fff mid-November

Can you believe it's mid-November already? It will be Christmas before we know it.

Many things to be thankful for this week and I'm joining in with Susanne at Living To Tell The Story as we make our blessing lists.

1. We've had some downright unseasonably warm and sunshiny days - perfect for an afternoon walk along the beach with my beach loving, camera-toting friend, Rinda.

The tide was low

and out on the sandbars, wind and waves had formed a repetitive pattern of rippling sand.

Very cool close-up - like minature mountain ridges and valleys.

2. The day was far too lovely to end with a beach walk - so we added a woods walk as well.

We surprised a snowshoe hare. Notice his coat beginning to change from summer brown to winter white.

A tasty discovery - a patch of wild cranberries hidden in the long grass. We gathered a few to take home.

But we left the rosehips for the squirrels and birds.

On the way home, I had to stop the car to capture the sunset

and just at that moment, a flock of wild geese flew overhead ~ a glorious end to a lovely November day.

3. It's not all walks and rambles here at A Sparrow's Home ~ there's all sorts of homey tasks and chores as we get ready for winter.

(I don't know where Roger is in this picture - it's not like him to leave the saw in the wood :)

The woodshed is filled, the potatoes are dug and the garden is cleaned up. Jams and pickles are lined up on the basement shelves and the apples are stored away in the cold room.

It was a beautiful apple crop at the orchard this year ~ large, juicy and oh so sweet!

Time to get making some pies for the freezer! Speaking of baking, there's been a lot of that happening since the weather turned cooler. Cookies, brownies, muffins and home-made bread help keep the grocery bills down and taste so much better.

We haven't had store-bought bread since August. I like to make it and everyone likes to eat it!

I'm thankful that we have a full woodshed and food "aplenty" for the winter. It's a good feeling.

4. We had our first heavy frost last week. It was a wee bit sad to see my poor hydrangeas go from this

to this

:( Oh well . . . they will add "interest to the winter garden", as the gardening magazines put it.

I was really glad that we got our bulbs planted the day before the frost.

We planted a variety of bulbs in the flowerbeds and little crocuses here and there in the yard - I'm already smiling at the thought of them next spring.