2009 in review...

I cannot believe how fast 2009 seemed to fly by for me. I guess it is true the older one gets the faster time seems to pass. For my annual year in review I am showing the header collages from each month with a link back to some of my personal favorite posts.January 22nd - hoar frost. Each year I look forward to the hoar frost days and the opportunity to try and capture the magic of the tiny little leaf shaped crystals.
February 22nd - Joseph and Johnny, the ring neck pheasants. Last winter our days were filled with watching the resident pheasants feed in the backyard. However, so far this season we have not seen any...Jeff feels it is because we were surrounded by soybean and not corn fields this past farming season. I keep the corn buffet going and hopefully they will come back this year and join the bluejays, sparrows and squirrels feeding there.
March 19th - moving day for the little red barn. March is a boring month in MN! We are sick of the long winter and anxiously awaiting spring. This past March, a highlight were the days Jeff & I spent in the shop building my latest little garden shed. I am already dreaming up winter projects for us in the shop this year but they will not be to this scale :)
April 8th - the wide open spaces of Texas Hill Country. We were blessed to take an early spring camping and cycling trip to Texas and Hill Country was the perfect spot.
May 5th - brought the beginning of the tulips and the start of the gardening season, so of course I picked this post. May's posts reflect the busy and joy filled days of gardening, watching the migrating birds, dance and piano recitals - so I laughed when I saw my "to do" list included staining the cabin...didn't happen but a must do in 2010! Reviewing May's posts the most sentimental to me was the memorial post to Gabi, our beloved pet...a somber post to pick as a highlight but I couldn't resist at least giving you an opportunity to go back and see this beautiful dog :)
June 29th - our highlight of the month was definitely Nathan & Tammy's wedding recap post, what a wonderful event it was! A garden highlight was the start of Pine Hollow - it really grew over the summer and I have acquired more additions this winter so I am looking forward to putting it all together once again in the spring.
July 4th - I finally mastered fireworks photos!
August 12 - Cycling Colorado and the thrill of riding to the top of Pike's Peak were personal joys for me. The garden was probably at it's best on August 1st so I couldn't let this year in review post go without the "tour"...part one...part two...part three.
September 30th - I had a little fun setting up a bird photo shoot with a faux pumpkin birdhouse.
October 5th - the beautiful autumn colors in the woods of northern MN just said "October" the best to me :)
November 6th - I watched as a goldfinch took a late season bath.
December 14th - I posted about a family weekend of fun. Viewing Christmas lights, taking in a concert and baking together was a fantastic way to start the Christmas season!

Can't wait to see what 2010 brings to my garden of life and look forward to sharing some of the joys with you here.