Let it snow...

December only made us wait five days for its first snowfall here in Maryland.

It started falling at about 8am...just before Ava woke up. When I pulled her shades to show her the snow she said, "Claus?" I guess she's hoping for a white Christmas too.

We had some fun out in it and jingled all the way to the mailbox.


Then we tried to catch some flakes with our tongue.



We took advantage of other people's snow fears and got most of our errands accomplished in record time. We even stopped at a "Shebop" for a coffee and a "treat" and watched the snow fall a while. On those kinds of days, all you should have is time.



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Today's Splurge:

I've written about magazines in the past and the gobs and gobs that I receive in the mail. But there was a time when receiving a magazine in the mail was a really special thing. The New York State Conservationist is my earliest memory --my dear Uncle Owen gifted a subscription to my dad every year for Christmas until he passed.

And then there were the "puts you right there" photos in the National Geographic that we'd spend hours pouring over--when your imagination was still yours and not infiltrated by computers or television and at-your-finger-tips news and information.

Those two magazines, together with the compassion for people and animals instilled in me through nature and nurture, makes me someone who can open my heart and my wallet without pause when their health or safety is compromised through no doing of their own.

My splurge of the day is supporting the African Wildlife Foundation's Elephant Conservation Research Project. There you will also find lots of information about just how special these animals are--and just how endangered.