January 7, 2013

Winter Garden


No, we haven't pulled off any actual growing this winter (unless you count some very resilient and battered kale). Our garden beds are sleeping under their blanket of snow. Still, we like to visit our plot, compare dreams for next season, and hike the surrounding trails. 

We got Little Smith his very first pair of skis for Christmas this year. They just clip onto his regular snow boots and our plan is to get him going on some of these gently sloped cross country trails as a warm up. We thought we might get him out there this day (which is why you see them, along with his helmet, on the backpack), but the light was low, it was cold, and he was in no mood. Instead we settled for a short hike. Little Smith actually might have agreed to stay out longer, but I made the rookie mistake of wearing my wellies and my toes were literally freezing off!

I'm embracing winter, but also so happy that the days are getting longer. My photographs are suffering with all the low light, I'm just not skilled at dark conditions. The white balance in these makes me cringe so much I want to remove the post. I'm letting it go though, and if I can't improve my skills, at least I'll have a couple more minutes of daylight to work with tomorrow (which is my mother's birthday by the way- and since it's past midnight that's today! Happy birthday mom, even though you just-say-no to computers and won't be reading this :))

*And if you are looking for some inspiration for your winter kitchen, check out Seasoned, a new food and living quarterly by Julie at Cinnamon Girl. I was honored to contribute to this winter edition with a couple recipes and some reflections on the season. It's full of treasures and gorgeous pictures, click on over to Julie's blog for all the details.

17 comments:

  1. Love the photos as usual! Ur photography skills are really good :)

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  2. Skis! All this winter activity gear is so foreign to me. Apparently Gus should already have a pair of skates by Maine's standards but I have no idea where to start!

    And of course, thanks for sharing. So kind of you! :)

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    1. Oh yes, we've got skates too :) and they were tough to find since W is a peanut. We are pretty obsessed with winter gear here, it's kind of our thang. If you ever need advice on skis, snowboards, snowshoes, skates... look no further!

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  3. Oh... white balance and trying to catch photos before the sun goes down... an enemy of mine as well. Although, an evening Christmas photo can be so dreamy. I like your family portraits! It's been overcast and snowy or rainy quite a bit during the day, so that's not helpful either! But, soak up any sunshiny afternoons you can grasp!
    xo

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  4. I have the same concern over winter photos. Some of mine make me cringe, although I don't feel that way about yours!

    Love the hiking photos. You make me feel guilty. I have barely taken my lazy ass outside for two weeks!

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  5. Love Little Smith's skull-and-crossbones helmet!

    I got my first pair of skis at about 2.5 and was shredding the slopes (according to my Dad) by the time I was 3. I love that you are starting LS early, too! I hope we can do the same for Alice next winter.

    But 50 degrees on Wed?! Bye-bye snow. :-(

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    1. That's awesome! We had hopes that he'd be out there last year but since he wasn't really walking yet we decided he might not be ready :)Can't wait to see Alice give it a try. And I'm actually looking forward to that 50 degrees, love the snow but I'll take a little warmth too!

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  6. Wonderful wonderful pictures! I am so with you on the white balance. I really struggle with those low light, indoor pictures. Which most of mine from Christmas were... but if you don't post them, then you won't have those memories secured in these online journals, right? Amen on longer days!!

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  7. Whoa! It looks c-c-c-cold there! You guys are troupers for sure! I love that W has his own skis. What a cool little dude he is! And I am feeling the same way about lighting around here. Makes everything harder to photograph. Looking forward to the days of beautiful 7pm lighting! Also? Please don't take down the family photos in front of the fire! I love them!

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  8. ahh! that snow is so beautiful! very cool about seasoned! that must have been fun to contribute. it looks like a great magazine :D

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  9. I love your photos, though I do agree that we could use the longer daylight here too-- its pitch black by 6, & my internal clock is all whacked out by it lol!

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  10. Such a cute wintery family! I am so looking forward to seeing photos of Gus on skis one day.

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  11. Snow 'big sigh' - we're lucky if we see any this far South in the UK. Swap my seascape for your snow.

    Happy New Year,

    Nina x

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  12. It looks SOOO cold, but SOOO beautiful! Love all these shots!

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