It has been a seemingly endless, long, cold winter this year. I was amazed to see little chickadees, yellow finches, cardinals, nuthatches, titmice, juncos, morning doves, woodpeckers and more at my bird feeder on the very coldest of winter days. I will be uploading some images I took of them HERE

On these coldest of days, places of reprieve were found...

And although it was bitterly cold, it was indeed beautiful.

And time goes on...

And then slowly the sun shines a little longer...

And I continue to take comfort in taking more pictures : )

Squirrels, too, find comfort on these super cold days. They find little nuggets of yumminess. They especially cherish black sunflower seeds, yes even in tight quarters  : p

And this lil yellow finch seems to be conjoling me, 'cheer up grumpy gills, if I can take it so can you!!'  

I will not complain about the long winter, I will not complain about the long winter, I will not complain about the long winter, I love winter, I love winter.... (not)

Yeah, right, ok then... ummm, how about "Here are a few of my favorite things!?!"  

And we got more snow today. but... the days are getting longer; no really they are.

and see, I love it when I get visitors like I did today, specifically this lil guy! : )

I am going to be a Nanni!!! : ) So excited!!! :) :) :)

A view of the state capital at night.

I had just snapped a pic when the lights in the dome came on. Here's the second pic I took! : )

My Mister and I went to the State Library. It is still festively decorated in late January.

We finished the evening at Panera's, with healthy soup and salad, and yum!

Sometimes when we come home we find pooch sleeping... she is becoming deaf as she ages, so she doesn't always hear us come in. :0/

I got a new camera lens for Christmas... I will post more about it soon. It takes nice 'bokeh' images don't you think so?

I also received this... It is so wonderful, as the teapot stays hot for hours : )

A view from Mumsi's place....

Also where several friends and neighbors share their love of this pastime...

The warmest room in the house... even pooch thinks so, on these very cold, short winter days.

We tend to watch more tv, or knit or read...

And it is not long before it is time to hit the sack.

My Italian Mister and I went here, one of his favorite places......

...we had this.... and it was very scrumptious!!!  Great Italian music and atmosphere for a cold evening where it gets dark at 4PM. 

We were in for a big storm this Thanksgiving week... but we are getting rain instead. I don't mind. We will get plenty of snow in the next few months.  : p

Now with daylight savings, the sun sets sooner in the afternoon. It gets dark by 4 pm.... ...Here's to savoring those last few rays of daylight...