The Fun Begins!

I love, love decorating for Christmas, but I'm not a gal who decorates the tree before Thanksgiving and takes it down the day after Christmas. I decorate after Thanksgiving and leave my Christmas decor up a week or two into January. In years past, I would try to do all my decorating within a day or so. That's a bit too tough on my back these days, so it may take me a week or more to finish. The fun is beginning, however!

I always do the big tree (aka The Keweenaw Tree) in the great room first.

Mr. Cut Off carried it up from the basement, and I fluffed.

He had the honor of placing the star on top, and I added the 8 strings of copper beads.

None of the ornaments are on the tree yet, but I had to step back and snap some photos. Can you find the deer outside photobombing my shot?

Hint: You can see the doe through the sliding door on the left near the reflection of the lamp. Click on the photo to see it larger.

Mr. Cut Off was also helpful in tacking up the 2 window wreaths above the sliding doors for me. 

Ornaments tomorrow!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

In Memory

Shirley J. Quinnan, 60, passed away on Saturday, November 25, 2017 at Gilchrist Hospice Center, Towson, MD. She was the wife of Stephen J. Quinnan of Parkton, MD. Shirley and Stephen were married on January 12, 1977, sharing 40 years together. Born on July 3, 1957, in Flint, Michigan, she was the daughter of the late Charles William and Etta Ellen (Bentley) Webster. Shirley worked as a customer service manager at Walmart Supercenter in Shrewsbury for 18 years. In addition to her husband, Shirley leaves to cherish her memory, a son, Jason E. Quinnan, his wife, Brittany and their daughter, McKenna of Abbottstown, PA; 8 siblings, David and Linda Webster of Port Charlotte, FL, Judy and Bill Clairmont of Port Charlotte, FL, Betty and Steve Carlton of Stewartstown, PA, Ellen Green of Vassar, MI, Patrick Webster of Vassar, MI, Kim and Lee Plakiotis of Port Charlotte, FL, James and Becky Webster of Saginaw, MI, Renee Webster and Scott Baldwin of Millington, MI; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Shannon M. Quinnan and a brother, Rev. Thomas C. Webster. All services are private at the request of the family. Hartenstein Funeral and Cremation Care, Inc., New Freedom, is assisting the family. Shirley loved children and her family. If you knew Shirley, you knew you were loved.

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Sweet Shirley was one of the sisters of my first husband, the late Tom Webster. I was so shocked and saddened to hear of Shirley's passing. I can't stop thinking about her great sense of humor, and her infectious laugh has been on rewind in my mind since hearing of her death. I'm sorry that her precious granddaughter will not have the blessing of Shirley's abundant love and attention as she grows up. The earth is certainly a little less bright without Shirley on it, but I know she had a joyous reunion in heaven with her beautiful daughter, Shannon, and my beloved Tom; and we will see her again in the Sweet By and By. Please join me in asking the Lord to help Shirley's family through this difficult journey of grief. 

As I was thinking about Shirley this afternoon, my mind suddenly remembered something that happened here on Saturday. I had been watching a young deer in our yard for a couple of hours that morning. This was the youngster my husband has named Milkdud. It's the offspring of Chloe, our most frequent deer visitor. Chloe and Milkdud are here so often that they're almost pets. In fact, they're out there right now as I'm typing this. They're normally inseparable, so I was surprised that Chloe was absent for so long that morning. Finally, Chloe showed up and they had a sweet little reunion near the bird feeders. I snapped a few photos of Chloe licking Milkdud's head. 

When thinking about Shirley's reunion in heaven with her daughter, Shannon, it occurred to me that Chloe and Milkdud were meeting up in my backyard about the same time Shirley passed away on Saturday. I checked the time stamp on the photos. Sure enough! It was shortly after Shirley passed that Chloe was greeting Milkdud with a lick. The symbolism was not lost on me. It was just a sweet little picture of the wonderful greeting between mother and daughter in heaven!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Sunday Reflections

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

We Give Thanks!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Smarter Than Average

I really hate to brag, but I'm convinced that we have especially exceptional wildlife in the Keweenaw - and I now have photographic proof! 

It's no secret that we have a lot of deer frequenting our yard - sometimes 8 or more at once. The snow is so full of tracks that it resembles a railroad yard. We have 2 does that eat the seed directly out of our purple bird feeder that hangs on a shepherd's hook - like it's a baby bottle. They emptied it in about 20 minutes on Saturday and also ate what seed they could find on the ground under the yellow feeder hanging in the tree. One particular doe kept returning to the feeders all afternoon - probably checking to see if they had been replenished at some point. I saw her staring at the yellow feeder and knew she was probably going to do something I had seen her do on several occasions during the last week, so I grabbed the camera.

I sat in Mr. Cut Off's chair by the sliding doors and waited for a good wide shot. Miss Doe saw me, got a little camera shy, and decided to walk away. I figured she'd be back and kept the camera close at hand. Sure enough! She did come back a bit later. I was working on my laptop in another chair when I glanced up and saw this!

Tippitoes are sometimes necessary!

C'mon, she's surely smarter than your average deer!

I love the look on her face in that last shot. It's like she's saying, "So, whaddya think of that?!"  

And I must say that it's really surprising how long a deer can stand on 2 legs!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Sunday Reflections

THE reason to be thankful:

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Morning Blues

Early winter mornings in the Keweenaw.

Blue - very blue.

Now, don't get the wrong impression. Blue does not reflect our current mood. We love our winters in the Keweenaw - even when they begin in October like they did this year!

At this very moment, Mr. Cut Off is out in the woods doing one of his very favorite activities - deer hunting. That definitely puts a smile on his face. He especially loves that the woods is just a few steps away from the house, so he gets to come in every night to eat dinner at his own table and sleep in his own bed. I can personally guarantee that there are no loudly snoring men at this deer camp - and Mr. Cut Off surely has the most comfortable bed!

Me? I'm happily baking my time away indoors. Gotta keep that hunter awake and well fed while he's sitting out in the woods if I want some more venison for the freezer. Just between you and me, he says he's been watching one that has "freezer" stamped on his side - unless a bigger one comes along.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

She's a Blessing!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Sunday Reflections

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Veterans Day 2017

All is well in the Keweenaw.

It came!

Is it really November 10th today? It seems like December! Here's a photo I snapped through the sliding doors yesterday afternoon. 

with deer tracks leading to the bird feeders

Our winter weather warning has now expired, and Keweenaw County says our official storm total was 11". That brings our seasonal total up to 27.5" thus far! Not a bad start, huh? 

Just a reminder:  As usual, I used the county's total for my snowfall chart (even though we had more than 11" on our property in the last 2 days). Although we're not far from the spot where the snow is measured, snow totals can vary widely within just a few miles up here. Some get more; some get less. 

The forecast is calling for daily highs above freezing beginning on Sunday for 6 or 7 days. That should clear the trees and reduce the size of some of our snow piles.

OK, it's off to work I go. Mr. Cut Off says he needs some homemade bread and cookies for his deer hunting lunches and snacks!

All is well in the Keweenaw.
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UPDATE:  Friday, Nov. 10 - 11:42 a.m.

Look what I just noticed! Don't know how long it will last, but the sky is blue & the sun is shining! Yay!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

It's Coming!

The official Keweenaw County total is now 16.5" and more snow is coming! We're told to expect up to 12-13" here in the higher terrain of the Keweenaw from late this afternoon through Friday morning. If that happens, we should set some new daily records. I'll keep you posted.

All is well in the Keweenaw.
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UPDATE:  Thursday, Nov. 9

It's Still Coming!

9" of new snow since last night, and it's still falling. Our winter storm warning is expected to last until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. Winds are also supposed to pick up, so I'll be back with an update and a new snow chart in the morning - presuming we have power!

All is well (and very white) in the Keweenaw.

Looking Out

Before the trees emptied themselves of all their leaves, we were treated to quite a color show. . .

and we didn't have to be outside to enjoy it. Here's some of what we captured from inside the house - looking out.

The next 3 photos show what Mr. Cut Off could see from his spot at the dinner table.

This was my view when washing dishes.

Back in the great room.

And through the front door.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Sunday Reflections

Thanks to all those who checked my Sunday Reflections last week when we were visiting lower Michigan and had little or no Internet connectivity. I wasn't able to link to most Sunday sites and it was difficult to comment, but we're home and things are back to normal today.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

This Morning!

Here's how things look this morning!

It's snowing again. Supposed to rain tomorrow.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

The White Stuff

11-1-17:
We closed out October with over a foot of snow! More details, an updated snow chart, and photos before the weekend.

All is well in the Keweenaw.
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11-3-17:
We spent the last week in lower Michigan, but we're home! We made the trip down to see family and friends last week and enjoyed every single minute of it so much - but it sure was good to set our feet on Keweenaw soil again! I mean Keweenaw SNOW again!

Yes, 15" of the white stuff fell from the sky when we were away! In other words, it was autumn when we left and winter when we returned one week later!

I still have more fall photos to share and now photos from our trip, so watch for those in the upcoming week.

Did I say it was good to be home?

All is well in the Keweenaw.

P.S. The Snowfall Chart page has been updated.