Chilly, wonderful days

We've had an extraordinary number of cold, clear, dry days lately. I have loved every minute of it. It really feels like Christmas to me when it is cold but sunny. Some of my favorite Christmas memories are of riding in the open Model T on a sunny Christmas day with chilly air blasting my face and whipping my hair around.  

For the past few weeks our nighttime lows have been in the mid-thirties with highs ranging from mid-fifties up to even upper sixties over the past weekend. We sometimes get some really thick, icy fog in the early mornings that seems to penetrate through any and all clothing, but the daytimes are beautifully sunny with hardly a wisp of cloud. Besides, everything is just so much easier when it's not raining. Battling holiday traffic would be much worse in the rain.

This morning, the day after the shortest of the year, was our coldest morning yet. It was 28 degrees when I left for the BART station at 6:30am. Luckily, I heard the freeze warning on the radio last night and actually covered our lime tree for once. It has a number of fruit that I hope will survive the cold.

On my drive to the BART station, I was surprised by one of the most beautiful skies I have ever seen. It was just before dawn and, as I drove over a hill, I had a wonderful view of Mt. Diablo. The sun was not up yet, but the sky was very clear and the horizon was just beginning to show beautiful hues of orange, red, and purple. Hanging over Mt. Diablo were the moon and a few still-bright stars. It was one of those moons where you see not only the lit crescent, but also the clear outline of the dark portion of the moon. The moon, stars, and line of the horizon were so incredibly crisp and clear. It was one of the most beautiful skies I've ever witnessed, and I wished I could stay and admire the view instead of heading to work.

A friend posted the following poem by Aileen Fisher on her fantastic blog (http://our-little-library.blogspot.com/) and I instantly fell in love with it. Even if we don't have snow, the poem seems very appropriate for this beautiful, crisp, winter day just before Christmas. 

December

I like days
with a snow-white collar,
and nights when the moon
is a silver dollar,
and hills are filled
with eiderdown stuffing
and your breath makes smoke
like an engine puffing.

I like days
when feathers are snowing,
and all the eaves
have petticoats showing,
and the air is cold
and the wires are humming,
but you feel all warm...
with Christmas coming.

The wonderful weather is expected to continue through the holiday weekend, which makes me very happy. I'm looking forward to hosting Christmas at our house for the first time. In case I don't get a chance to post again before Sunday, Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for 2012! 

So close!

A couple mornings ago my husband was taking the dogs out for their early morning walk. As he opened the door, he saw one of the Great Horned Owls perched on the railing of our deck. It took off as MO and the dogs came out of the house. I'm terribly jealous that I didn't get to see it, and surprised that the owl would perch so close to our house, our front door, and our dogs. Perhaps we'll have more chances at close encounters like this again in the future.


All I can say is that between the owls, hawks, coyotes, and foxes, I'm glad we don't have small dogs or cats. I would worry about their safety with so many predators around. A 135 lb dog (Bo Bo) probably isn't too much of a target. And Miss Pants at 75 lb would be pretty hard to carry off as well. I think they're probably safe.

Winter Garden

The hubs and I got the winter garden going this week. MO turned the soil in our raised beds and added new top soil. I did a little research on the best crops for the Bay Area this time of year and went shopping for starts and seeds. I came home from the nursery with more starts than I expected. Perhaps winter gardening is getting more popular now. I bought six-pack cells of two varieties of broccoli, celery, a red leaf lettuce, kale (similar to a dinosaur kale), and rainbow chard. 


MO planted them all yesterday and today. It turned out after all that we really didn't have any room for our radish, carrot, and onion seeds. We can save those for later in the winter/spring. I can't wait to have some wonderfully crisp broccoli, fresh from the garden.


After finishing the planting, MO repaired our drip system that experienced a few breaks near the end of the summer. If you're keeping track, you'll notice that MO did the vast majority of the work. I probably left a couple of steps out, too. Thanks, honey! AJ and I will appreciate our lovely veggies when they are ready.

Does a Bigger Zoom Mean Greater Appreciation for the Outdoors?

Well, perhaps not, but a new camera with a bigger zoom does mean I can better share some wonderful outdoor moments with friends and family.

My last little point-and-shoot camera had a 7x optical zoom and was really on its last legs. Ever since a long fall courtesy of my 18-month-old daughter, the battery cover won't stay closed any more. Even with tape, it still has to be held closed with a finger just so in order to take photos, view them, or transfer them to the computer. It was also starting to do funny things in bright-light or back-lit conditions.

For my birthday, my lovely husband gave me a new camera. It is still a point-and-shoot (for its small size, ease of use, and friendlier price point), but this one is definitely a step up from my previous camera. I am now the proud owner of a 16x optical zoom! I can't believe what a difference this makes. The camera also seems more responsive, blurs moving images less, and has a couple of neat features like auto background defocus.

I spent some time playing with it over the long Thanksgiving weekend and will share some of my favorite shots here. I'll try to keep them to outdoor/nature shots, but of course I have to slip in a few of our cute little toddler. :)

In the mornings, we took the dogs to play in the Santa Ynez River. Miss Pants (a nickname) loves being in the water and chasing after rocks. Bo Bo (also a nickname) prefers not to get his face wet and would rather stand on the sidelines or wade in ankle-deep water.

The vineyards along the road to the river were beautiful.

We took our daughter, AJ, to Solvang the day after Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful day, but the place was packed. We all managed to have a good time despite the crowds and I got a few good shots of the interesting architecture.

We visited Ostrichland in Beullton on the way to dinner at AJ Spurs. The ostriches were very impressive and, frankly, a little intimidating.

Oma and Opa agreed to babysit while my husband and I got out for some wine tasting in the Santa Rita Hills appellation. The shot below was at Babcock winery. I love the fall colors of the vines this time of year, and it's always so interesting to me that the different grape varietals change colors at different rates and in different shades. It makes for a lovely patchwork quilt of colors across the hills.

My husband had an opportunity to learn how to drive my dad's 1926 Model T Ford. He did a pretty good job. I spent my time taking photos of the T and house while playing with the auto background defocus.

Our daughter, AJ, had a great time visiting Oma and Opa. She especially liked riding in her pedal car.