My parents always have a cage of suet that hangs in the tree outside their window.  We see all kinds of wood peckers - from downy to red breasted to every kind in between - chowing down on the suet feeder.  It also attracts nuthatches and tufted titmouse.  When my Dad has sunflower seeds out, however, we’ll see tons of gold and purple finches and cardinals.  He’s backed away from using a lot of sunflower seeds, though, because the squirrels hit it pretty hard, too, and he has no desire to feed squirrels.

I think watching the various birds through the years has given me a real love of these winged creatures.  That’s why when I went outside today to take some photos of the “dusting” of snow we received, I found I took mostly bird pictures.

Okay, so I’m not the best wildlife photographer you can find, but I like the picture!  If you’re interested in setting up a feeder to help wild birds during the winter months, here’s a link that you might find helpful.

From the Fail Blog.

Ha…

Jenna so eloquently describes her Cold Antler Farm in Vermont that it almost makes me want to move there.  But given our own local temperatures (low tomorrow is going to be 9 degrees), I think Vermont can only tempt me right now during the summer months.  Yet her words remain beautiful,

They’d already eaten their morning meal so I went into the garage for some fresh straw instead. I carried it out to them and their eyes got wide and ears perked up. They always think straw might be hay, and thought I was carrying them a giant dinner. They followed me back towards the shed. A small parade of shepherd, a black lamb, an angry ewe, and an old softy. I lined the sheep shed with straw while Joseph and Sal joined me inside it. Instead of leaving them—I plopped down in the corner, sitting with my back to the wood and my legs stretched out into the straw. The shed was wonderful. It was windproof, clean, and dry. I sat on the new straw and watched the snow falling outside just like I imagine my flock does.

Consider Jenna’s site now bookmarked as one of my favorites!  You should bookmark her too!

So here it is… I don’t like to cook much.  Fortunately my mother-in-law used to cook for several restaurants and she lives with me.  She still practices her profession, so it’s not necessary for me to write out menus and follow-through.

I am the person, however, who does all the outdoor grilling during the summer.  Don’t tell my mother-in-law, but apparently you can grill during the winter months too.  From Backyard Fire Pits,

Since its winter, there’s the likelihood that you won’t want to spend a lot of time outdoors cooking meat so it would make sense to grill steaks or pork chops because they cook faster than something large. Place a little more charcoal on the grill than you would use in the spring or summer.

The outside temperature does make a difference in the length of time it takes to cook your meat. Watch your rib eyes or center cut pork chops carefully so that they’re cooked to your specifications when you take them off the grill. Cook the meat a little longer.

Okey dokey. Dont’ tell my mother-in-law!

Photo by Rochelle et al via Flickr Creative Commons.

Elvis Presley’s home - Graceland - is scheduled to get a makeover and there are some people very unhappy about it,

I think that if *they must* spruce up the area, they should build a hotel in the shape of a Cadillac, and put green shag carpeting in all the rooms.

Why didn’t Paul McCartney, Bono and Bruce Springsteen buy Graceland 5 years ago? They would have kept the true spirit of Elvis. (A little trivia: Bruce Springsteen once jumped the gates of Graceland trying to get in to see Elvis)…

It’s not just the house under consideration, but also the surrounding area,

The owners of Graceland are getting serious about plans for a redevelopment project that would rejuvenate the popular Heartbreak Hotel and spruce up 100 acres surrounding Elvis Presley’s home.

When I was outside the gates of Graceland last year, I was amazed at the graffiti on the walls - an ever-changing tribute to The King by fans.  I wonder what will happen to the 100-acre grounds surrounding the mansion.

Gazebo is one of those words that is always on the tip of my brain and/or my tongue, but I can never quite vocalize it.  It is a lovely word for a lovely yard feature, though.  We have a long front yard and have often talked about a gazebo for the very front so our daughter would have a place to sit while she waits for the school bus.  As it is now, I drive her up the driveway so she doesn’t get too cold during the winter months.  I like the idea of a gazebo much better!

Why get a gazebo?

We can conclude that a gazebo can enhance the beauty of your garden and your house. It not only gives a unique look at the region where is your booth, but also provides additional room for your home, you can use as a guesthouse. A garden gazebo provides a space for relaxation, meditation, meetings and other activities.

I can imagine how lovely one would be if you had bird feeders around it, along with a path or a pond. I’m adding it to my “someday” list.

Photo by Hickory Rose via Flickr Creative Commons.

Hands down, this house wins in my neck of the woods.

I don’t even have ornaments on my inside tree except those my daughter has put on that she’s received from other friends for Christmas this year. I did carry the boxes downstairs last night, though.  I’m hoping when I get home the tree will have decorated itself!

One of my favorite things to do around this time of year is to get into a warm car with a full tank of gas and a thermos of hot chocolate and DRIVE.  I love looking at how people decorate their yards.  The worst - in my opinion - are when there are about 100 plastic figurines ranging from carolers to Santas to penguins littering an entire yard.  The best … tasteful and festive!

Here are the results from a Twitter search using #Griswold, #ChristmasLights, and #Lights.

When I learned about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki while in high school - and note that I was a military brat - we were taught that it was a hard decision for President Truman, but led to the Allied victory over Japan and the end of World War II.  I was grateful that the war ended, of course, but it still saddens me to think of the horrors experienced by the men, women and children who were directly impacted by the A-Bomb.

So when I read about the Tree Project today, it brings a sense of closure to that terrible time.  Here’s what the blog site says about the project,

The trees that still live from the time of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima are called, Hibaku trees (A-bombed trees).

In the winter of 2008, from a tree Dr. Riki Horiguchi in Hiroshima, I received seeds of Round Leaf Holly, Persimmon, Chinaberry, Firmiana simplex, Japanese Hackberry, Jujube trees that are the second or third generation of Hibaku Trees.

Hiroshi Sunairi has been giving seeds from the trees to people throughout the world so they can grow their own trees.  This month the trees will be on display at the Horticulture Society of New York, with the opening reception scheduled this evening from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Bravo to Hiroshi Sunairi for the undertaking!  Photo of the Parasol Tree given to Mr. Yuso Takesawa.  The tree has now been planted in Fukuromachi Kouen (park) in the center of Hiroshima.  Where desolution was once predominant, life lives on.

I had never heard of bottle trees until about a year ago when a friend of mine asked her brother to build one.   Then I saw one at a wedding reception earlier this summer and fell in love with them.

And this close-up…

Then I saw this bottle tree at Digging.com,

I am smitten - absolutely smitten!!