Hickory chickens....

I know they are morels, but I like the more whimsical name of hickory chickens.  We heard them called that down home.  This one was actually growing here at our house in 2009.  It was growing under the edge of the trailer.   Roger was mowing the yard, maybe for the first time.  We had had the big old maple tree cut down the year before and it was near what would have been the old stump.  I don't expect to find them here this year, but do hope we get to find some at our 'mushroom hunting grounds.'
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It is going to be partly cloudy this day...has been overcast ever since I got up but I am finally seeing just a tiny bit of blue sky.  I was so hoping for a totally sun filled day.  At least, it is still supposed to get warm again.

Yesterday I got to sit outside and read!  For the first time this year.  We spend a lot of happy hours sitting on the porch--and I don't care how hot it gets, I will be out there for a while every day of the summer.

I am still discarding...just a few items at a time.  I am convinced that we all have more than we need.  To be able to get rid of as much stuff as I have and not even miss it tells that story.  I think if nothing happens I am going to have Roger give me a hand today in getting some things down where I can go through them.

Then there is the boxes...am I the only one that hangs on to boxes that electronics come in?  I tend to hang on to them for a while in case I have to send them back.  I do eventually throw them away--just wondered if I was the only one that holds them for a while.

One more shot of snow....

I just cannot resist posting another shot of the snow...I have a feeling we won't be seeing any like this for a while to come.  It is supposed to be in the 50's by the weekend.  I cannot wait...I am just so anxious to go outside without having to wonder will I need a jacket.  I can't wait to sit outside to read....or to have breakfast on the front porch.  Just so many things to look forward to.
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I am slowly but surely working on getting rid of things I don't use, can't wear, or just no longer want.  I keep slimming down on the number of books I am keeping.  I think I am about down to the bone in that regard.  There might be a few more, but very, very few.  Most of the ones that are left are treasured....I have several photography books that I cannot bare to part with though I seldom look at them any more...one is about worn out literally.

Then I have my Alaska books...can't get rid of them.  Nor my diaries and journals of people traveling west by wagon train...or some of them are just journals of people/immigrants after they are living there.  I would love to have some of these in digital format...specially Sod & Stubble by John Ise and Grass of the Earth by Aagot Raaen.  Even though I have the physical copy, I would love to have them on my kindle.

Back to de-cluttering...I keep telling myself if I get rid of just one thing a day, it will help.  But usually, when I go to find one thing, I find a few more.  There have been days when I didn't discard anything, but still my sister-in-law and I are working on this idea together...we report in to each other almost every day and it really helps to keep me motivated.

Scenes from the wonderland...

The scenes I am about to show you no longer exist...all the snow is off the feeders.  Hardly any snow clings to the trees.  I guess that is the one thing about snow this time of year....it generally does not last too long.

Roger did knock the snow off the big feeder when he filled it....but the other is all gone, too.  And it was really clinging to them yesterday.  I tried to knock it off and it just would not slide off.

This old, old chair is always left sitting outside.  I generally keep it right by the clothesline to sit my basket of clothes in.  I am thankful I don't HAVE to hang out clothes in this type of weather.

We did go for a drive yesterday...I had missed being out any in the other snows we have had and just could not resist the temptation.  Did not see any animals at the strip pits...and not many humans on the road.  I guess they all had better sense than us.

But oh, my, this type of weather sure brings childhood to mind.  I almost always had these little cheap snow boots...and they almost always had a leak.   So, mom always saved the plastic bags that bread came in...I would put my stocking feett in  them and then put my boots on and I was good to go.  Most of the time I went by myself...with the companionship of whatever dogs we had at the time.

It was a whole new world to explore...even though I was as familiar with the land as my own hand almost, everything seemed new and improved.  And there was the snow to eat...when I was a youth, I would have been taking bites of snow from any object heavy laden with it.  And I admit, I did take a bite of snow yesterday...but I don't make a habit of it any more.

There just is nothing more magical than a whole new world covered in snow.  And even though I am ready for spring, I really have enjoyed this winter wonderland.