Winter Blessings

Hello friends, I'm back. Was moonlighting at my other blogs. I thought the ice on the holly looked beautiful, so I snapped a picture.

Here's a poem for the snow lovers and snow wishers out there. Don't go, just read it, then read more of my post below it. God Bless!

A Winter Postcard

The beauty of a winter's morn -

when snow is fresh and clean;

Boughs on evergreens clothed in white -

a pretty sight to be seen.

Bushes are, themselves, a garden -

to be remembered in the spring;

A postcard scene on a winter's morn,

to me, is everything.

Joan Adams Burchell

February 21, 2005

http://www.alongpoetryroad.com/

Winter can be hard too. Last night we parked the cars in the garage, expecting 40-degree weather today. When I looked out --- more snow! I hope I can get the car out so Julian can go play at the mall. Here's pictures of him after our first snowfall. After this, we got him proper snow attire.

Our Boy

Backyard Guests Welcome Me to America

There is a flock of blackbirds hovering around our house for the last two days. They seem to be finding a lot of food on my yard, and my neighbors'. They also seem to know when my camera isn't ready, for they fly right in front of me when I am not paying attention.

This website helped me identify the blackbirds which happen to be orchard orioles. I'm just thrown off by the illustration on the website, because the birds i see are a combination of brown and black. http://www.whatbird.com/ is helpful for the new birder because one can identify a bird just by describing its size, body shape, bill, wings, etc. Forgive my ignorance, I've never seen blackbirds before!

We also had sight of the pheasant, going solo these days. He or she has been around the last several weeks, with a mate. Today it came alone... :( Again.. I've never seen anything like this in my life. The biggest birds I ever saw in my yard were my late grandfather's fighting roosters.

Spring In My Mind

Mary of Little Red House asked how I bring spring indoors in the middle of winter. Well, I sing spring songs to Julian even if we are in his winter session of his Music Together Class. I spend a lot of time dreaming of things I want in my life AND last night I cut out pictures of my favorite green things that I will someday grow in my garden:





What about you? What have you been doing this winter, when you're not blogging? !

DANCIN WITH MY SISTERS!!!

You won't see our faces,
maybe just our hands.
I'm dancing with my sisters,
in the Philippines.
With my brother's new bride,
and my sister who lives in Sydney.
Myette couldn't make it,
so we danced with her sister.
(I thank my brother who captured this video. It's nice to watch it and remember, because we all live far apart. The music is so apt).

Bougainvilleas Take Me Home

I've been away from my childhood home for almost nine years. I remember seeing bougainvilleas of different colors like fuschia, white, pink, and yellow. They were at home, in our neighborhood, in school, at my grandparents' house and at the sisters' convent, and I guess every single neighborhood.

As my family and I stroll along the bike path of Ventura State Beach in California, I stop in awe of bougainvillea on the ground, like ground cover. I don't remember seeing them on the ground back home. Or maybe I've been gone too long.

Bougainvillea is a flowering shrub discovered by Admiral Louis de Bougainvillea, when he started a voyage in the Pacific Ocean in 1768. It was discovered in Brazil. A rapid grower, the bougainvillea has thorny woody vines which are ideal for a hedge. It serves as a good screen for privacy. Its flowery and cascading blooms look wonderful especially when the wind blows.

The bougainvillea thrives in warm climates. Where I live, I can only have a bonsai bouganvillea. I yet have to find people who have this indoors and ask them how their bonsai is doing. Perhaps someday, the bougainvillea can live in my new home.