Make-BELIEVE tropical SUNSET ...

This winter-that-just-WON'T-leave SURE is a PRANKSTER and a LIAR and an ILLUSIONIST ... 

TONITE, he made the SUN setting on the OCEAN of this ICED-SNOW field look so TROPICAL ...

HAPPIEST and maple-SAPPIEST post EVER ...

Better brace UP for my HAPPIEST and maple-SAPPIEST post EVER ... 

I got back HOME just in time to watch the SUN set on the MOUNTAIN through the western WINDOW ... And my HEART filled with so much WARMTH that it melted the ICICLES hanging from the ROOF and turned the HORIZON on FIRE ... 

Ah ah ah ! YES ! 

Me and my good OLD self are slowly BUT surely returning to my VERY own and personal NORMALCY !

TODAY was a GOOD day soaked in ORANGE juice ...

Today ENDED like it STARTED ... Soaked in ORANGE JUICE with a BIG smile ... Just like a HAPPY day SHOULD ... 

TODAY, my PAPA came out of his SEDATION and for the FIRST time since THURSDAY's accident, BREATHED without the HELP of a machine ... He RECOGNIZED me, talked and asked tons of QUESTIONS as to WHY he was HOSPITALIZED ... I even made him LAUGH ... 

TODAY was a GOOD day ...

SHARING the BEAUTY of a winter SUNSET on the lake ...

My PAPA is stable and doing pretty well considering what he went THROUGH Thursday ... NO dammage to his BRAIN and the BLEEDING has finally stopped ... 

Tonite, they will remove the INTUBATION that helps him breathe to see how he manages by HIMSELF ... He is still MIDLY sedated so he doesn't feel PAIN and to prevent him from PANICKING and trying to remove his NOSE bandage ... 

Since he is in INTENSIVE care, I can NOT be by his side FULL-TIME and must limit my visits to 10 minutes each TWICE a day ... 

THANK you so MUCH once again for CARING about him ... It warms my HEART ... 

I just drove back by the LAKE and, right HERE right NOW, all this BEAUTY is just too MUCH for one person to ENJOY ... I had to SHARE it with YOU ...

WHERE the wild THINGS are ...

This afternoon, I WALKED in shallow SNOW in the fields, in the forest, by the lake for HOURS and HOURS ... I needed the PHYSICAL challenge and FRESH air in my lungs ... 

And when the SUN sank on the horizon getting ready to say BONNE NUIT, I took a different direction CLOSER to home ... Got my HIDDEN folding chair out of my SECRET spot and my bottle of RED wine out of my BACKPACK ... And I toasted to HAPPINESS and nature and LIFE ... In my FAVORITE spot ... 

Where the WILD things are ...

At the CROSSROADS ...

Sometimes, the snowy fields at SUNSET look like the ocean ... 

Normally, when I come to this CROSSROAD sign on my 4-mile RUN, I turn around ... TODAY, for some reason, I stopped by it and watch the SKY explode with COLORS after a rather DRAB day ... Then, I took a DEEP breath and decided that the length of my JOG was NO longer satisfying ... So I HIKED another 4 miles WITHOUT giving it a SECOND thought ... And felt MUCH better ... 

I guess you gotta PUSH yourself once in a while when THINGS get TOO easy ... I will keep THAT in mind for the REMAINDER of the year ... 

CHALLENGES are GOOD for YOU ...