Ten Little Celebrations – March 2023

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March has been a bit different than I expected…a lot more very cold starts to the days which have made it harder for the spring bulbs I planted last fall. Still – there was plenty to celebrate.

Clean car. The dust (and maybe salt) is rinsed off the car. I celebrated the days of driving a clean car…until I drove around the gravel road that is the wildlife loop at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge! The door and hatch seals keep the dust from getting into the car but the spaces before the seals are covered and the car wash does not reach it!

Banana bread (that included the peels). I will never make banana bread without the peels again. Yes – organic bananas are a bit more expensive…but the bread is so good….well worth it.

Plans for our back yard. So many ideas…and enough time to make them happen! The evidence of the work I did last fall (planting bulbs) is giving me confidence that I can do more. Maybe I’ll even become a gardener.

Frosty forsythia. The cold mornings were problematic for some of early blooming flowers, bushes, and trees. I celebrated that I captured the beauty of frost on the forsythia flowers.

Pumpkin soup. I was surprised that I had more than 4 cans of pumpkin in my pantry….not sure how it happened. I opted to make soup with one of them. Tastey…colorful…a celebration with winter fare on a cold March day.

Staying standard time for sleep. I like for the sun to be coming up when I go down to my office and didn’t like the beginning of daylight savings time because it was suddenly dark again at that time….so this year I opted to not change my sleep schedule from standard time. I celebrate the light every morning with my first cup of tea.

Walking around the neighborhood ponds 2 days in a row. It seems like the month has had a lot of cold or wet days, so I celebrated when there were 2 warmer sunny days to make pleasant walks around our neighborhood ponds.

Two mockingbirds. This time of year, I look for pairs of birds around where I live. This year, I celebrated two mockingbirds close to my house. I hope they nest somewhere nearby. Last year we had a blue jay nest in one of our front yard red maples and barn swallows nested under our deck. There must be nests of mourning doves and finches nesting nearby too because we have so many of them.

New low weight for the year. Celebrating another month of taking off some weight. This needs to continue for as long as it takes to reach my goal (and then some to sustain it)!

Birdsong in the morning. The birds chorus in the morning and I celebrate the start of the day with them. I try to identify the birds I am hearing…a lot of robins usually but others join too.

Frosty Forsythia

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There was frost on our grass one morning in the areas further from the house…transient since the temperature was warming fast as the sun burned off the fog. I noticed that the forsythia in the corner of the yard has a few blooms and enjoyed the close examination of the flowers – somewhat damaged by the frost. The frost had developed along the edges of the petals and was already looking more like water droplets. On the buds, the ice looked like sugar or salt crystals. I’ll cut some branches from the bush to bring inside when blooms more fully.

There were other plants with melting frost…small plants close to the ground and pine needles backlit by the sun still somewhat shrouded by fog.

The rose bush in winter has plenty of shapes and textures…some red color caught my attention. It’s the remains of a leaf and flower but the shape reminded me of a Phoenix rising…flying away.

It was a good morning for a photo shoot in my back yard.

Morning Fog and Moon

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I went outside just after sunrise to photograph the fog; there had been no color with the sunrise because the fog was so dense. There was an advisory for the morning commute and I was glad I didn’t have to leave the house. Then I looked up and saw that the sky was quite blue and the moon distinct! The blanket of fog was clearly thin and close to the ground!

I am a morning person. This time of year, I am always up before the sunrise and ready to welcome the light of the new day. A colorful sunrise is always welcome but sometimes clouds and fog can be just as interesting because they alter the perception of surroundings. Noticing the beginning of the day…however the increase of light happens…is the best way to start my day.

Josey Ranch – September 2002

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Carrollton’s Josey Ranch Lake still had noticeable problems. The broken sidewalks and disassembled boardwalks were still the same as in August. The heavy crane was gone. 3 city trucks drove on the walkway to get to the other side of the lake to begin repair to the boardwalks while I was there. Maybe the broken walkways will come next….or they’ll wait until next summer.

I saw one swan in August but didn’t see any in September and there were a lot of white feathers in the water and mud near the remaining cattail area. They were not native swans…but they have been at the lake from the beginning. They will be missed if they are truly gone.

I did see some other birds which made for a good morning of bird photography.

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron


Green Heron

Snowy Egret

Hopefully the work around the lake will be done before the winter birds arrive.

Ten Little Celebrations – May 2022

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May was a month of preparation to move…but there were plenty of little celebrations along the way.

12 boxes packed in one day. In April I had a few days that I got to 20 boxes…but that included some that all I had to do was tape (i.e. they were already packed). Doing a good job packing a box takes some thought…and gets harder after there are fewer items left to go in boxes. I celebrated that I managed a 12-box day!

Another load to the landfill/recycle center. Every time we take a load, I celebrate that we have a little less to move!

Getting the pile out for curbside pickup. It was a significant effort – requiring the wheelbarrow to get the heavier items up the hill. But we did it – more easily than I anticipated!

Getting the pile out for curbside pickup. It was a significant effort – requiring the wheelbarrow to get the heavier items up the hill. But we did it – more easily than I anticipated!

Finding boxes to pack larger items. I am packing larger items now…that are generally light weight too. I like the Home Depot’s ‘large’ boxes and celebrate how many odd items they hold gracefully.

Drawing down refrigerator items. I’ve been trying to eat things from the freezer/refrig so that I don’t have to move them. So far so good. The refrigerator is not entirely empty, but we’ll have less to move in an ice chest when we move. Celebrating that my strategy is working!

Reservations made for the trip to close on the house in Missouri. I’m celebrating that the further along we get…the more we do toward moving…the more ‘real’ it becomes. There will be a big celebration once we close but the steps leading to that milestone are worth celebrating too!

Birth of my niece’s child…the first of the next generation of our family. Celebrating the birth of child…mixed with relief that all is well with the mother and child.

A phoebe in the backyard in the morning (on almost every morning). The bird has become a normal early morning sound for me…not loud enough to be an alarm clock…but reminds me to celebrate the new day.

A timely appointment to get a crown on a broken molar. I was worried that my mouth would become painful before I could get an appointment with my dentist…but it happened quickly…and 2 hours later I went home with a temporary crown! I’m also celebrating that it is (so far) my best experience ever getting a crown.

A fox in the backyard…passing through. I happened to look out my office window to see a fox stop by the base of our feeder in the back yard….and then continue its way into the forest. It was transitioning from winter to summer coat. Celebrating that there is wildlife in our forest…and sometimes we get to see it in our backyard.