Saturday, January 24, 2009

Wintertime Lemonade

This will be a two part post. First, I want to show my gratitude for something special, then it's on to my normal stuff in the second half of this post.


Karen of Karen & Gerard Zemek awarded me with the Lemonade Award. You can find a link to her post about it here: Thanks, Angel, For The Lemonade Award!

Thank you very much for this award Karen. The Lemonade Award is for sites that show gratitude and a wonderful attitude. I think that’s a good group to belong to, and I am greatly honored! Sorry Karen that I'm a little late with my post for it, but I didn't want to have it on the same day as my new Fiction Friday posts. I thought it wouldn't be respectful to do on that day. Again, I'd like to thank you, Karen for this award. It's greatly appreciated!


Here are The rules:
  1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
  2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
  3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
  4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
  5. Share the love and link to this post.

I'm going to say right off the bat that I'm going to break the rules a little bit. My only excuse is, that's what I do, I can't help it, I'm a rebellious rule breaker! I do have great respect for those that follow them though. I'll follow the majority of the rules, but I'm going to throw rule 3 and 4 right out the window!

For the blogs I wish to pass this award to, this is where the daring rebel in me comes flying out. I'm going to do things a little differently. (Feel free to tease me about the rebel cracks in my comments section. I can take it.)

Look over to your right at My Favorite Blogs list, and below that at my Followers list. I wish to pass this award to every last person in those two lists. None of you have to accept or acknowledge it, but if you want to receive the award leave me a comment telling me so. I will then make an updated post with a link to you and your award post in it. I'll only know if you leave the comment.

I'm doing it this way because I know that while some of you like receiving these awards, others don't want to get involved. Both ways of doing things are perfectly okay. So either way your opinion lies, enjoy the award.

The last thing I'd like to say about this is, Karen, I hope this post meets with your approval. I really enjoyed receiving this award from you.

Here Are Some Who Have Accepted The Award and Links To Their Post:
  1. The Retired One
  2. Sharkbytes


Now on to part two of my post.

This part is for those of you that are still reading. For the others, pleeeaase come baaaack! I'm not finished yet! Okay, now that I got that out of the way, let's get started.

I am reenergized! I am rejuvenated! I am ready to go! I am going to show you what my precious nature trails look like right now. If you're thinking they look wintery and snowy, then you are absolutely right!

When I went out there, I wanted to show a bright and sunny day, so you could see that winter isn't all doom and gloom. It didn't happen that way. I did this right after I left work, and it's still a little too late to get to these places before the sun begins to go down.

When I walked out the door at work, it was a nice clear sunny day, but it just takes me a little while to get to any of my favorite parks. The good news is that the days are getting longer. Just a month ago, I wouldn't have even been able to try this. The darkness would have begun to fall on the drive here.

These photos actually look a little darker than it really was out there. That is only the result of my shortcomings as a photographer. I'll say again what I've said many times before. I really need to take the time to read the manual of my camera. Then I might begin to take some actually good shots.

Well, when I got there I saw more kids sledding down the Scenic Overlook at the park. I didn't really get any photos of that, because the other one from the other day was better. So I decided to walk down the hill to the hiking trail.

If you look closely at these photos, you can grooves in the snow on these trails. These grooves were created by people that were cross country skiing. They were going up and down these trails. It was only my odd attitude about taking pictures of people that stopped me from showing you some of them. I'm working on correcting that little oddity.

Part of it is that I always liked the photos of scenery without people in them. The humans always seemed to corrupt the scene for me. As I have been exposed to more photos and new blogs, my attitude about that is changing in certain circumstances. Sometimes a human presence enhances a scene, just as an animal can.

Something else I thought I would mention was how deep this snow is. It was not easy walking through this stuff. I had to walk inside the ski tracks, and I still found myself sinking down. I'm sure there is equipment that can help with this, but that's not what I'm about.

I'm not here to present this from the view of an experienced hiker. I want to show you that even though it can be difficult at times, anyone can go out and do this, with very little preparation and expense. These places are for all of us.

The good hikers get some extra enjoyment with their fancy equipment, but the rest of us need a good place to get started. We need to build our experience for ourselves sometimes, before we begin to move up to the level of the real outdoors people.

Besides, it's fun to learn these things as we go along. I learn something new every time I go out there. Only the new experience can teach me some of these things. All of this gives me a kind of outdoor innocence that I hope enables the beginners to identify with, and helps them realize that they can do it too.

Good day to you, and see you tomorrow!


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14 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your award. I liked the pictures of your snowy trails. It is fun getting out there and just admiring the beauty without having a purpose in mind other than to enjoy nature. I did break down and get an inexpensive pair of snowshoes this winter and that has helped me with all that deep snow.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Ok,you little Rule Breaker...congratulations on your award and thank you for passing it on (as I am on your list, I gratefully accept!) (and therefore will copy your irreverence and break the rules in a similar fashion on my blog!)
    I like your hiking trail....it looks a lot like one I took where we used to live. It was right in the middle of town, but when you hiked it, you felt like miles away. We saw beaver, deer and even a Blue Heron bird when we hiked it. The trails have unique characters during all four seasons. Thanks for Sharing!

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  3. Hai Ratty, Thanks again for founding myself on your list. Is out of malaysia for a holiday for a while and was a bit late noticing your post. Will reciprocate in time.

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  4. Mountain Woman - Thanks. It's one of my favorite things to go out there and look around, and just let my mind wander. It's one of the most peaceful things to do. I've been thinking about getting something like snowshoes. By the time I get around to it though, winter will probably be over.:)
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    The Retired One - That's BIG rule breaker.;) Thanks, and you are very welcome yourself! I'll watch for your award post so I can update my list and give you a special place.

    That's what I love about my nature trails; they're not too far from civilization. I grew up in the city, so I'm too used to it there; but I have country life in my soul.
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    Kruel - I think you'll always be on my list. Take as long as you want with it. I'll watch for your post, and I'll make sure I make an updated post listing you, and everyone else who accepts this award.

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  5. Hi Ratty- I don't quite get these awards. If everyone passes it on to multiple more people, pretty soon everyone will have the award. But, I thank you again. I'll pass it on to a few. Your trail pics are very honest. Most of the time the trails near home are not spectacular, they just give us opportunities to get outside and look for special things.

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  6. Sharkbytes - You're right, everyone will eventually have the awards if they continue. For that reason, they might seem pointless. There's another way to look at it though. When you receive an award, and then continue it, there is the potential for any others involved to come look at your blog. It opens up the door to many new readers. You never know who might see, and like, your site when you do an award post. I've gotten several new visitors, with interesting blogs of their own, by doing these. In the end, something that seems kind of pointless on the surface, is actually a valuable tool.

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  7. oh, love those trails, really great shots. congratulations on your award.

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  8. Though see no human in your pictures, but they are dynamic with your descriptions.

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  9. Betchai - Thanks on both. It was fun out there.
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    Rainfield - I wish I would stop and think to take pictures of the humans sometimes. A few of those people on skis almost ran me over.:)

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  10. Thanks for accepting this award. I think you had a good way of passing it along. I know it's kind of a big pain to do these sometimes, especially if you get a lot. Like you mentioned though in your comments, sometimes you can get new readers through doing these. I feel like putting up a sign sometimes saying, "Please, no more awards, thank you anyway." But then, I'll get one that is for a specific thing that I really value so haven't put up my "no awards, please" sign yet.

    Your pictures make me want to go to the park. We just got a bunch more snow today.

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  11. OK... I did it! And I found a blog (not on E card) that is beautiful by following a favorite of one of the people I gave the award to. http://chroniclesofacountrygirl.blogspot.com/ Chronicles of a Country Girl

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  12. Karen - Thanks for giving me the award. I honestly consider it an honor when someone like you thinks of me with an award like this. To me they are all special for that alone. They do create an amount of anxiety for some bloggers who haven't built up very many contacts yet, that's what happened to me when I started out. So I try to consider them too, and ease them into it. Like you, I have come to understand the real value of these awards, so I like them all.
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    Sharkbytes - Yes, exactly! This is why I offer these awards every time they come my way. These awards can be better than E card in some ways.:)

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  13. Once again,good to be back wanted to make a comment regarding your award, you do make your own rules and I applaud you for it. I am honored to be listed on your site.

    A.J.

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  14. A.J. - I am honored to list you here. Your site is one I like to go to often, so I make sure I have an easy link to it for me, and for everyone else. You deserve the award as much as I do.:)

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