolaugh at the dogs with this festive hats on

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  18. Wonderful collages and images, Mary! I love the in-flight shots of the hawk. And that penguin hat, lol, the girl's got taste :)

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  19. Gorgeous images Mary - your family is having a wonderful time by the looks of it - what lovely memories you are all making! I love the photos of the Kestrels, they are such beautiful birds, but sadly their numbers are declining quite rapidly over here - I wonder if ours are the same as the American ones - they certainly look it. Love the doggies - so cute and festive!

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  20. Wonderful mix of photos! And I never tire of seeing photos of your dogs. They are stunners. Sorry you had so much trouble with the new Christmas tree. Ugh.

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  21. Incredible photos! Love your pre-Christmas joy with pups, family & tree. Beautiful photos of sunsets and birds! Loved this festive post! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and will have a wonderful, very blessed Christmas, Mary!

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  22. What a fabulous set of photos!

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