A brief dusting of snow began December 2024, making me long for a bit more.
December marks the beginnings of the winter season. Winter… a time of perseverance and optimism for spring will come.
December, Christmas is near.
A Light DustingSnowy Morning SurpriseSnowy Stack At DuskWinter Solstice SunriseWaiting on SunriseDecember 31st… That Touch of Pink
Random Happenings
You never know what you will find in the middle of a grocery store parking lot! Parking lot golf????
Christmasat Home 2024
Fresh Mistletoe for Christmas! Thanks to Kim Reid for the adventure!New additions this year to my green plants to add a festive flare, pine cones and berries for the holiday season Our Christmas clock is a family favoriteBobbles and Santa Handmade Christmas Handmade Christmas Handmade ChristmasThis Christmas was the first year we put our inflatable back out in several years. Our sweet little neighbor has enjoyed it so much this year. Our original “Snowy” the polar bear was injured by heavy rain earlier this month. Santa was our quick find as a replacement.Cookie watching over her neighborhood
Thank you to everyone who has followed along my year long photographic journey in 2024 exploring the everyday life of #thehardwarelife. I’m excited about new opportunities in 2025! Coming soon, the Favorites of 2024 revisited. Stay posted on the blog.
August… the sizzling summer heat lingers, foggy mornings equate to snowy days in the winter, rolling thunderstorms, and the quest for those cooler days and nights will slowly become our reality. August IS the “Sunday of Summer”. Once it arrives, it seems to go by quickly and a new month is upon you. Sharing a few of my everyday photo favorites to summarize a small portion of this “Sunday of Summer”, August2024. I hope you will enjoy. Thanks for sharing my blog with friends and family and sending your comments to me. Looking forward to September!
Sky Watch
Storm Looming Hanging Out, August Fog Fog Hug… August Mornings can bring fog and it is hanging in the trees tightly this morning Morning GloryDouble Rainbow Skies High Drama in the Clouds Golden Evening Sky September Hues in August
After The Storm
After The Rain Color Show of the Crepe Myrtle Color Show of the Crepe Myrtle
Tree Study
I love to photograph a good tree, so when the opportunity presents itself, I will stop and take a moment to take a few pictures. Sometimes they turn out pretty well, sometimes not so much. But, I have learned that multiple shots of the image can make all the difference. Here’s a few of my favorites from this month …
Filtered Light Double TreeSame Tree Different View… Hidden Beauty
Hand building projects completed
Instant gratification isn’t the goal with hand building pottery. Slow and gradual progress is what you see when you begin with raw clay. The processes of creating with clay from shaping/making your piece, which could could take hours or even days… to the first bisque fire, then glazing, going through the kiln again… all take time but the end result is worth the wait! These pieces have been in the works for a while, glad to see them finally finished and grateful for an amazing teacher!!
Bird Bath Complete!! The absolute largest piece made to date! A HUGE thank you to Kim Anderson Reid for her guidance and patience in making this large piece and excellent advice on how to glaze! FroggyAug-tober begins! That’s right, I heard this phrase for the first time this month. I didn’t know it was an actual thing, but it is! All the fall feels in August! Longing for Autumn… well in the world of pottery, the processes of hand building takes a bit of time, and producing fall pieces begins in August and September.
A Pup Interlude
Our son has been traveling for work over the last month or so. When he’s gone from home for an extended period of time, I always try to send him a few pictures of his two favorite pups everyday. He really enjoys seeing them in all of their quirky little daily adventures. Here’s two captured moments from August.
A Bit of JoyOur Little Cookie Monster
The Greenway
Critters in the CornWildflowers Line the Path Kudzu Blossoms
Sweet Surprises and Finds
This next group of pictures are interesting finds from August… from trimming bushes and finding a little bird nest inside, to a long walk around the neighborhood at Mom and Dad’s house… you just never know what you will encounter!
Summer is yet another season. Many of y’all may not enjoy the hottest months of the year, but don’t forget to savor the memories you make each and every day with those you love. Each photo I have taken has a connection to those I love, even though it may not a visible sign to you as you view each image. I hope you enjoy my favorite collection of summer 2023 photographs and remember to enjoy each day.
Summer is simply incomplete without the best fresh fruit Squash Cheddar & Rosemary Bread Summer temperatures often climb high! Light fog hanging in the trees This little zinnia was too cute not to capture, simply imperfect but stunning at the same time Love the red! Our new mural was completed this summer outside the hardware store Sunlight filtering in through the trees In bloom Lovely, large petals! Summer in Wilkes County, cut hay, roll it and putting it up Growing Grapes The Blue Ridge Mountains, storm is coming Blue Ridge Overlook Unique Heavy August Morning Fog… Foggy mornings in August could indicate the snowfall forecast for our coming winter season Good morning sunshine! Purple Crape Myrtle Canning season Growing corn fields Summertime Vacay… a walk along a pier to find this Oldie Goldie Calabash On my perch Clouds stirring in the water Pier walk Serenity Heavy clouds above the pier A quiet place Kudzu blooms Kudzu blooming is aromatic and distinctive
When I looked outdoors this past Sunday morning from our front windows, I was extremely excited to see a thick layer of fog among the trees.
Sunday Morning August 7th Monday August 8th, another foggy morning
For those of you who may not be aware of old weather folklore, every foggy morning in August, equates to a snowy day in the coming winter.
My grandparents always used to track the foggy mornings in August. I have found that I also like to capture foggy mornings with my camera to try to capture a moment of the quietness in nature.
This is the first year that I’m going to try to track my findings concerning the August morning fogs.
Fog hanging low into the trees
I’ve heard that folks used to put a large dried bean into a jar for each “big” morning fog. A smaller bean was used to indicate a “lesser ” fog. I don’t recall my grandparents ever doing this but Granny’s visual memory was acute. Granny would catalog these foggy mornings into her long term memory. As the snowy weather conditions were being talked about on the local news, she had those predictions from August to confirm or deny the pending weather track.
I’m not totally sure how accurate this method of predicting snowfall but I’m ready to give it a go for this coming winter.
A “light” August morning fog indicates a lighter dusting of snow.
So I’ve decided to revise my take on the bean jar plan… instead I’m using old keys as my guideline. Stay posted this month for keys in the jar update!!!
I’ll use the larger & smaller key method similar to the bean version that is traditionally used. So far, 2 keys in the jar!
Could this be a heavy snowfall winter???
December 2019… the largest snow for us to date!!! Wilkes County Hardware received over 16 inches of snowfall!!!!
Living the "hardwarelife", join us in our journey of hardware store ownership
The Hardware Life - A wife's journey into the hardware business 