Merry white Christmas to everyone from Upstate New York! How fab to wake to the scraping sound of snow being shoveled and this beautiful view out the window. It's enough to make one feel truly very lucky indeed to be surrounded by people I love, in a place I love. I know that sounds terribly smug, but in a world where there is so much loneliness and isolation, it is a wonderful treat to enjoy all of this. Here's wishing the same to everyone who reads this!

To set the festive scene, here are a couple of very sweet decorations made here last night. A herd of pipe cleaner reindeer and Santa's clothes put out to dry.

And finally, a view to make a walker pause and just... look. While in so many directions, I notice the steady spread of building and human habitation and marks on the land, this one vista remains unchanged. May it ever be so.