Yesterday, I made lists, started gathering some things together, cleaned and generally waited for the UPS truck to bring 5 packages to my door. It’s the Christmas season, however, and UPS is busy. So my favorite driver didn’t arrive at my door until 8:30 pm. Yikes! They work long hours at this time of year.
Along the way, I walked into the kitchen and saw this right outside the kitchen door:
This little one was smack dab in front of the now dead zinnias. Very close to the house. This is why I leave all those plants where they were when the season changed. Birds and animals need them.
I took all of these photos from behind the window in the kitchen door.
He was chomping on some grass on the edge of the chicken wire fence garden and then he looked right at me. (I was inside, of course. If I’d opened the door I would have scared them away.)
There was another deer up in the woods and one near the shed. Four of them.
They are so beautiful.
Oh good. You can see my old vacuum next to the shed (hidden from the road, I assure you) that will soon be on its way to the dump. It bit the dust and I got a new one last week. Oh, and my broken fan. They look like some sort of strange sculpture, rising out of the snowy landscape.
Soon we’ll be putting old sofas and rusty automobiles out on the front lawn.
I was able to get a better photo of the sansevieria flowers. Aren’t they pretty? They sure smell good!
A quick photo of the cottage porch wrapped in Christmas lights. It was actually too dark by the time I took this, so I’ll work on getting another shot at dusk.
Today? Lots of running around, buying what I need to take with me (except for perishables) so that I can start crossing things off my list.
It’s crazy time. And I’m going to miss my husband and sweet cottage – I can already feel it.
Happy Wednesday.
Such pretty animals! We don’t seem to have the number around that we have had in past years, but then again our apple crop was very small compared to prior years…perhaps they have found better feeding grounds. I miss seeing them.
They sort of disappear in the summer – I’m sure it’s because there’s so much to eat in the forest and they are behind the cover of trees. Now is the time when we see them much more.
I wish I had your sweet visitors! What a beautiful sight. Have a good day getting ready for Hartford.
Thank you, Doris. So much to do!
Wonderful pictures of the deer, Claudia! One of my favorite books as a child was Bambi by Felix Salten. Not at all like the Disney version, of course. I can still recite the first paragraph.
I love that you still remember it, Karen!
Your Christmas visitors are wonderful!
xo
They sure are, Sue!
what beautiful visitors!!! Your cottage looks magical! Thank you for sharing the wonderful photos.
You’re very welcome, Jeannine!
Your sweet visitors remind me of a precious book called The Gift Of The Deer that I have read many times. Claudia, I just love the sight of your cottage in the dark with the lights on the porch and how welcoming it looks with the inside lights on. My sister and her husband have a lovely old farmhouse in Stone Mountain Georgia but they are spending their time in a tiny travel trailer in Virginia because of his job. Other times away from home seem like an adventure but there’s something so sad to me about not being home for Christmas. I love that you are so committed to making your home away from home more home like.
Thank goodness I can get home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Janie! Thank you for your kind words!
Stunningly beautiful photographs of the winter deer in snow; the perfect Christmas cards. Peace in the world. Just looking at them makes me feel quiet and calmer.
The perfect time to express appreciation for all the photos you post all year, along with (daily) interesting and informative dialog.
Wishing you all the best of the holidays (you’ll work it out with all the travel back & forth) and happy times ahead in 2017.
Thank you, Vicki. I’m a wee bit overwhelmed, but slowly I’m plugging away at everything!
Wow, what a wonderful site to see! The snow, the deer, your little cottage. What a magical place you live in Claudia. I’ll never stop being amazed at animals and their beauty.
Thanks for sharing. It brought a much needed smile.
Have a magical day!
I’m glad it made you smile, Belinda. It did the same for me.
One of my brothers lives in my parents’ old home [and our childhood home] which has a long-neglected old apple orchard out back – and deer by the 100s feed all Winter long on apples that have dropped from the trees. My brother says he watches them all the time, feeling like “Jane Goodall, animal behaviorist.” They come up closer to the house where his vegetable garden is too, and enjoy all the remnants of that during Winter too. I consider deer to be, along with horses and the entire feline category, the world’s most beautiful animals. We’re having a sparklingly-sunny day here in Rochester – hope you in the Valley are too! 🌞
I wish I had an apple tree or two for them! I worry about them finding enough to eat. In my little neighborhood, there are no apple trees that I know of.
Love the deer pics! The feeding patterns of ‘our little group of deer’ has changed….we don’t see them as often. I know they are still around, I can see their footprints…but they don’t stay and munch as they formerly did…and I do miss that. Hope you are getting lots done today! I’m not…I’m goofing off! ;)
This little guy was pretty daring. Very close to the house!
Beautiful pictures – what sweetness right outside your door! Haha Santa’s reindeers 😊
If so, they’re here early!
I would miss those deer! They look so nice and healthy. We see squirrels and sometimes bunnies in our yard. Used to be raccoons and once a coyote.
Don saw a coyote the other day. I hear them at night, but haven’t actually seen one around here – yet!
There are deer on my daughters college campus. The college is nestled in the hills against an undeveloped area. They are unafraid of the campuses people. I suspect some people feed them, which isn’t such a good idea. Wild animals need to stay wild in order to learn the survival skills they need. Your cottage looks lovely with the lights, Claudia. When do you leave for Hartford? I know you’ll miss everything about home.
I leave on Sunday morning, Wendy. I’m already sad!
Claudia, I know you’re sad about leaving home for those weeks, but focus on how busy you’ll be, that you’re earning money, and that Don will be able to visit and be with you for some of the time. You’ll be home in no time! Be safe traveling.
Oh, I know. I always adjust. I’ve done this sort of thing a lot in the last 15 years. But not being home in the week leading up to Christmas is what makes this time a bit different.
Sending a big understanding hug.
xoxo
Your deer have much thicker coats than the ones I see around here in North Florida. Very pretty! Your home looks so cozy decked in lights. Jen
They have to deal with winter here! The deer around my sister’s house in FL are also much smaller than ours.
So pretty are those visitors outside your door. I agree with cleaning up the gardens in the Spring. I always leave the remains for the wildlife to use as needed in these dark cold months. Speaking of dark,,,, and OH so cold, we have Wind Chill Adv for -28 tomorrow morning, followed by a Winter Storm Watch from Thursday night through Saturday night for 8-10 inches, and Wind Chill Adv expected for Monday morning of -35*. I am so over every single bit of it.
Hope you had a good day. I had a cortisone inj done in my knee today, so I get to stay off my feet the whole day. And I don’t feel one bit guilty about it, either!! I finished a book, watched a movie, and took a short nap. Kind of a reprieve to enjoy, and my knee feels so much better already! Win-win!
Oh heavens. Such sucky weather! I’m so sorry!! We have very strong winds here today and it’s very cold out there. Don has to spend the day in the city – I can’t even imagine walking around the streets of Manhattan today.
Stay warm, my friend!
How beautiful your visitors are…How lucky you are that they came so close…
Very lucky. Thank you, Nancy!
Great photos of the deer. We have many that live near here and eat our plants! The cats love to see them out the windows. I know you are busy getting ready for your work trip. I’m so glad I’m going to be home for a few days without something else planned. I need to relax a little and enjoy my home all decorated for Christmas! Hugs.
Relax, my friend.