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  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for Home Living Handbook, HGTV.com, and a handful of other websites. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

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Our First Winter

February 10, 2014

Amazing things happen in our new neighborhood when it snows; I can’t get enough of the snow canopying in the pines, or the lantern lit over our neighbor’s driveway.

Rochester, NY; February 2014

We have reason to believe our house had a light at the end of the driveway too. Maybe it was just a lantern on a post, it probably wasn’t a cool lantern strung between trees, but maybe one day we’ll get something re-installed. That little light definitely does something to make a home seem super welcoming.

It’s the first winter we’ve been in our house, the first time being able to pinpoint drafts in the exterior doors, the first in which we realize how screwed up our thermostat zones are, the first opportunity to realize that the unfinished basement stays a balmy 72-degrees, even when it’s only 10-degrees outside. This place is built like a fort.

The roof insulation in our home seems to be good too, something you always have to wonder about when you find and buy your home in the spring/summer months. The winter leaves plenty of opportunity for surprise, but for us, no icicles, and a thick blanket of snow covering the shingles is a great sign.

Backyard, February 2014.

We’ve had plenty of down branches so far this winter, and Pete has been keeping busy trying to keep them gathered in the area of the fire pit we began to establish last summer. I’d say I’ve been helping him, but this was actually one of the first times I’ve been in the backyard since the baby was born last November. Short of letting Cody in and out, I’ve been keeping pretty cozy.

Backyard, February 2014.

Deer have been everywhere during the winter. They all have thick, thick furry coats and wander through the backyard, flirting with each other in the woods, and approaching within just a few feet of the house. One morning we woke to see one looking in the bedroom window, another day one passed by a window so closely that I was startled. Cody usually doesn’t even notice them, and when they notice him, they just stop and stare. Rabbits, always interesting. Deer, always boring.

The snow covering the barn roof completely is a friendly reminder that it is healed, that the interior of the barn will stay dry so that we can continue to make some more structural repairs to the building this spring. Eventually, and maybe not this year, it won’t be yellow.

Backyard, February 2014.

My favorite Tamarack that stands in the backyard is really, really beautiful when powdered with snow.

Tamarack, Winter 2014.

The trunk of the fallen tree that still lays in the backyard is a daily reminder that we have a lot of cleanup to do when the snow melts.

Backyard, February 2014.

It’s a really beautiful morning in Rochester. How are you spending it? (Hopefully not sitting on 590.)

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Backyard

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast living a very merry, DIY-filled lifestyle. As a freelance writer, you can find my work on many popular home and garden sites, including HGTV.com, Home Living Handbook, a Pursuit Channel for Men's Journal, and other outlets. Follow me on social, or drop me a note.

6 Comments


julia
February 10, 2014 at 9:22 am
Reply

Going snowboarding at swain… $10 tickets all day! 8am-9pm!



    Emily
    February 10, 2014 at 10:37 am

    AHHH!!

Sam
February 11, 2014 at 1:24 am
Reply

I really wish we had snow like this in Australia!! Beautiful photos =]



Bill
February 11, 2014 at 1:22 pm
Reply

How is Cody doing? Is he OK?



    Emily
    February 12, 2014 at 9:17 am

    He’s back to his old self, thanks for asking :) He is incredibly lucky and we are spoiling him rotten.

Susan
February 11, 2014 at 4:46 pm
Reply

Great photos, love the night one – really pretty; but, we’ve had more than 24 inches of snow above average so far – I’M DONE!!!!



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  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    You can find me writing for Home Living Handbook, HGTV.com, and a handful of other websites.

    Thanks for visiting!

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