November Chill

 As November comes to a close, I find it's also time for autumn to come to a close. The trees are bare now, with leaves skittering across the roads. And today, there are even a few snow flakes in the air. I'm having a hard time finding pretty spots to show off here. But early in the month, I did enjoy the end of the fall colors at my favorite parks. Plus we went to Florida to see my parents, and of course I found beauty there. 

Blacklick Woods and Chestnut Ridge are my favorite nature spots during the months when summer turns into fall. My last visit to them on November 7 was my final view of autumn here in Ohio. I'm always a little sad when my favorite season is over. When autumn comes to an end, it means that the next time I'll catch interesting nature photos will be the first snow. But when will that be? Our winters have gotten milder here, like they have in so many areas. We don't get much snow, and when we do, it doesn't last long. I suppose that's why I go running outside whenever snow does arrive. In the meantime, here's what I saw at fall's finale. 

I have two sets of parents living in Florida, so we visit fairly often. In Sarasota, we see coastal views and eat seafood. 

In central Florida, we see orange groves, marshes, and rolling hills. They each have their own beauty. 

With Thanksgiving behind us, it's time to get serious about my Christmas preparations. It's time to remove all the pumpkins outside, and buy holiday greenery to take their place. Inside, it's time to remove all the fall decorations, and break out my Christmas goodies. I do have some of my gifts already purchased, but I'll need to finish that chore. I will send out a few Christmas cards, and bake some cookies. I used to bake mountains of cookies when the kids were small, when we had various places to share them. Now I just make a few favorites for my immediate family. I also need to plan holiday meals for visiting family, but we decided to go casual this year and have a taco bar. Can't wait! Here's a little sneak preview of my decorations. 

Here at the end of the month, I tried to find any possible flowers outside, and didn't find much. It must have been quite cold while we were in Florida, as even my roses are gone, and they usually last past a few frosts. I did plant about half of my tulip bulbs before the weather got extra cold. I'll have to find a window of warmth to complete that task. We did clean out the veggie garden earlier in the month, and harvested these carrots and watermelon radishes. 

I'll leave you as usual with a sunrise and two sunsets. Not sure how much else there will be to see during the quieter months, but I do appreciate you stopping by regardless. See you again next month when I'll have holiday decorations to display, and maybe some snow. 

March Is Where Spring Begins

March has been fairly typical here in central Ohio. We've had some pleasant days, some rainy days, a few snowflakes, with plenty of flowers arriving. But it's not really leaving like a lamb today. It's rainy and chilly instead. But since I planted pansies this week, I'm glad for the rain, because now I don't have to water. Remember, gardeners are almost always grateful for rain. 

Even though I had some early flower arrivals in February, it isn't until March that they begin in earnest. The weather hasn't always been welcoming for them, but they arrived anyway. Spring flowers are used to chilly weather, and in general, they laugh at the cold. 

Pansies are a special case, because they get freshly planted here every year, in the early spring or late winter. Those who aren't passionate gardeners are often amazed to find me planting them, because they don't understand that not all flowers appreciate warm weather. But I do, and I'm sure grateful for their wild colors in early spring, after a long winter of bland gray weather. I'm going for a yellow theme with my annuals this year, and pansies are cooperative in that regard. 

As I sorted through my photos, I find that I didn't work on crafts much this month. I suppose that's a sign of spring, when I'm outside working in the yard instead of inside crafting. But I did decorate my seasonal tiered tray as I often do, and I welcomed a mallard duck pair to the yard. They've been trying to raise a family here for several years, but we have never yet seen any ducklings. But here they are again, scouting out the place.

One small project that I did accomplish was to finally put my grandmother's teacup collection on display. They've been tucked away for many years, because I couldn't find a way to display them without it looking like a granny's house. Granted, I am a grandmother, but I didn't want it to look that way! But I did a bit of online sleuthing, and came up with the idea to use these rattan shelves to modernize them a bit. Because it's a small collection, they don't seem to come off as old fashioned displayed here on their new shelves. Grandma would be happy to see me showing them off for her. My favorite is the tiny one with a bird for a handle. Can you spot it? 

We spent time in Florida visiting my two sets of parents. They live in completely different areas, so the scenery is unique to each. We also took in our beloved Detroit Tigers during spring training. What fun! I was so tickled to see butterflies again, it's been much too long. 

And so we come to the end of March, and onward towards April. April is a favorite around here, when the world will really pop into bloom. It may be a bit chilly today, but the spring change is already starting. Soon the trees will really start to bloom, and the tulips will arrive. My heart lifts in spring, as it does for many. 

The sunsets are swinging around to my front porch again, so they've been harder to catch. When they arrived fully in front, then I'll happily catch them right off the porch. Until then, I keep watching the sky. Glad you could stop by my Nest! Will see you again next month, I hope.