It's beginning to feel a bit wintery around here.
Really cold nights and mornings.
Brrrrrr.
Not snow cold, but cold for us.
Cold enough to make it feel more holiday like.
I am having so much fun fluttering about decorating.
I have so many elves and paintings in the works, and time keeps slipping.
So, I am succumbing to time, and just breathing and going with the flow.
Plus, I got really sick for 4 days.
Probably all the junk I ate.
Okay, for sure, all the junk I ate.
So now, I am just going to take a deep breath, and move with the flow of days.
Instead of with self pressure.
I am so good at self pressure.
Winter Wonderlands beckon.
As daily morning tasks are underway.
Don't you love the norms of your life?
Our little family, 2 humans 2 furs, has so many norms.
Rituals.
Over the last few days that I wasn't feeling 100%, I have extra loved our days.
I mean, not the not feeling well, but the reminder of the ebb and flow of our lives.
Matty and I have secrets.
Miles likes his photo being taken, Matty, not so much.
But Matty is my secret sleeping partner every so often.
He tucks into my right side, and he doesn't budge.
If Miles hears the commotion (he is usually snoring on his back on the couch), he ends up on the left side of me.
But mostly, Matty sneaks in to be with me, and he and I just have snuggle time alone.
But somehow, in the morning, he is in the middle of the bed, and I am on the left side.
I call the left side of my bed, the weird side.
Since I like sleeping on the right side.
And every morning, Matty attacks me with love.
As though he has never seen me.
And, if he didn't sleep with me, and he is seeing me for the first time in the morning, he goes out of his mind.
Jumping and yelping and hugging and kissing me.
I always have to prepare for the morning attack if I have not seen him all night, and he happens to be outside already when I wake up.
Then Mister Lovee asks, are you ready, as he opens the front door, and I get totally attacked with love.
This is every single day.
I am so happy to be so loved by my little Matty.
These little things that are constant.
The loves that are a part of our lives in such a way.
Precious moments.
Totally priceless, seriously.
Miles always gets the paper in the morning.
No matter how heavy.
He carries huge logs around too, so I think his jaw is really strong.
In tug of war games, he always wins.
He barrels off the porch, heads to the front gate, skids in front of the newspaper...
Picks it up, tosses it in the air a couple times and catches it.
Then heads into the house for his delivery.
If Mister Lovee is not at the door, he runs inside and takes it straight to Mister in bed.
Then, he gets a treat.
Usually, he won't give you the paper, if you don't exchange him for a treat.
He'll just sit with the paper in his mouth, until the proper exchange is made.
:)
It's on these cold mornings, that Miles delivering the paper, is a huge luxury.
These days the sun does not come over the mountains and hit our house until 8:15 a.m.
But once it does, we are all out there for a morning jaunt.
The furs go sniff their regular spots.
Run around, doing their rounds.
Only, this time I decided to follow them.
Miles and Matty love to chase birds that are flying.
I think they think they can catch them.
Miles spots something way in the back of our property...
What is it??
He stands below and looks up the post...
(he checks the post several times a day)
He starts doing his banshee howl, as the hawk just looks at him.
It's quite funny.
A few times a day hawks or owls will stop by.
Hawks early, owls late.
Matty just watches Miles howling and carrying on about the hawk.
After that fun, they are on to their next things.
I think it is so fun to watch animals do their thing.
The things they notice, little ears listening intensely.
Running about.
Matty realizes this is a photo shoot.
And, he goes away.
I zoom in on him sitting in the driveway.
With a look that says, I am not playing if you don't put that thing away :)
He and Miles hear a car, and run to ward it off.
Barking madness.
While I tiptoe around the autmn/winter garden way out back.
I have taken out most of the towering dry sunflowers in the veggie garden.
And saved HUGE sunflower heads full of seeds.
But there are still some out there I left for the birds.
Don't they look like shower heads in the distance?
The dry pumpkin patch.
I realize there are soo many photos I didn't share this summer.
All the endless tomatillos we had.
I used them in salsa, but they are so tangy alone too.
All wrapped by nature in little paper lanterns, that months later turn into...
Beautiful lace puffs, dry casings, strewn about the garden.
Marigold seeds everywhere you turn.
Dropped to the earth from dry flowers...
A rogue fairytale pumpkin, and arugula that keeps on staying green, and giving still.
It self seeds over and over, as new crops pop up.
So yumm.
So green in the early morning today.
A giant plant keeps growing in the strawberry patch (below).
I can't figure out what it is, except that, I did plant some cabbage seeds in that bed that didn't take.
So I then grew huge cabbages in a different bed.
But I am wondering....
If that is a Frankenstein cabbage seed, turned Jack in the Bean Stalk?
There are actually 2, but this one is the tallest.
The leaves are very much like a thick waxy brussels or cabbage leaf.
So odd.
My fave fave fave.
Turning strawberry leaves.
Beautiful.
Green bursts here and there.
I took out all the dry summer flowers.
2 wheel barrows full.
It's so exciting to see all the little green tufts.
Plants that self seeded from spring, and will grow a tinge in winter.
Then flourish in spring 2013.
One rose holds on.
But one of the best things ever?
When you are freezing cold, and feel crumby...
And your soft handsome boy, crawls on top of you.
Like he did when he was a little baby.
Sprawls his whole body over you...
Crawls under your neck....
Giant puppy, heavy body warming you up.
And falls asleep.
Veering for a sec...
I had a Greek (from Cyprus) boyfriend for a long time, for many years actually, once upon a time.
Right before Lovee.
Anyhow, he had a friend who didn't speak English very well, Andreas.
Andreas had this saying he would use.
For example, if I played the piano for them, when I was done, he would grab my boyfriend and then gesture his hand towards me, and say in his fab heavy accent "This is Love! Huh, here, This! This is Love!"
Or, if I made them a nice dinner, and was serving them, he would grab my boyfriend's shoulder, point to me and then the meal, and say "This, THIS is LOVE!!" And he would pat my boyfriend on the back.
He did this all the time, whenever I did something that to him, signified love.
It was hilariously sweet.
Anyhow...
To me.
THIS IS LOVE!
And I always say that out loud, when I am hugging my furs.
In my best Greek accent.
THIS IS LOVE!
So there was a random chatty days wrap up. Off to lay on the warm porch steps for a couple minutes, and look up at the very blue sky, with hovering wisteria leaves, before I get busy with my day.
Happy Day!!!
Love, Vanessa
ps: The Magic of Christmas is calling big time, isn't it?
pss: Who needs a goat or a sheep with that kind of hopping?
