The storm that wasn't...

This was the scene at our little cottage yesterday... I'd made a quick run to the supermarket to pick up a few last minute items in anticipation of the major snowstorm due to start around noon. Schools had even cancelled classes the night before due to the dire predictions of driving conditions and anticipated downfall. I thought some fresh flowers would make the storm more bearable...


So I arranged these pretty pink tulips in a vase and set them on a table next to the family room window, just as the first little flakes starting to fall from the sky...


And while looking out the window, I noticed something else... Someone was admiring my tulip arrangement through the window... Here, let me get closer to the window and I'll show you.

Do you see him up there? He was clearly giving me a nod of approval....

I think he liked the bright pop of color from the tulips because everything outside had turned to shades of gray and white as the snow started.

Yup, he was definitely admiring the flowers through the window.

This is not the same hawk that has been visiting my yard lately. Although he looks large in these photos, he's quite a bit smaller than the large hawk that hangs around. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure he's even a hawk. I've heard what sounds like a falcon outside from time to time. Maybe someone with more expertise in identifying predatory birds will have a better idea? He finally got hungry and flew off in search of food, no doubt...

...which left the coast clear for Sammy to come out of hiding. He happily chowed down on peanuts I'd tossed out earlier in the day. Just be careful, Sammy. Mr. Hawk/Falcon was on the branch right above the old swingset you're sitting on!

Oh - and the storm? It fizzled out. Less than an inch where we live, and it didn't even stick to the roads.... A mere dusting.

Children: ecstatic at the no school or early release day...

Parents: not so much...
Weathermen/women: mea culpas

So today is sunny... I changed the tulip vase and had another visitor... I'll share that in my next post.


Donna

a game of cat and mouse...

...or in this case...

... hawk and squirrel. I've seen this big guy in our yard several times over the past few weeks, often because I hear the ruckus being raised by the crows. But this time, it was the frenzied scattering of birds from the window screen feeder that caused me to look out.

My worst fears... One of our Sammies, who are like our outdoor pets, was being swooped down on by the hawk. Luckily, Sammy was able to get away...

He hid out on top of the tree house...

...while Mr. Hawk hung out on the lower rung of the tree house after Sammy's great escape.

They stayed that way for quite some time before Sammy finally ventured into the trees. Mr. Hawk stayed on the treehouse a bit longer before spending some time on a fence post and then flying off...

This was the view out my window yesterday... the second snowfall in as many days.

I'm trying to live in the moment and enjoy the beauty of this latest winter storm... and I really do appreciate the cloak of white that covers every shrub and tree in our yard. It's breathtakingly beautiful. But that doesn't mean I can't be counting the days until little buds are bursting forth from those same shrubs and trees.... right?


Donna