First snowfall of the year

I was glad this morning to see that we’d actually gotten a little bit of snow. I thought it was just going to be sleet, so this was a nice surprise.

It was a gray morning, and I fell back to sleep because I enjoy the luxury of sleeping past six o'clock on a day where I don’t have to get up to go to work.





This is what it looked like out my bedroom window. I could hear my husband out there shoveling. But other than that, it was blissfully quiet ~ you know, the kind of quiet you get when there’s a blanket of snow on the earth.





After coffee, I put on my winter garb and my old Sorel boots, and with the camera around my neck, proceeded to take a walk around the property.

I only brought one lens, the 18-70mm. And I thought I’d try out the snow/beach setting on the auto dial (big mistake because it should be used for a sunny snow day and not a gray one). I’ll learn.

I used Florabellla’s Vintage Summer II on all of these photos to get the dinginess out of the awful SOOC shots.





I have had these boots since I was 20 years old, which makes them very very old. The D-rings are rusty, and the laces need another replacing, but as far as winter boots go, they were one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

We only have a couple of inches on the ground, but it makes for a nice change in the landscape of my life here at the old manor house on the hill.

Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories.  ~From the movie An Affair to Remember

Love that movie.

Everything had a coating of ice.





And I could hear the crystallized branches of the trees above as the wind gently moved them back and forth.

Every mile is two in winter. ~George Herbert

I agree with Mr. Herbert, because walking in snow boots is much more difficult than walking in my regular shoes.





But it’s good to walk on such a morning. It truly is.

And when I came back inside, my cheeks were quite rosy.





I have no plans for the day other than a little cleaning. And I may not even do that . . .

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
~ Robert Frost

These photos would look much different if I’d had the macro lens with me, but the close-up mode on the auto dial did just fine on this cold January morning.

So what are your plans for the weekend? Inquiring minds want to know . . .