Welcome to this week’s edition of Nature Friday where we’re once again joining our friends and co-hosts Rosy, Sunny and her two brothers from LLB in Our Backyard. Hope all our U.S. friends had a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day celebration. Today is often called Black Friday which officially kicks off the Christmas shopping season with insane offers for many items most of us don’t need but just can’t seem to ever resist buying. I never have understood Black Friday or for that matter, participated in it, figuring the few extra shekels spent would be worth not having to deal with rabid shoppers willing to go to the mat for an opportunity to score an inexpensive sweater or limited amount of electronic items I could live without. And that was all before this year’s panDAMNic.
Even though my family opted to shelter in place this year, I still wanted to prepare a nice holiday feast for me and the Ranch hands, which still took some time to gather last minute groceries which kept me from getting out to enjoy much nature this week. ‘Course the nearly 8″ snowfall on Monday also contributed in putting the kibosh on anything beyond mandatory dog walks so this week is more than a tad lean on images.
There’s nothing prettier than seeing fresh snow on trees following a storm with a bright blue Colorado sky as a backdrop and so it was on Wednesday after a bit of a thaw that I was out picking up various provisions for yesterday’s holiday meal. I was in a perfect spot at the stoplight to have the sun highlighting the top of the tree and that gorgeous sky. I’d have lingered longer had the jerk dude behind me not honked for me to hurry up. But it was lovely enough for me to be a bit passive aggressive linger for a brief enough moment and take in the surrounding open space area.
We hope however you spent Thanksgiving, you had a good day and practiced safe distancing. Our raucous gang put a Zoom call together in the afternoon and while the audio quality was less than perfect, the smile on the faces of my 90 year parents at seeing their kids and many grandkids on screen was well worth it. It wasn’t our usual Thanksgiving gathering but it will be one where those smiles will linger in our hearts with the joyfulness of a noisy bunch celebrating in style in each of our own homes with a profession of our love for each other and good food which is what this holiday is really all about. Not shopping in crowded stores for stuff we don’t need or all too often, can’t afford.
Stay well, sane, and keep smiling as you savor simple moments as we enter the Christmas shopping season. Enjoy your weekend and I hope you’ll get the opportunity to see what beauty you can find in nature. Extra points if you can peeve the clown behind you.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
What a beautiful picture! Glad you had a good Thanksgiving! Thank goodness for technology, eh! 🙂
Thank you. Hope your Thanksgiving was lovely.
It was. 🙂
We are also not fans of Black Friday, we celebrate “Buy nothing day” instead which is an International day of protest against it. It seems more gracious after Thanksgiving 🙂 Glad you had a lovely holiday, even if it was partially virtual. We did the same.
Love how the sun is like the topping of a pretty Christmas tree! Great catch! Sometimes hubby gets exasperated with me when I watch for things out side while we are driving…all the more so if I am the driver, LOL!
I HATE all the hullabaloo that comes with the Black Friday stuff. Such avarice…and it starts earlier and earlier each year it seems. Blech. Lets just have a nice family gathering and enjoy each other’s company. That is what we did here. (Us two and our 2 bachelor sons)
Travel?? No way! Can’t anyways, since hubby couldn’t do it right now…
I like your idea of Thanksgiving and did the same thing. This whole shopping thing has truly gotten out of control and makes me more steadfast in supporting small businesses rather than those big stores that open for Black Friday way too early.
We had a similarly electronic Thanksgiving. The snow is gorgeous! I think that it’s here to stay in the mountains.
Another storm is forecast for the metro area maybe Tuesday or Wednesday. We’ll see. We can certainly use the moisture.
I love snow on the trees! That is a beautiful scene. I would have lingered for a second or two too. Glad you were able to make great memories with a different kind of Thanksgiving this year.
Lots of new traditions in this age of the panDAMNic. That’s why finding lovely landscapes are more important than ever.
We’re jealous that you have snow and we haven’t gotten any that has stuck around.
The storm over-performed from the forecast. As dry as we are, I’ll take more of those anyday. Course I’ll probably be singing a different tune in February. 😂
Oh! What a gorgeous photo! You ought to print it, frame it, and hang it somewhere in the house!
We had a quiet Thanksgiving too – ate some pecan crusted trout and BirdsEye veggies. Last night – for our anniversary – we got takeout from our favorite restaurant and ate at home. With Ducky’s tummy being a bit cranky this past week, I didn’t want her to be home alone for much more than a few minutes at a time. Besides, I tend to follow the CDC’s guidelines more than most of my neighbors.
Glad you had a nic Thanksgiving and anniversary celebration. That pecan crusted trout sounds amazing. Hope Ducky’s tummy issues resolve themselves soon. Have a wonderful weekend!
I’m getting chills just looking at it.
Hahaha…I suspect the weather here would not be to your liking, Kismet.
😆
What a great picture…and from your car! Hope your Thanksgiving holiday was good and you are enjoying a good weekend “sheltering in place.”
Thanks, it sometimes pays off paying attention to the surroundings when you’re waiting. Other than eating too much, it’s a weekend like all the rest. And that’s not a bad thing. Hope your family get-together has been safe and fun.
So far so good.
Is the magic elixir working? 😇
Jen’s with us in one piece and her Mom seems to be OK, so I would say yes. As for anything else, time will tell.
👍🏻
That’s a beautiful photo and I know this sounds weird but it’s wonderful to see snow – no doubt we will see it soon but so far no sign of it. Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday and putting together a “family zoom room” was grand so everyone could see everyone else in spite of us having to do things remotely. We were “just three” with husband, me and Teddy having a quiet day together. There is much to be thankful for – and we are hopeful there will be even MORE to be thankful in the coming year!
Hugs, Pam and Teddy
Thank you, I don’t mind snow and rather enjoy the changing of seasons (I’ll probably deny I said that in February…hahaha!). It was a nice Zoom call with our close knit but widely dispersed family. So thankful it made my 90 year old parents’ day. Enjoy your weekend!
The snow on the trees is beautiful
Thank you! It was a super beautiful day.
Mom avoids Black Friday at all costs all the time, not just this crazy year.
That was an awesome catch of the beautiful sunlit treetop!!!
Woos – Lightning, Misty, and Timber
It’s always been too crazy for me, too. Finding that tree was one of those lucky things you just don’t expect. Glad I was stopped there and looked around at all the beautiful landscape.
Great picture!
Thanks! Another lucky shot being in the right place at the right time.
Thanks. No doubt you’ve been past that location many times when you lived in the area. (Crown Hill).
Yes, ironically, often on my way to Lutheran. Ack.
So glad that you managed so much contact over Thanksgiving. Despite all the problems, amor vincit omnia.
Indeed it does! Have a great weekend.
This traditional Black Friday has a very different feel, that’s for sure. Glad retailers decided to forego Thursday, but of course it was only because of the pandemic.
Sounds like you had a wonderful one, Monika. 🙂
Awk…don’t get me started on Thanksgiving Day shopping! That’s just insane, even without the panDAMNic. Having owned a retail establishment, I understand the business side of it, but Jeez Louise, one day shouldn’t make or break your store. If it does, you’ve got some other problems. Have a great rest of the weekend!
It’s the worst. Perpetrated by greed and laziness on the part of the retailers. The latter because WTF? Be smarter about your sales structure and then you don’t have to worry about one day. As it is, we’re no longer in the time of the “break even” dynamic of things. Retailers can be making up that scratch long before we ever dig into our turkey. Let the employees have a day.
You as well Monika!
This was the first Thanksgiving in 14 years that my hubby and I weren’t out pet sitting all day. Just one cat in the morning, so we were home for the holiday. A nice quiet day, beautiful outside, lots of dog walks, and dinner completely prepared and picked up at a local restaurant on Wednesday. All we had to do was heat it up. Relaxed, watched movies, and enjoyed the peace and quiet mostly…one of the kittens was a little sick, but she’s recovered.It did necessitate a quick trip to the drug store for some Pedialyte to add to her water since she threw up multiple times. She’s fine…probably just some new food that disagreed with her. But a quiet weekend ahead, a nice change from hectic working holidays for so many years.
I think there’s something very special about peaceful, quiet days spent with the people and pets we love cherishing the simpleness of it all. Give the kitten a soft ear rub from us as she adapts to new foods and experiences. Have a great weekend.
Oh I love the snow on the trees. Beautiful. It doesn’t snow here and I’m good with that, but it’s pretty.
I’ve never shopped on Black Friday. Not worth it in my humble opinion.
Have a fabulous day and weekend. Hug to you and scritches to the pups. ♥
You’ve been wise not to succumb to the silly shopping crazy of Black Friday. Seems even more silly these days.
There is nothing prettier than fresh snow on evergreens but I totally get where you’re coming from. I’m sure after months of snow/cold weather it won’t be quite as attractive to me either. 😉
What a beautiful picture!
Why thank you! It was such a pretty sight-I was most lucky to be in the shade at the right spot.
I was very surprised to learn that your parents gave birth to you when they were 61! Anyway, that was a very pretty photo of the trees and snow. All we had yesterday were the Santa Ana winds howling though at 40–50 mph. Yuck. I woke the AJF this morning by shaking her briskly and yelling that we had to get going or we would miss the Black Friday Doorbuster Deals at Walmart!!!! Her reply is not printable in a sweet family blog like yours. Max and I got a chuckle out of it. 😈
You are such a devil. I hope she clobbered you with a pillow. You made me blush at the birth comment. As always you crack me up. I will say I noticed a LOT of wrinkles during yesterday’s Zoom call. Yikes!!
Sorry about the Santa Ana winds. I remember them well when I lived in San Diego. No fun whatsoever. Hope it’s a windless weekend.
It’s never a windless weekend at our house but that is largely due to me not Mother Nature. Yeah, she wasn’t thrilled at my little escapade. Maybe because I generally get up at O-dark-thirty while she and the Malt like to nap in.
LOL It’s a wonder you’re still upright.
I wouldn’t make that assumption.
Better lighten up on the No. 7. 🥃
I wouldn’t drink at all if I knew another way to get it down. 😁
what a capture! You got more snow than we did at 5″ in Aurora, and last night too for you, right? We got a dusting but the news said it was heavier in Denver. Yea moisture! We had a lot of vegetables yesterday, love that! Milo loved his sweet potatoes especially, well the fresh cranberry sauce too. We rely on whole foods delivery here so we eat what they have in stock. LeeAnna
It was one of those nice wet snows and so very welcome. There was just barely a skiff last night, in some places it didn’t even register. Sweet potatoes are my favorite veggie this time of year but I love them all year long. Have a great weekend and keep your eyes open for nature shots! 📷
Lovely image and challenge accepted. Now I just have to leave my house so I can find someone to peeve. 😉
Good luck with the peeving!
have a good weekend too… I bought nothing today… the first time… this year nothing feels good or like real… apart from nature… it is there and open for us whenever we want to visit her….
Nature is the soothing balm we all need more of these days. We hope you have a wagnificent weekend!
That is a beauty of an image, Monika. So glad you were able to celebrate with the ranch hands and zoom with your family!
Have a pawsitevely wonderful weekend.
Nd I’m with you. Ain’t no sale attractive enough to me to go through the hordes! Ever. For anything.
It’s so bizarre-I know people who plan their entire holiday celebration around Black Friday sales. It’s just nuts to me!
I don’t get it. Even when they have warehouse sales like Este Lauder or whatever? I went once. NEVER AGAIN. The people who go there are animals.
That they are. And with COVID on the rise, who needs that additional stressor. I’ll happily pay a few bucks more if there’s something I actually need or want to avoid the throngs.
Right! Yet another reason to avoid. Plus, I’ve taken to trying to buy local. So many stores are in danger.
Same here. Big box stories are so passé.
And you know all their shit comes from China…
Everything seems to comes from China anymore. 😬 And we burnt that bridge judging by supply chain snafus.