When venturing out into the world to chop down our tree, of course, of course we couldn’t all agree upon just one. This one was so green! But oh this one was so fat! No wait, this one is so cute and tiny! How could we pick just one. Also, they had a nice price tag (free), as the christmas tree farm had decided last year to close and all trees were to be cleared in the near future anyway. So, we chose two! One for the inside and one for the out. Our outside tree has turned into a lovely bird tree filled with little orange cups of seed, peanut butter pinecones, strings of cranberry and popcorn, sliced apples and a few homemade feeders. Winter birding is by far my favorite.

The snow has fallen and feels like it is here to stay this time. It is still slowly coming down, and already two sleds and one ski pole are hidden underneath the white fluff.

A morning walk in the bright sunshine led us to our first winter tracking experience this year. So many little mice, deer, and turkey had sipped from our still running stream and were so fun to spot. Turkey tracks are so big and their gate is so wide they look like ski poles being dipped in the snow. We tracked them for a while through the pasture, seeing their evidence on the tops of brussels sprout plants, and gatherings in wooded areas protected by the wind. A few steps further and our whispering was rewarded. A whole flock of them flew up only a few yards away from us, their armored feathers twinkling against the blinding snow.  My boys sat silently while their breaths puffed warm clouds of amazement into the blue sky.

Winter is coming and we are more than ready.