Month: December 2025

Not Even Winter Yet

The winter solstice, the first day of winter, is December 21. That’s a week away. Yesterday we got another four inches of snow, bringing our total close to two feet for the month. And the temps are down into negative numbers. Very much like February, not early December.

So, as I sat on my sofa, enjoying my living room Christmas tree, I snapped shots of the birds at the feeders in the falling snow and thought I would share them with you.

I made sure the feeders were filled before this latest snow came, knowing how spoiled they have become for easy food options. The upper feeder holds suet filled with seeds for energy and needed for warmth.

Since this feeder got low, I had to shovel a path this morning to refill it.

This morning, with the sun shining, it was a beautiful day despite the -1 degree temperature. The mourning doves fluff their feathers for warmth in the sun as they wait their turn to feed.

The red-breasted woodpecker is a favorite and one of the larger birds that visit the suet feeders. The mourning doves prefer the platform feeder.

Tomorrow, the temps will rise to normal December levels, and hopefully, this snow and cold will not be the norm for this year.

As we approach the Christmas season, remember the value of kindness and share it often.

25 Years Ago

In the summer of 2000, a friend of mine and I took up the new hobby of painting miniature plaster houses to create our own Christmas village. We thought that by Thanksgiving, we could have about five or six houses complete…yeah, 50 houses later, we were way over of our goal.

For the first few years, I gave some away, but then I saw others I liked and bought new ones. Today, of the plaster houses that I painted, I have 41. I have purchased a few that were already complete, that were totally different from what I had, like the observatory for stargazing, a large cathedral, and two different covered bridges.

I will share a few pictures of my favorites, plus the ski mountain I created out of Styrofoam, which includes the abominable snowman, Bumble from the Rudolph movie. If this interests you, I hope you enjoy it.

We will start off with the Christmas Ski Mountain, complete with skiers and snowboarding bears.

Bumble is on top of the high peak.

Some of the buildings I painted had details and character that made me smile.

Joe’s Burger Shack is shaped like a hamburger
City Hall has a copper roof

This group of buildings reminds me of my dad, as he was a lawyer. Conveniently, the lawyer’s office is next door to the police station and across the street from City Hall.

Library, Fire Station, and Post Office are at the top of the hill above the Salvation Army toy drive

Out of view is the firetruck that I got on our trip to New York. There are several vehicles I picked up on our travels, like the NYFD fire truck, the San Francisco streetcar, and pickup trucks from the Coca-Cola store in Las Vegas.

Moose Lodge, complete with a pair of moose

There are several homes of various styles, along with shops such as department stores, a toy store, a clock shop, a candle store, and more. I have several styles of churches besides the large cathedral. A fun house to paint was the rock house, and up the hill from it, some children decorate a Christmas tree while others are having a snowball fight.

And of course, every Christmas town needs at least one gas station and one Christmas tree farm.

As we enjoy the fun and festiveness of the season, let us always remember that holidays can be very hard for some. So share an extra smile, a friendly hand, and lots of kindness.

Always be kind