Winter Horse

Gus is available for Greeting Cards Canvas & other products
http://deborah-moen.artistwebsites.com/featured/gus-deborah-moen.html

There was a giant Belgium Draft horse, named Gus, who lived on a farm in my neighborhood. I loved Gus.  I passed him everyday on my walks and when I went to town. One day Gus passed away from old age. The pasture where he lived was empty without him. My whole neighborhood felt empty with out his friendly presence.

Only a few weeks later, 2 horses showed up in the pasture. I was so happy to see the pasture occupied again. One horse was a pumpkin spice color so I named him Autumn. The other horse was white as snow and I gave him the name of Winter.



One morning I saw Winter Horse up close to the fence around the rustic log entry way. It was close to the road where I could get a good look and near enough to pet him. It was very cold, a minus 7 degrees that morning.

Winter Horse matches the ice and frost. www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com

 The hoarfrost sprouted frazzled sharp icy points on the wire fence, There was a strand of tumbleweed attached to the fencing with the same frost formations. Winter Horse was friendly and stood posing this way and that. Then he bowed down and looked through the fence and I captured that beautiful moment with my camera. I am surprised my camera worked in that cold temperature.

Thank you for visiting
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Until next time,
Appreciate Nature
The more we appreciate the more there is to appreciate

Deborah Moon Moen
Nature Lover, Writer, Photographer, Philosopher,

Winter Horse Christmas Cardss available
http://deborah-moen.artistwebsites.com/featured/merry-christmas-winter-horse-deborah-moen.html

Fast And Furious Harvest

The forecast was a coming... a hard freeze coming tonight!

Photograph by ©DeborahMoen  Poppies First Frost October 2014
www.facebook.com/DeborahMoenRuralPhotography

I looked out over my garden and memories flooded my mind

The corn had just been picked the day before. I admired the wild sunflowers bordering the fence, now just hard prickly bones rattling in the breeze. The garden was brimming with Green Ice lettuce, Heinz tomatoes just turning red, yummy pungent basil, fragrant cilantro, tall graceful dill and my Shirley Poppies and Cosmos were just beginning to open their faces to the sun.


A bit of denial and stubbornness came over me when I heard the weather report. Then I did what any smitten gardener would do and harvested all I could that night. UP came the Ruby lettuce. UP came the basil roots ripping from the cold soil. Down came the sheets and blankets to cover the dill and the pretty wild flowers.  I picked all the tomatoes green, red, big, and small.

I felt worried and sort of panicked at the sudden news, then a calm came over me. I knelt down and whispered to all my lovelies,  " I love you, I thank you, I will see you next spring."

The very act of communicating and thanking the garden calmed my stress. It was healing and soothing.


There are no good-byes

There are no good-byes. Maybe a twang of bitter sweetness.  I prefer to get caught up in the thrill of fragrances, textures, feelings of appreciation and fun projects like washing, cutting, drying and cutting the string to hang all the green stuff up in the kitchen.

Drying my herbs Fast and Furious
 Harvest. www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com

The garden is a perfect example of how life goes on and on, in a sort of Circle.   Life is eternal.



Jack Frost came in the night

I checked the garden the next morning and discovered a sugar-like frosting on the uncovered plants. There is a child-like wonder that comes over me when I see the ice sparkling in the morning sun. The tomato plant already had gone to sleep with blackened leaves and limp stems. Everything else did quite well and I had an abundance of leftovers still living and thriving in the garden.



Nature is my teacher

I learned to enjoy each day as well as I was able. This is not a rehearsal, you know. Each changing mode of seasons scolds me and holds me in it's arms and makes me look at myself.

There seems to be a re-occurring mantra that I have yet to learn, busy-ness. I am constantly hearing that little voice in my head saying, " Go sit out in the garden. Enjoy what you have here". I do not always listen because I have this and that to do.  I do believe it is good to take time to enjoy and savor.  It feels good. All the systems in the body get oiled with all those feel good chemicals as you relax into the wonder and elixir of Nature. 

I live and learn....next year I hope I will spend more time basking in Nature. How about you?


Thank you for coming to share in my joy.

Tel us about your harvest this year.

Until next time,

Nature Loves Appreciation

John Muir's stories are narrated by Lee Stetson. He actually performs as John Muir in the Yosemite National Park. This is the audio opened my heart to a deeper understanding of nature appreciation.