drive through the country...

day four.

snowfest 2011 continues...

as the kids of all ages, continue to sled down the hill, til ALL hours of the day and night......

mr. dan and i took a drive down our favorite country roads..... i thought you might enjoy seeing the beauty that lies less than two miles from my home.
Old Natchez trace and Moran Road are just right around the corner from my neighborhood.

the scenic Harpeth River borders on one side...

be still my heart! check out those amazing reflections on this peaceful day. aaahhhh....

there are old plantations mixed in with newer horse ranches on the other side.

Jimmy Buffet used to live in this home, now occupied by Kim Karnes (think "Betty Davis Eyes" fame). can't you just picture a young lady in a hoop skirt and parasol walking in this yard years ago?

an all white farm house surrounded by all white snow is just MAGIC to my eyes.

turning down Moran Road, open acreage is framed and divided by gorgeous farm fences and what we call "slave walls". rock walls created by slaves back in the day.

this was Alan Jackson's home that he recently sold for 23 million. ahem. i'll take two please.

i hope you enjoyed my little drive in the country.

mr. sunshine is all glowy today, but it is still freezing. i know many of you are ready for the snow to go away....

especially mommies of house bound kiddos? mr. dan and i are getting a little bit tired of the constant traffic on our street and through our yard and gardens. our mailbox was even hit by the sheriff's car. the sledders and partiers cut through our yard to access the hill. the constant sound of fourwheelers hauling sledders to the top (till all hours) is becoming old. not to mention the debris left behind by some not-so-considerate partiers (broken sleds and rafts, empty cans and a wine bottle). don't get me wrong...I LOVE SNOW!

but our SNOWFEST

is becoming more of a SNOWTEST.

ooo

oooo

perhaps i need to take another drive...

the lightness of snow...

we woke up to snow on the ground!!

now, there are many reasons

that i am in love with snow......

and one of them,

is the beautiful light it reflects into the house.


i took over 400 photos today.
a personal record, i believe.
taking advantage of the beautiful
lightness of snow.

i live in a very quiet and peaceful neighborhood on a golf course.

my house nestled at the bottom of a hill.

this is a view of my back deck looking to the right.

all prettied up, with that lightness of snow, that i love so much.

and here is the view looking to the left!

yes, this is one of the best sledding hills around,

and when it snows,

droves of people show up to go sledding and just generally have a good ol time.

and since we are at the bottom of the hill,

and we love to be outside,

and have fun,

we provide a warm campfire all day, and into the night...........

there is just nothing like meeting new and old friends and neighbors around a warm fire.

no thoughts of work or school on this nature holiday.

sitting by the cozy fire,

watching people play and wipe out.

we southerners don't get snow very often and when we do it's.........

SNOWFEST 2011

in my backyard.

it's midnight, as i write this, and i can still hear people out on the hill.

hardcore teenagers having fun.

we are expecting more snow tomorrow.....

so our snowfest will continue........

as will

the

lightness.

mmmm

mmmmm

mmmmm

i have been very busy in the studio painting this past week, and now SNOWFEST is here,

and i feel like i am getting behind in my blogging duties.

please excuse me if i appear absent.

but i assure you

i am

here.

and i adore ya'll!

really, i do.

e

confidence....

"go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

live the life you have imagined."

mmm

~henry david thoreau

finishing...

i don't do formal new years resolutions......

but i do switch gears now from gardener to artist......

as the holiday bits and bobs get tucked away,

the junk from 2010 hidden...

my studio cleared of all unessentials.

blank canvases waiting.

older paintings too, that i will be revisiting and finishing.

paintings, that i told my songwriter friend, were "my bad paintings".

he told me something that really struck a chord with me.......

he said,
"they aren't BAD paintings,
they just aren't FINISHED."

a good way to look at life in general,

i think.

perhaps something you have deemed "bad"

is not bad at all....

but just "not finished"?

mmmmmmm

jjjjjj

i look forward to

finishing lots of things in the new year.

how about you??

mmmm

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!