GREAT THINGS THAT COME IN FOURS

GREAT THINGS THAT COME IN FOURS

THE FABULOUS FOUR SEASONS

Today is the fourth day of the April Blog Challenge so let’s talk about some great things that come in fours today!   Since there are four seasons and I love the outdoors, I thought it would be a perfect topic to write about.

 

WINTER 

We live in the south now but love the northern winter activities with all the snow.  There is snowmobiling, skiing, ice fishing, ice skating or just playing in the snow and building a snowman!  After a fun day out in the snow, there is nothing better than warming up in front of a wood fire with a cup of hot cocoa!  Some think that the south never sees snow, but we do see flurries at times and even snow storms that accumulate.  Back in 1989, the year Hurricane Hugo came to shore in South Carolina, there was a snow storm that left about 13″.  For being in the south, that was a huge storm!  There have been other snow storms and even if only a few inches, the kids would love it!  These are a few pictures of our southern snow, the pup wasn’t sure what to do.

 

SPRING

I love spring with all the trees and flowers starting to bud  When they are in full bloom, our yard is so colorful with the beautiful roses, azaleas and even yellow dandelions!  I open the back door when the Confederate Jasmine and honeysuckle are in full bloom and it is such a fragrant smell!

 

Of course along with the beauty of the budding Bradford Pear trees, the Crepe Myrtle bushes and other wonderful trees, come the allergies!  These are Bradford Pear trees in our neighborhood during a pouring rain storm.

Spring is also when I plant the vegetable garden and anxiously wait for the delicious vegetables to be harvested.

 

SUMMER

Many people tend to be laid back and take life a bit slower in the Summer with some going boating or fishing while others get excited about heading to the beach.  Ask me how I know about that, we live in what is the #1 tourist destination in the United States and we deal with the daily traffic going to the beach as we head to work. Back in the 1970’s, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was a quiet, restful and peaceful place to visit but it has drastically changed now with non-stop, bumper to bumper traffic, mopeds and golf carts taking over the roads as visitors head to the beach.  The heat index in the summer soars off the charts but the tourists seem to enjoy the heat.

But summer is also the time to harvest all our delicious vegetables from our garden.  I freeze many of them so we are able to have “fresh” vegetables  throughout the rest of the year.

 

My favorites to freeze are summer squash, eggplant and peppers.  I slice the squash and put in freezer bags, the eggplant I bread and fry then bag when cool.  When I freeze peppers, I cut them in pieces, remove the seeds and put in freezer bags.  If you are interested in how I prepare them for freezing, here our my blogs on them.

Summer Squash – http://themarthareview.com/freezing-summer-squash/

Eggplant – http://themarthareview.com/eggplant-from-garden-to-freezer/

Be sure to check this blog out, it has some delicious recipes from fresh vegetables.   http://themarthareview.com/summer-garden-winter-food/

 

FALL

That brings us to fall, another beautiful season with the temperatures cooling down and most of the tourists retreat back to their home destination and the locals can enjoy their homes and surroundings again. But it’s also busy months of the hurricane season! Since the ocean water is so hot, it fuels the storms to come to shore.  While I love fall, I can definitely go without the hurricanes!

Our favorite fall activity is to head to the mountains to enjoy the spectacular view that mother nature provides to us with the gorgeous changing of the leaves.  Nothing better than walking through crisp, fallen leaves.

 

Fall isn’t complete unless we get fresh apples. When we get to go north, we always stop at the Apple Farm for fresh picked apples and cider donuts!  The donuts never make it back home, they are warm when we get them and gone way before getting back home to South Carolina.

 

Do you have something favorite in each season?  Let me know in the comment section at the end of my blog and thanks for stopping by to smell the roses!