Christmas lights are up at the Post Office - wonderfully reflected through the rain in this black truck at dusk.

No photo today - the daylight hours are so short, I am often caught by darkness before I remember to take out my camera.

But we were in Seattle most of the day, and I was doing the driving, so not much time for photography anyway. David got his stomach feeding tube removed - Yay! He hadn't used it since September, so it was finally time for it to go. Very simple process, and he feels much better being able to move normally again.

Another birthday gift is this shadow box, created by my sister Cris. It is a little view of the forest floor in the woods where our parents live, and where we grew up. She dried the moss, then added beech leaves, blossom stalks and nut shells, acorns and other twigs. It's a wonderful keepsake, and yes, it really does look like that!

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2010

 Today is my birthday! Cory gave me this pretty topaz necklace - for those who don't know, topaz is the November birthstone.

I also received some gifts from the kitty, Pallo - first, a Golden-Crowned Kinglet (itty bitty bird) and then a vole. Both were presented with glee, then he proceeded to enjoy them much more than I did.

 Yesterday started very cold and snowing again. It warmed up a bit during the day, and rained in the evening. All the snow was gone - poof! - just like that. So glad to know that I won't get stuck in the driveway again soon!

But, with a little bit of clearing today, another storm is blowing in. It's not as cold, so at least no more snow. The clouds were racing in layers over Mutiny Bay.

When I got back from the beach, it started to rain, while the sun was low enough to peek out from under the clouds. A pretty rainbow, and in the other direction, the sun had colored the clouds a bright yellow. Interesting sky.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2010

 Thanksgiving Day - Jon and David in the kitchen, and the whole gang at the table.

Greg, Russ, Janice, David, Cory, Jon, Barb, Carol and Marjorie.

We have a lot to be thankful for this year!

 It's still very cold, and cloudy, but no more snow. What's here is not exactly melting, but it seems to condense a bit.

 Made a quick foray down into the woods, where the forest floor was covered in critter footprints. Fun to follow and try to decipher - this log seemed to be really popular, and I don't know if some of those prints are a combination of several animals, or if there is some large and alarming beast in the swamp!!

Well, back to the pond - a layer of ice, still with some snow on it. Clumps of snow still cling to branches and leaves, too. Driving is a real thrill!

 Icicle dripping at sunset.

 Pallo is a curious kitty.

 A leaf from the willow tree - after the snow stopped, we had a lot of wind. The snow around the trees was littered with their leaves.



 Well, the promised snow storm finally began after 7:00 this morning, but then it snowed thickly until around 2:00, so we ended up with almost 2 inches. Pallo's trying to act nonchalant, but I've noticed he's been indoors all day . . .

 And the holly - very Christmas-y now, isn't it?

The brave willow was just starting to turn golden - now it will likely just drop it's leaves unceremoniously.

In the 20 years we've been on this property, the many native holly bushes rarely had many berries, mostly because they're in the woods, and don't get enough light. So imagine my delight to find a couple of large bushes fairly loaded with berries this year, and handily located at the edge of the lawn, to boot! It will be fun to decorate with them. And, it seems odd, because most of the other fruit-producing trees and shrubs did not do well this year.

 Heard a bunch of noise out there in the late afternoon. It was owls - lots of them! In the trees near the house, two were calling constantly, and being answered by at least two more from further away - and in different directions.

 So, again apologies for the blurry photos - some I took in the low light by hand, but when they didn't show any sign of leaving soon, I fetched my tripod, and got the one above, but he is partly obscured by the branches.

I had thought they were the barred owls that nest in the swamp, but after looking at the photos, I see they are great horned owls! Rather large and threatening-looking, but not overly disturbed by my presence. At first both of them were side by side in one tree, looking at each other each time they called.

 More wind and rain today - the wind gusts finally died down without taking out the power, but the rain has been steady and very wet.

As I hiked to the pond to haul water for flushing toilets, this Japanese maple still had a few very red leaves left after the high winds. Of course, the power came back on shortly after I hauled two loads of water . . .

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2010

Well, just when I was thinking about photos for today, the power went out! So, here's how the evening went. We had a freak windstorm - over 200,000 houses were out of power overnight, so you can see it was exciting. Ours was out 12 hours, but I fear some folks may be out for a couple of days. Always a good time! We keep water, candles and flashlights handy, so it's no big deal. Kind of peacful, in fact.

 Loved the juxtaposition of the yellow maple leaves and the blue hydrangea. Signs of fall.

This morning a red-tailed hawk was wandering around in the middle of our yard - she must have had a kill there, although I didn't go out and look. It always seems odd to see a large bird of prey walking around on the ground.

Sorry for the fuzzy photo, it was later in the afternoon, getting dark already! But Pallo was running around outside like a think possessed, chasing rocks and twigs and in general having a grand old time. I caught him as he paused by the willow tree, turning to scowl at me!

 I have another work of art from my Photo Art Journals group on Yahoo. This one is themed "Roads, Trails & Pathways", and there was as always a wide interpretation of the theme. Some very good quotes and writings, too.

 On these pages, the upper right and lower left are a couple of my photos - in this book, I contributed 3 pages, which is 6 photos. I always have such a hard time choosing . . .

This is the sweet little cedar necklace pouch I received in the Basket Guild's gift exchange last night. It was actually a find in a thrift store, but is obviously well-crafted, with pretty patterns in the cedar bark. I may do something different with the beaded necklace part, though. For the exchange, we put numbers on our gifts, then drew numbers out of a bowl to see which one we would get. Well, everyone drew their numbers, but there was one gift left! And, it was the one I brought! The little willow bark basket. It just so happened that Ginnie was the last person to draw her number, so they gave her the choice of gifts, and I whispered to her that was mine, so she took it. I was tickled that she got my basket, and she was very pleased with it too. We always like a happy ending.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2010

 Waiting for the ferry - a sunny day, except for some fog at the water. The ferry boat bursts out of the fog, approaching the dock.

 I met up with my friends Ginny and Sue at the Univ. of Washington, to visit the Burke Museum Weaving exhibit. Since the parking lot was full, we had to park on the other side of campus, but it was so pretty out, it was a pleasure to walk through. Above is the view from Red Square - it was designed to frame Mt Rainier, which you can see surrounded by more fog, beyond the fountain.

 I think this area is the 'Quad' - a wide grassy avenue, bordered by two rows of ancient flowering cherry trees, pretty in the fall, but stunning in the spring when they're blooming.

 Denny Hall, the oldest building on campus.

Sue and Ginny looking at NW native cedar hats and masks.

Favorite spot - sitting up on the deck surveying the yard below, which is a favorite area for the bunnies and birdies to wander around. Apparently the tall grass also harbors many of the rodents he brings home, too.

 Well, I finally did something with that willow bark I harvested earlier in the summer. This is a little basket, about 3" high. The basket is twined with the inner bark of the willow, and the rim is a strip of outer bark. The cord is bark that I spun and plied, which I also used to tie the acron shells on. It was fun to do, and I'll have plenty of experimenting to do!

 The birch trees along the driveway are showing off - both photos are showing the same tree, in fact. Spider webs are succombing to the rain and wind . . .

Mr Fuzzytoes! Jon says when he got him from the pound, they thought he might have some Maine Coon cat in him. Reckon so . . .

Our clear weather has generated an amazing amount of dew.

Sunrise turns our lawn into a bejeweled treasure!

The spider webs are hidden until the dewdrops betray their presence.

And the first of the shaggy manes has popped up - we have a little area right outside the back door where they appear every fall. Yum!

Tiny sliver of moon in the early morning sky, hidden then revealed by swift-moving lightly tinted clouds.