My Country Life

I love this picture. I took it last February during a snow at the cabin. The picture captures only five, but there were dozens of cardinals outside my window, in the trees and on the ground—red jewels adorning the snow-covered woods. There’s no snow here now. Just soggy gray skies with the hope of clearing later today. I’ve been thinking about my hopes for the coming year. I won't bore you with the details of my 2015 goals. Suffice it to say that a renewed commitment to good health is at the top of my list, along with the continued pursuit of simplicity and avoidance of excessive consumerism, allowing time in my life for what matters most to me–family, friends, animals (especially dogs), and nature. Wishing you all a happy 2015—a year full of love, joy, peace and good health.

Merry Christmas, family and friends. I love creating my Christmas card every year -- selecting a favorite photograph or two, creating the card, crafting the message, and addressing each one. Signed, sealed and stamped with love – it's a Christmas wish, from my heart to yours. Whether taped to the fridge or the mantel, or simply tossed in a pile on the desk, a card sent the old fashioned way is sweetest. But it ain't happening for me this year! Here's the card I created in early November, just before I grabbed the tail of a tornado.

I was feelin' crafty over the weekend and made this sweet little wreath from muscadine vines that grow wild on my property. I spray-painted it white and added a burlap ribbon. LOVE IT! My sister has a small interiors shop in a nearby antique store, and I decided to make a few wreaths for her shop. I had so much fun! Creating the wreaths inspired me to write for my blog again. It's been a long time since I wrote just for the fun of it. Oh, I've been writing – grant proposals, white papers, market analyses, and other serious stuff. I enjoy business and medical writing, which is mostly what I do these days. I like learning about a new subject and find it very satisfying when I deliver a manuscript that meets a client's needs. But I'm experiencing a bit of a lull right now; that's the nature of freelancing. Sometimes there is too much work; sometimes there isn't enough. Rarely is it just right. It seems that every time I have more than a day or two of unc

Down by the creek, near where I cross every day on my walk, stands a huge sweet gum tree. For as long as I can remember, the tree has shown signs of disease – a big gaping hole at the base and fissures that extend up the trunk. Nevertheless, it reaches like a rocket, perfectly straight and taller than all the others. A while back, in the dead of winter, I noticed a raccoon had crawled inside the den at the base of the tree and died. She had probably lived there her entire life. But on this day, upon returning from her nightly hunt, exhausted, she laid down for an eternal rest. It snowed soon after, and each time I passed I thought of her. When the snow melted, I left her undisturbed and covered her with leaves and dirt.

Those daffodil bulbs that I transplanted from LaMama's last year are coming up. I had forgotten all about them, so I was delighted when I noticed the sprouts. Especially since it's the first warm, sunny day we've had in a while. A week ago I was frantically wrapping pipes and preparing for the coming winter storm; today I'm sitting on the porch, without a jacket, enjoying this tease of spring. All those people who laughed at us and how we can't handle snow aren't laughing now, are they? Of course, I was in the country for the snow so I missed out on all the craziness in Atlanta. I felt for all my Atlanta friends; I've been there for plenty of icy events over the years, and it can be really scary. Since this one hit in the middle of the day, it made it even worse. Out here in the country, it was just pretty. I stayed home, sat by the fire working, and waited for it to pass. I haven't written for this blog in a while. I've been busy with writin