Thanksgiving was a great time to reflect and recover (my horrific dental visit and a ruptured disc). Our five children had other plans this year so we took advantage of it and went north. We had a simple but wonderful dinner - just the three of us. That would be me and my hubby with dog "Teddy" in tow. (Although tempted to set a plate and put the dog in a chair, we refrained and allowed him to receive tidbits throughout dinner from our hands.) Teddy is obviously spoiled, but as empty nesters, he has become our "child". He's a mini-dox.
I took my first walk in the woods and across the foot bridge to the island, since my back went out some months ago. I paid the price but it was worth it. The otter wasn't around but we saw numerous deer tracks and trails to cross our stream to the other side. A motion detection field camera should reveal if any of the deer have come out of hiding yet from gun deer season. We saw plenty of buck rubs though - pretty fresh so I expect to see something on the camera when we bring it in.
I woke one morning to the sound of hundreds of Sandhill Cranes circling overhead and landing in the farmer's field across the way. What a sight and sound. The regular birds were back to the feeding station for a fuel up before the tiny dry snowflakes started to silently trickle down. Frost was clearly present in the mornings. I worked on my Christmas presents while my husband walked the woods and cut some firewood. We had a roaring fire in the fireplace one cold day and it made things very cozy. I've always been enchanted by looking into the face of a fire and this was no different.
I had my husband shoot a picture of a shelf fungi on one of the trees in the woods for my blog. There are far better ones out there, discovered by our daughters, one of which is a professional photographer. She has the best multi-layered pics. Two of our daughters explored the woods with their father one day while I watched the grandkids and they came back giddy as children with their photographs and little treasures dug from the woods to use in terrariums. There are so many wonderful treasures just laying about that I failed to notice while working as a CEO that I now regret. Don't make the same mistake. Regardless of your career path or occupation or station, don't miss this stuff. It's everything.
