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Holiday Sights and Scenes

My Christmas came early this year when Jim surprised me with a new corgi puppy on December 9th. We had agreed to wait until spring to look for a new puppy to fill the void left when our much-loved Mitzi died in the fall, but Jim couldn’t resist this little character. Her name is Sophie, and she was nine weeks old when she arrived.

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After only a few weeks in our household, Sophie firmly established herself as the Alpha Dog. Clemmi, our Labradoodle, tries her best to pretend that Sophie doesn’t exist.

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But Billy, our Australian shepherd, is extremely protective of her.

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They bonded immediately.

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Christmas is always memorable when there’s a new puppy in the house, and Christmas 2009 really proved that point! On December 20 we got the first big snow of the year, assuring that Pennsylvania would have a white Christmas. Sophie wasted no time in finding out what snow was all about.

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Every time Sophie would venture out in the snow, Billy was there to watch over her.

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As usual, we headed to Deep Creek to spend Christmas with our kids. Sophie didn’t mind the trip at all. The last two years Garrett County has missed out on a white Christmas, so we were thrilled to find several feet of snow on the ground, and even more snow fell on Christmas Day.

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Here’s the lake from our deck on Christmas Day.

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Sophie made herself right at home . . .

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. . . and she had no trouble keeping up with the big dogs.

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And she definitely made a big hit with our grandson Lucas.

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When we learned that another snowstorm might hit Deep Creek on New Year’s Day, we decided to head back to Pennsylvania on New Year’s Eve. By the time we had the house shut down, Jim’s van and my car packed, a patchy fog was rolling in, so I decided to take a scenic detour to grab some winter scenes, starting with a few views of the fog-shrouded the lake.

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I decided to head north to scenic Route 40, and I came across this pretty farmstead on the road to the tiny town of Accident.

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By the time I hit Route 40, the fog was really thick.

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I stopped off at the historic Castleman’s River Bridge near Grantsville. When it was built in 1813, this 80 foot span was the largest stone arch in America. It was a really beautiful scene!

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The nearby Spruce Forrest artisan’s village also looked great in the snow.

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Toward the end of my trip, I caught sight of an Amish buggy about to cross over the Interstate, so I grabbed the camera and made this shot through the windshield. The symbolism seemed perfect for New Year’s Eve: The crossing of old and new.

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May you and your family have a happy and healthy 2010!