Where's Waldo?

  Or in this case...

... where's Baby?

Just like her big sister, Tiger, way back in 1994...

 (btw, Tiger is now 21 years old and still going strong!)...

... Baby has discovered, and developed a fondness for ...

... the highest spot in the house.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised...

Norwegian Forest cats love to climb and be up high according to every article I've ever read, including this one,

 "One thing that is an absolute necessity if you own a Forest Cat is some kind of climbing device. They like to be up high to survey their kingdom."

And this one:

  "Norwegian Forest Cats love to be up high, and appreciate a cat tree or somewhere they can roost." 

I'm actually surprised it took this long for her to discover the beams. We're going to try to rearrange some of the furniture to hopefully discourage this habit. As much as she loves being sooooo high, it makes me a nervous wreck, worrying about her falling.

While taking photos of Baby, I decided to take a few photos of our  little backyard through the FR windows.

The the trees are almost completely bare of all their leaves...

... except for a few hardy survivors...

... who continue to hang on, probably until our next rain or wind storm.

At least there's not been any snow yet!
Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Donna

I'm joining Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday this week.

Vintage Mary Garden Statuary and the Flowering Cherry Tree

I'm sharing mostly photos of our cherry tree today...

...because before long, the blossoms will be but a memory.

The yard is carpeted, as it is every year, with pink cherry blossoms.

Just a couple of days ago there wasn't a single blossom on the ground.

What a difference a day or two makes.

My beautiful vintage Mary garden statuary stands under the cherry tree, watching over our small backyard and all the creatures who visit; in this instance, the Sammy who is up on the deck and the male hummingbird on the feeder.

Some ground cover that we planted last year has come to life.

Spring is such a beautiful time of year.

Here's Sammy visiting the bird bath.

From the street leading up to our house, you can see the flowering cherry tree spreading out over the stockade fence.

The oak trees always take a bit longer to leaf out.

You can easily spot the cherry tree from the DR window when it's in bloom.

The pink is more striking than it shows in these photos.

This past winter, I wasn't sure if we'd ever see green again.

(photo altered using watercolor filter)

Welcome, beautiful Spring!

I'm joining Cindy at My Romantic Home this week for Show & Tell Friday.

Donna

Room with a view...

...if you're looking for a view of snow that is!

We were supposed to get about another 6" of snow today.

Wrong!

I think we got more like a foot on top of what we already have (which is a lot!).

A sweet mourning dove on the screen feeder outside the window. 

I continuously brushed snow off  the feeder all day. One time alone it had about 6" on it.

The little side window of the bay window looks out on the garden gate and arbor, always a favorite place for the birds to hang out as it's in close proximity to the screen feeder. I can't wait to see how the honeysuckle I planted beside the arbor does. I know the clematis will come back strong, as it always does, but hopefully I'll be able to watch hummers at the new vine come May or June!

Mr. Cardinal braved the snow to feed several times today...

... as did Mrs. Cardinal, whose body is twisted here. She did, indeed, have tail feathers!

Almost every time I looked out... 

...there was someone waiting to hop on over to the feeder.

I think these little darlings will be even more happy than I will be to see spring.

What a brutal winter it has been for those who live out in the elements.

Lucky for Baby, she is an indoor kitty.

On cold days like this, she loves to lay in front of the living room bay window on top of the apothecary chest. The heating vents are on the floor right by chest so she gets a regular stream of toasty warm air on her furry little feet.

Today's storm lasted from morning to this evening...

...  and we're due to get a couple of more inches of snow tomorrow.

This winter is a throwback to the kind of snowstorms we had when I was a kid growing up in New England. I left for a few years in the late 70's, but when I returned to New England in the very early 80's we had tons of snow every winter. (I missed out on the Blizzard of '78, the snowstorm to end all snowstorms!)

Then in the mid 80's and for many years afterwards, we had pretty wimpy winters by New England standards... more fog and rain than snow it seemed. So this year has been more like the winters I remember from years gone by.  And while I love the nostalgia of these storms and the memories they bring back, I am soooooo ready for spring!

Stay safe and warm wherever you are!

Donna

A Winter Wonderland...

 Since I posted last, we've had quite a few snowstorms here in New England.

In addition to the snow, we've had bitterly cold temperatures like much of the U.S.

Here are some snow snippets as seen through the windows of our little house.

In about four months time there will be flowers hanging from the tree house...

... and flowers planted in the shed's window boxes.

The clematis that covers the arbor will be in full bloom...

... as will the clematis that climbs the lamppost by the front path

(not even visible due to the accumulation of snow from the last storm).

Come May, the hoppa crab trees will be covered with heavenly pink blossoms...

... and annuals will be planted in the whiskey barrel next to the maple tree.

I got hit with the flu after the holidays. It came on so suddenly and it took over a week before I started to feel like myself again. I wouldn't wish it on anyone!

The nighttime temps have been single digits lately. It's 8 degrees outside right now.

I'm counting the days 'til we hit double digit temperatures for a full 24 hours!

I'm joining Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday this week.

Stay warm everyone!

Donna