Along the river...

Just five of us at Material Girls today... we had such a fun morning, sewing and talking. We all met less than a year ago, and I feel like I've known these ladies for years.

Our meteor-watching chairs arrived; we're going to the top of Crystal Mountain next month for a high-mountain view of the best meteor shower of the year.

We walked along the Cedar River in the early afternoon, and discovered a beautiful pond, tucked between the river and the trail. When I was a kid, it was a thrill to see a train crossing the river on the old trestle here. And now the tracks are gone, and
I wished I'd brought my big-girl camera.

Home again, to dig up a volunteer wild rose that's way too prickly to keep, then spread wood chips on everything I've weeded the past few days. I quit when it got too hot, and escaped to the cool basement to sew. When the summer turns this warm, I'm so grateful for a daylight basement.

Duck pond...

Duck pond near Peshastin, WA

Frozen water... there's a lot of it around here, after a few weeks of sub-freezing temperatures. The ponds in our small valley are frozen, and there's ice on the creeks. Our own pond stays shadowed all day long, hidden in the trees, and it seems to be a magnet for ducks in the wintertime.

When we moved to our small farm, there was a duck house floating on the pond. It was painted in the same colors as the farmhouse:  Williamsburg blue with bright white trim. When it started to fail, we rescued it, storing it in the barn for safekeeping. We always intended to repair it and move it back to the pond, but never did.

In years past, we'd be skating on our own pond by now. We used to have skating parties, invite family and friends, and build a bonfire to warm our hands by. I'd make a big pot of soup to feed everyone at the end of the day. I loved those parties. Our pond is overgrown now, and we can't skate there anymore.