This past weekend Chicago was hit with a lot of snow. It was fun to see a father with his child building a snowman. The hat is so perfect and the green scarf lovely – the perfect photograph!
It’s an artistic snowman. I like how the bottom spreads out, but somehow they made the stomach area look really round. Look at those sticks for arms/hands. This snowman makes me smile.
For me, so far, this is the Snowman of the Year! UNLESS, we get another snow storm, then let’s see what happens.
GUESS WHAT – Feb 2nd is Groundhog Day. Will Phil Punxsutawaney, the groundhog, see his shadow??? It’s a silly tradition. Has anyone ever checked to see if the yearly predictions were true?
A friend of mine is traveling in Norway right now. She climbed a mountain and was able to capture this beautiful photo of the northern lights. Amazing!
This was an interesting Christmas display. I had a funny marketing idea. The only one missing from this photo is Goldilocks. They could put these three bears in the bedding department with each bear standing by a mattress. The baby bear could still be hiding behind the Xmas tree and find Goldilocks in HIS bed.
The marketing message would read…??
I have to say, I would probably try out the three beds!
As I say that, I cringe. Why do I say, “forcing?” I actually enjoy walking. However, the transition from Fall to Winter is a strange one. The days are changing, it’s darker in the morning and at night, which effects our mood. Suddenly, I go into bear, hibernation mode. Desire for comfort food sets in (stews/soups) and laziness to go out in the COLD takes over.
It’s funny, isn’t it. This happens every year. We need to create a new exercise routine. No more walking at 6 AM, now it’s 7 AM or lunch time. No more walking at 4:30 PM, too dark outside. I need to dust off my rowing machine, pull out my weights. Create new exercise habits until March.
There are REWARDS for walking. Look at this lovely bird I saw in the window. I don’t feed the birds, so was pleasantly surprised to see this bird feeder suctioned to the window. It held the weight of the bird nicely, as you see.
I was brought back to Italy. My grandmother fed the pigeons on her apartment balcony. It was a morning ritual. Make her tea and give bread crumbs to the birds. It’s nice to have birds as friends.
I’m not alone in my “move into winter mode.” Look at this squirrel, he’s been eating a lot too. In fact, he was enjoying his lunch so much that he let me get a close up of him, no fear, he just kept chomping.
As I finish my post, I see the sun rising.
Got to lace up, head out walking. GET IT DONE!
We do FEEL better when we exercise! No more winter laziness!! Exploration awaits, right!?!
Birds are so creative in finding a place for their nest. I’m amazed that they chose these company letters when there appears to be no ledge under the nest. Although, they know what they are doing. That nest looks like it is snuggled tightly into that letter G. Such a perfect photograph!
WAIT THOUGH, they chose other letters. Seems like the Birdie friends said, “I’ll take this letter for my house, you go there, and another one over there.”
Then they can visit with each other daily and watch over each other’s nests.
What a great community idea!! A little subdivision.
When I walked past, the birds were flying back and forth from their nests. I was LUCKY that the Birdie on the G was staying HOME and resting.
I hope this gives you a BIG smile like it did for me!
Remember the Squirrel from last week with that HUGE — piece of FOOD — in his mouth? Nobody knew what it could be. Such an odd “thing.”
Well, guess what, I happened to walk by a tree and as I looked on the ground, I saw it! Yes, I saw, “IT.” I saw what the squirrel had in his mouth. I picked the weird thing up. It was VERY STICKY, like sap. Imagine my surprise when it was sticking to my fingers, felt prickly and I could NOT let go of it. I had to fling it off. Horror of horrors.
As I looked at it, I noticed there were more at the bottom of the tree. So, I peered up into the tree and LOOK what I saw. YES, a bunch of them growing on the branch.
I’ve NEVER seen a tree with these “things” in my entire life.
I stopped people as they walked by asking what tree this was, NO LUCK! So, I did searches online. Challenging, since I didn’t know what search words to use — “sticky spikey ball in tree?”
Needless to say, my searches didn’t pull up much. THEN a brainstorm, I have a friend who used to work at the arboretum. She must know this tree, right?
She messaged, it’s a HAZLENUT tree.
I went back to the tree for further inspection. See photo of where the nuts were. The nuts are protected inside a green leaf-like hairy bract with ragged edges. Nuts in clusters of 2-5.
I LOVE hazelnuts, so this was a GREAT find.
No wonder the squirrel was dodging me left to right! He thought I was after his hazelnuts!
And you know what — NEXT TIME, I might just go after him!
Have you watched that show on Netflix called, “ALONE?” One participant was desperate for food, it was winter, hard to find food. A squirrel had stashed away mushrooms at the top of a tree. The participant cut the tree down to get the mushrooms. He apologized to the squirrel (who wasn’t there), “Everyone for himself in the wilderness! We’ve got to SURVIVE!”
Great wilderness show if you haven’t seen it!
I will have more appreciation for the hazelnuts in Nutella, Loacker wafers, Ferrero Rocher, Godiva, and Kinder Buono chocolates now!
Don’t you LOVE life’s surprises! Thank you, Mr. Squirrel!
I got so lucky. This squirrel posed for the camera. Look how close I got. You can tell he is hesitant. Wondering if he’s going to have to FIGHT to keep his… WHAT IS THAT in his mouth?
It started like this. I was out walking. I saw this squirrel on the sidewalk. I immediately STOPPED, because he was so darn cute with that HUGE root, dead flower (couldn’t place it) in his mouth.
At first, he wasn’t aware of me. When he got to the top of the fence… THEN I could tell, he was starting to think I “might” be a threat. You can see in his eyes and stance that he knew he had to ACT FAST or he might lose this HUGE food item. That is the motherland!
He happened to turn, I got another GREAT photo. Here he’s making an “assessment” of the situation.
This was the highlight of my walk. I’ve never gotten this close to a squirrel before. They are usually so fast to run away. Photography has become so easy with our phones. Fun getting these photos.
They say people are having REVENGE travel right now. I don’t know. Before COVID people were traveling as they are now. The streets in Florence were so packed with tourists, it was hard to see the sights. I honestly thought, I don’t need to come back, it’s no fun.
Fast forward to now. So much turmoil in the world, I wanted to see Florence once more. I would be sad if I didn’t see it again. It’s my mother’s birthplace.
Normally, I would fly into Florence connecting through Munich. Now, with fewer flights, the best deal I could find was either flying into Milan or Rome, not even Pisa. I decided to go to Rome.
Being Catholic, I felt I should see the Vatican again too. Say a few prayers, visit the Nuns. I like the Nuns in their habits, they each have unique personalities. In fact, I got scolded at breakfast one morning by a feisty Nun. I had sat at a random table not realizing they had placed name cards at the tables. She KNEW immediately I was at the wrong table, because there were two priests names at my table.
She had to BELLOW out, so everyone knew my mistake. In Italian she said, ”Why aren’t you HERE?”
I apologized, saying, I did not see the name cards. She sighed heavy, picked up my name card, banging it on the table for emphasis and said in Italian, ”TOMORROW YOU SIT HERE!”
She was cute, shaking her head, thinking such dumb tourists, can’t follow simple rules.
The next day, as soon as she came in, I SMILED and in Italian said, ”LOOK, I’m at the right table!”
I was staying in Rome at Istituto Maria Santissima Bambina, a monastery. Did you notice the AMAZING view of St Peter’s Square that I had from the monastery’s rooftop. WOW – it can’t get any better.
Also, look at the square, NOT many tourists. The taxi driver told me in May/June many tourists like before COVID. I got LUCKY, beginning of July, maybe because of the heat, not many tourists. WONDERFUL!
Trivi Fountain was a bit crowded. People had to make their WISHES! Taking a picture with so many people in front of the fountain was challenging. I did my best. Even through a coin over my shoulder. Hoped it made it in the fountain. I was up a few steps with a lot of people in front of me. FUNNY if my coin ended up in someone’s fluffy hair, right!
Well, that’s all from Rome today.
Oh, I got lucky with my flights. Direct flight from Chicago to Rome and back, no delays or cancellations. Going there I even had three seats to myself. It was a full flight, it just happened that way. GREAT!!
In case, you are wondering about masks policy. I didn’t have to wear my mask anywhere except the bus. Even on the plane, we didn’t have to wear them. Some people did, but most did not.
So — traveling, I got LUCKY and enjoyed seeing Florence / Rome with few tourists. Many traveling horror stories, I wonder if that is the norm or that’s what the media focuses on. I had an easy pleasant trip. I do recommend direct flights if you can do it. Less stops, less chance of lost luggage. Also, I took a small weekend carry on suit case, ended up working fine. Did not need a bigger one. Traveling was EASY!
I was driving my car when I saw these monks yesterday. How beautiful! I immediately pulled over to find out what their procession was about. I spoke to a Vietnamese woman who said that once a year, the monks come from around America to walk a certain path, praying and people offer them donations. Back in Vietnam, the monks would walk barefoot, but not here.
This lady was on a mini bike and was following the monks on their walk. She had been a Catholic and converted to Buddhism. Anyone is welcomed in the Temple, go visit, she said.
There is something very spiritual about seeing the monks walking in prayer. I immediately felt a peacefulness come over me. Entering a zen state.
Passing this along. May you feel at peace today too!
Recently, I was in Colorado. Imagine my surprise to capture a picture with an eagle, moose and mountain lion all at once. One of my daughter’s thought I had actually seen the moose on a wilderness trail. That means she QUICKLY looked at photo, did not analyze it.
I love this moose. Perfect taxidermy work. I do feel as if I met him on the banks of a river. The mountain lion is cleverly hidden to the right coming out of the cave.
If you are wondering, I was in a Sporting Goods store called, “Scheels.” First time I have been in one. It was similar to a Bass Pro Shop, if you’ve gone there. HUGE – hard to leave without buying something.
Case in point, I found these orange ON gym shoes. I’m not familiar with this brand. Turns out they are from Switzerland, founded in 2010 by three guys who wanted a good running shoe. They’ve been worn by a lot of athletes who have won in their fields. I tried to find out what the logo on the shoe stands for, but couldn’t find anything. If you know, leave a comment.
These are slip ons, so not meant for running. So far, so good, they feel comfortable. Although, I need to tighten up the laces. I love the color.
I’m all set for more walking. We have a heat wave coming though, that might have me indoors, let’s see!
Brilliant Viewpoint 