Spring will come in it's time....

If you know me well you know I am a lover of "Winter" 

This does not mean that I Love to be cold as some have eluded to when I say, "I love winter".

I don't mind a brisk walk in the cold, it refreshes my soul and gives me energy.

But NO.... I don't love to BE cold. To me that's just one of the defining characteristics of winter.

Yesterday I took down my final bit of snow/Christmas decor. 

I have enjoyed it since November, and will look forward to putting it up again next fall.

There is a lot to love about "Winter"

You can enjoy it from the warmth of your house by simply looking out the window, 

or get out in it and explore

 

The Beauty, 

Oh the colors and contrast against a blanket of white, there is no denying it's lovely presence

A photo I took a few years back, no editing just vibrant beauty

Rick and I enjoy winter hikes, it really get the blood flowing  :)

This was from a couple years ago, we went snowshoeing at Oxbow park in Byron MN

It was fun to break a path in the fresh fallen snow.

A few weeks ago we hiked in Kaplan's Wood Park in Owatonna, MN

It was a warm winter day and we ended up carrying our coats.

Our cabin is not seasonal so we dont get to see it in the winter, but....

We are blessed with photo's from our neighbor who lives there year round.

These photo's of our cabin brings me much joy!

I 've always loved this quote, there's so much truth!

A few more things to love about winter

Wearing cozy sweaters

Blankets and fireplaces

Hot Soup and Chili

Coffee and Christmas spiced tea

Curling up with a good book

The pace of life slowing down

The smell of fresh winter air.

Jack Frost on the windows

These are just a few of my favorites.

God created all the seasons, whether you like winter or not, it only lasts the time given to it by it's creator.

Psalms 74:16-17

Sping is coming folks, 

Open your eyes and see the beauty of winter , spring and summer will come.

Photo file 2020

Springs official date is March 20th... soon.

My camera and I....

One of my very favorite things to do in the winter ...

(especially after we have had a substantial snowfall)

is to get out early the next morning before the plows & sanders taint the 

pure white beauty of the fresh fallen snow.

Then there's the added bonus if the skies are clear and the sun is shining. AMAZING!

I ran across this beauty somewhere west and a little north of Rochester. 

I'm very curious if anyone knows it's purpose (Story)? 

There are no signs on the premises and a lone house sits just to the right (not seen here).

Last night we traveled home from the Twin Citites after dropping of our sweet grands.

We were unaware of the severity of the weather, it was a white-knuckle kind of drive

It took both of us to see the edges of the hiway, we made it home unscathed. 

We saw several cars in the ditch...many were driving too fast for the road conditions.

 Back to this morning, as I ventured out to explore and capture God's beauty in the winter-scape

Colors are brighter

 

The trees were flocked with new snow

Love the shadows on the ground as the sun peaks through this grove of trees

Old abandoned house...

 I wanted to go in and explore, but it was posted "No Trespassing"

A frozen river

I stopped in the road to snap this photo, the cows were very vocal

I love the look of Pine trees covered in a heavy coat of snow

Being the "Winter-Lover" that I am, I often caught myself smiling as I drove through the country, the sights we much more brilliant than can be captured through the lens of a camera. 

I appreciate the stillness, the contrasting colors and the peace of the country.

A winter-lover and grandparents joy!

As a lover of winter & snow, I was quite delighted in our total snowfall 

that came Saturday night into Sunday morning.

9 beautiful inches! 

Rick and I relaxed and enjoyed the view until about 10am. 

Our Church services were cancelled, 

so the plan was to wait for the plow and then blow the driveway. 

I decided to go for a little walk to enjoy the untouched beauty of the unplowed streets, 

so I bundled up and out I went.

 My favorite neighborhood barn

and the pretty flocked trees. 

Everything was so pretty.

First pass...

after our driveway he blew out the neighbors, and the end of another 

neighbors driveway that the plow plugged up! 

Back it up to Saturday....

We love watching our grandkids participate in their activities.

#44 Carson's first year playing basketball, this is such a cute age to watch.

  

On to the Rochester Sports Center for Audrey's gymnastic's meet.

Most of her meets are in the Twin Cities so it was a bonus to be home.

"Bars" is her favorite event

 she's a natural

 (her mama was a gymnast too)

 1st place finish on BARS (I'm just a little proud)

Now back up to the previous Weekend....

 We had little Lew (without sister).  

He slept in the toddler bed for the first time.... baseball hat and all  :)

Our two grand boys, 4 years apart but still little buddies  <3 p="">

This coming weekend we will have both grands from the Twin Cities, 

looking forward to more time with these littles. 

Being Grandparents is the best thing ever, we love every minute we get to be withour 4 sweeties.

Snow, ice, beauty and good traction...it all goes together.

After autumn, winter comes in as my 2nd favorite season.

Winter has come quickly here in Southern Minnesota,

 Many have complained but I'm OK with that, after all it is November!

We have had a few days of below normal temperature and I have 

even had to put on a coat...but no socks (yet)

A few of my favorite winter photo's from years past.....

I look forward to slowing down as the cold weather arrives

 I love the beauty that winter displays, especially after a fresh coat of snow

Everything looks better surrounded by snow

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I do like to be out and about in the winter, so I depend on a great pair of shoes with good traction that helps prevent me from falling flat on my face, well.....

Somehow I have lost or misplaced my winter shoes (for walking on the ice and snow), so I went to our local experts on winter footwear and purchased these beauties. 

Teva Women's W Sugarpine 

I don't mind spending a little extra and helping out the small businesses in town. (Tyrol Ski & Sport)

Not to mention the one-on-one help I got from the sales guy who was a wealth of knowledge

 I will feel better about walking the 5 blocks outside from my parking spot to work! 

The sidewalks are normally cleared of snow but there is usually a 

slick layer of snow or ice left behind that warrants good traction.

Now we just need some more snow so I can try them out  :)

Truth,

 I love the correlation of Snow and Kindness....

Let it snow...and be kind  :)

I'm melting....

I'm MEEEEELTING....

Holding my little personal fan in front of my face trying to cool off after carrying 

just 2 bags into the house from the car. What you can't see is the sweat dripping off my face!

It's a sorry site for anyone, hence the photo-edit fun.

Below is a snapshot of our local Facebook weather post

Note the "Misery Meter" as being DISGUSTING.... 

that is how I feel today, after only 2 minutes outside. 

For me it's worse than oppressive, it just makes me feel icky. 

I don't mean for this post to start up an argument about the weather and who likes what better, 

I only want to explain my reason for loving fall & winter better.

Yesterday, today and the rest of the week are exactly why I love fall and winter. 

Summer is not MY season.

The heat and humidity goes against what is comfortable for me, it make me quite miserable.

My face sweats, so I don't even know why I put make-up on in the morning. 

I feel irritable, lazy, tired and all around blah.

SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) is not limited to the winter months.

 There is a true Seasonal Affective Disorder for some people in the summer ( I googled it)

I don't really have that because I don't get depressed, 

but I can see how I could get depressed if I had to live in this for very long. 

Isn't summer suppose to be a time for being outside and enjoying the weather, 

for some they do, and that's what they love... but not for everyone.

I don't enjoy being cooped up in the house day after day with the A/C on, that gets old fast!

(Remember summer is the season that your suppose to be outside)

Winter is more of a In-the-house kind of season, because of the snow and colder temps. 

but I actually enjoy being out in the winter, it's refreshing and exhilarating.

I look forward to the quiet & beauty of winter, it slows me down and it's bearable.

I love cozy sweaters and blankets, I love snuggling up with a good book and a cup of coffee.

I enjoy winter walks and hikes.

In order for me to enjoy summer it needs to be under 77 degrees with minimal humidity.

Or

I just need to go up to the cabin where I've got the lake a few steps out my door.

The lake is cool, relaxing and just about perfect. 

The lake is calling my name this week.....soon

These are my own personal feelings about summer, with all this being said, I do enjoy the change of seasons in Minnesota minus the the super hot and humid days of summer!
Luckily there are not a lot of those days.

Sometimes it's not all what it's cracked up to be....

Growing up in Minnesota, 

I know that not all weather forecasts prove to be what they are advertised to be.

Therefore I'm a bit more adventurous when it comes to travel.

Saturday evening in Blaine MN...

rain turned into snow as we headed back to our hotel from dinner.

This weekend was one of those adventures that turned out to be a whole lot less problematic than advertised. A Winter Storm WARNING was declared for the very place we need to travel..

 Heaviest snow was predicted smack dab in the area we were to be.

 8-12" forecasted turned into about 4"of snow.... 

I would consider this a "fail" in the predicted snowfall totals.

I must admit I was a little leery after our last snowstorm trip home from the twin cities 

which happened was true to the forecast.... 

We had never been in a more crazy scenario of wind and heavy snow, 

unable to see the road causing a single lane of slow moving traffic from Cannon falls to Rochester.

It made us appreciate the need to be prepared with extra food, water, a shovel and extra winter clothing if traveling during a predicted snow storm.

Our granddaughter's gymnastics team was to compete in Blaine Minnesota on Sunday morning and we had made big plans with my daughters family to head up this weekend. We had reservations 

to stay the night in a hotel and then attend the meet on Sunday morning.

After much contemplation, we decided that we could safely travel to the cities 

before the snow on Saturday,

 the question would be...

will we be able to get out of the parking lot Sunday morning if the forecasted 8-12" of snow really happened? I guess we would "cross that bridge" if it happened.

Sunday morning at the hotel, our gymnast snuggles in her daddy's lap, 

a little nervous for her big meet. 

We were happy to see that the hotel parking lot had been plowed and only about

 4" of the white stuff had fallen..... off to the meet we went.

Saturday night we we surprised at dinner by our son Brice and his family. 

He and my daughter Brianna schemed to make it happen so that we could all eat together. 

My son lives only about 10 minutes from the restaurant

Sunday morning, waiting for the meet to begin.

Little Audrey had a great meet

 Here she awaits the other gymnasts as they take their place on the awards podium 

5th place on bars  :)

When snow falls...nature listens

The devotional I read this morning was just for me!

As an amateur /hobbyist photographer,

 I love to capture the beauty of nature, people and whatever catches my eye.

 I have been told I have an "eye" for photography.

I tend to get caught up in Winters beauty. 

What some call brutal cold, I call pure and fresh...exhilarating!

I love to be out in the winter, and my camera usually accompanies me, 

but sometimes the photo doesn't turn out the way I see it,

 it can frustrate me that I don't get to share the beauty that I am seeing through my lens.

My devotional this morning was about a photographer that has the same 

winter passion in photography as I do, and the same frustrations when we can't seem

 to capture the beauty that's in front of us to look the same in a photo.

Instead of frustration the author reminds me to

 Breathe. Savor. Be.

At that moment, what I am seeing through my lens may be for me alone,

  and maybe it's only for right now. 

It's at this time that I need to memorize the details in my head and heart. 

To enjoy the moment and be still.

Be still and know that I am God Psalm 46:10

"GODS CREATION IS MUCH TOO BIG TO BE CONFINED IN MERE PHOTOGRAPHS"

 I dug into my Archive of winter photo's and came up with a few to share 

 Who else appreciates being in the elements of winter

I don't know if I like the contrast of the hoarfrost against the blue sky... 

or the monotone white on gray (with a pop of color)

  It's just all beautiful to me.

There's just something about barns in the winter

For those who are already tired of winter...... 

here's a little hope in what's to come!