After all this cold weather, the catnip is still green.  Gizmo's happy with that.  He still likes to roll in it, nibble at it, and sleep near it.  I think it's kinda stinky, but he loves it.

 

And it seems to be ok with the cold weather.  

 

I hope you are warm and happy.  

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

Yep, this is the trail.  Now you see why we needed resting rocks along the way.

 

Blood Mountain is a beautiful section on the Appalachian Trail.  In fact, it is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia.   The Appalachian Trail begins at Springer Mountain, Georgia, about 30 miles from this section.  We often meet through hikers in the spring on their way to Mount Katahdin, Maine.  That is the end of the 2,200 mile trail. 

 

Of course, we have no intention of through hiking, but it is always a happy day to hike this little bit of the Appalachian Trail.

 

 

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

I showed you the resting rock in our neighborhood last week.  Well, yesterday we hiked up Blood Mountain in Georgia and we stopped at all the good resting rocks.  This was our favorite.  It is a huge rock along the Appalachian Trail, and located at just the right place for a needed rest.  And best of all, there was a spot just the right height for me to park myself for a little rest.

 

It was a gorgeous day for a hike: 73 degrees;  it felt like May or June.  There were lots of folks on the trail, and we all had smiles on our faces.  

 

I hope your weather is nice right now.  I know there are lots of places where it is really cold;  and we will get that soon enough, but for now we are loving our warm December.  

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

You gotta have pie for Christmas dinner, right?  Well, we made blueberry pie.  This is how it looked ready to go into the oven.  It wasn't quite as pretty coming out, but I'm not going to show you that.  It spilled over a bit.  And once we cut into it, it wasn't all that pretty anymore anyway.  Sure was good, though.

 

Hope you did something fun for your Christmas dinner.

 

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

Who woulda thought that we would be planting anything on Christmas!!!  Well, here's the story:

 

Our neighbors planted raspberries years ago, and they took over their garden.  So this year they dug them out, and offered the canes to us to plant in our garden.  

 

So we made a Happy Christmas project of it.  The weather was perfect, 69 degrees;  so we planted 10 raspberry canes in our upper garden.  We mulched them well, and are hoping that they survive the winter.  

 

What a Happy Christmas indeed.

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

How about this for a cute Christmas memory.  

 

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL!!!

 

We went for a walk in the park on Saturday, and it was beautiful.  I think the temperature was about 55.  Pretty nice for the last day of autumn.  As we passed this American Beech, Jon mentioned how pretty the bark is:  it looks like camo.  It kinda matched his Mossy Oak hoodie, so I had to take their picture together.    

 

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

Look how beautifully the kale is holding up in the cold.  It is biennial, so it has to survive the winter in order to make seeds.  It looks pretty good so far.  I'll let you know if it makes it through the winter.  

 

But for now we can enjoy a bit of kale in salads, omelets, and on and on.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I went out to the garden to fetch a bit of kale for our Asian Cole Slaw, and noticed how beautiful the dinosaur kale is still.  I guess it doesn't mind the cold and the wind.  (Unlike the rest of us.)  ;)~

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

Picture borrowed from the Farmers Almanac.

 

Winter will arrive this morning at 10:03 EST.  It is the shortest day, and the longest night of the year. I know you know that already, but the Farmers Almanac has an interesting article on some fun rituals and practices surrounding the Winter Solstice.  Check it out:   https://www.farmersalmanac.com/winter-solstice-first-day-winter

 

 

HAPPY WINTER!!!