What a beautiful morning! I measured 4.5 in. of new snow today. I couldn't resist taking some pictures - the snow is fluffy and light like angel dust. I think having the bright sunshine is lighting up our spirits as well as the world around us. It has been so dreary for the past several days, it seems really good to have sunshine.

This first picture is by our driveway. It's hard to believe we used to decorate this tree not so many years ago, when we could easily reach the top of it. Big tree now!

This is looking down our lawn towards the pond (you can see a glimpse of white through the trees. The town plows had the roads cleared very early this morning, and the normal traffic is going by as folks go out to work or go into the village for coffee and a chat.


This one is our lower lawn, and doesn't do it justice. It is serene - a lone deer track crossing below the house, but other than that, unblemished snow.



This is our back yard - most of you have seen it many times, many ways. It has a lot more going in in the way of brush and bushes than the lower lawn. We purposely leave it that way because there are lots of critters that hide there, find seeds during the winter, and it just seems like a more natural habitat for them. We mow areas in between patches of bushes, but even in the summer, it affords cover for all sorts of wildlife, most of which we never see.


It's just about a perfect winter day. Fred is just finishing up snow blowing the driveway - it was fairly easy today because the snow is so light. I'm working on the photos from the Hatch collection (glass plates) at the Danville Historical Society - there are over a hundred that have to do with West Danville or Joe's Pond, and we have found some gems that will be in the book.

Right now, we are taking a little break from the book until after the holidays. We all have lives other than this history book, although sometimes we do kind of forget that. We don't want to lose our momentum - it's so nearly finished, it's hard not to rush along to the very end. We'll have a few things to wrap up when the new year begins, and then we will be turning it over to the editor for the final read-through, the designer who will format it into something special, and finally, the printer who will bring it to life. Stay tuned!

We need to brace for the snow squalls that are due this afternoon and the deep cold that is predicted to follow. Driving can be difficult with blowing snow later today, so if you have to go some place, do it earlier rather than later, and do be careful. Stay warm and protect your animals from the cold, too. Please take your dogs out on a leash rather than just opening the door and letting them roam. I'm seeing far too many "lost" dogs listed on Front Porch Forum. Best to have them in your control when they are outside so they don't get spooked and run off or get hurt. They get confused, and if they are also cold and hungry, no telling where they'll end up.