Winter Tablescape! Welcome to the 73rd Tablescape Thursday!

It's been unusually cold here in Georgia this winter...we even had a bit of snow.

Snow in Georgia calls for a tablescape with a wintery feel.

When I spied these snowman plates at HomeGoods a few months back, I couldn't resist.




When I had family here for Christmas, we used them for dessert; today they are salad plates in our whimsical, winter tablescape.




I'm using the Dollar Tree snowflake glasses I told BNOTP Facebook Fans about several weeks ago. I've received several comments and e-mails from folks saying they bought them after I posted about them on the BNOTP FB Wall. Some of the Dollar Tree stores do still have them...I saw some in the store when I stopped by today. (If you'd like to follow BNOTP on Facebook, just click on the "Fan" button posted on the sidebar.)




I didn't have any "snowy" flatware, but I kind of like the way this silverplate in a Beethoven pattern, looks with this tablesetting. It has been well used and has developed that "icy" patina I so love to see on silver.




Before I could put this tablescape together last week, I had to get busy and take down all my Christmas decorations. I got a little help from my snowmen friends. Charlie took all the lights off the trees...






Raphie took the trees back down to the basement...




I love these snowflake tealight candle holders. They are available HERE at Colonial Candle.




Fred discovered an unopened package and tried to sneak off with it...






And Harry...well, Harry goofed off, went sledding, and didn't help at all! ;-)





The nandinas are still putting on a grand show in my backyard. The foliage and berries made for a great centerpiece, tucked down inside a pitcher in the snowman pattern. I liked how they mimicked the red berries on the snowman salad plates. :-)




I wanted to take a few pics by candlelight, but since it wasn't dark, I decided to create my own "dark" by closing the shutters in the breakfast room. As I was closing the shutters, I glanced out and saw this big boy sitting in the tree. Do you see him? He's in the center, down in the lower third of the pic, sitting on a limb. He's just to the left of the skinny tree in the center, down toward the bottom of the pic. He's HUGE!




I went outside and tried to get a better picture of him, but he flew down to the ground, made a lot of noise thrashing around in the leaves...then he flew off. I'm thinking he may have caught something.

Does anyone recognize what kind of bird this might be...perhaps by the shape of his body and tail? I can tell you he was REALLLLLLY BIG...probably 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall. He looked gigantic sitting out there on that limb. I've seen him around here before. When he comes around, all the other birds go nuts and start screeching in the trees. That's the way they warn each other and try to scare him off. I would love to know what it is...perhaps a hawk or falcon? He could definitely carry off a small cat or dog...this bird is HUGE! If you know someone who knows birds, please send them to look at this pic. (Click on pic to enlarge even more.)

UPDATE: Mary, Jilly, Delores and Pat think this guy is a Red-tail Hawk (also known as a Chicken-hawk) and I think they are right. I just looked him up on Wikipedia and I do think that's what he is because he has the speckles down his front like the red-tailed hawk. And Wikipedia says they can grow to be 18 to 26 inches tall! I told y'all he was HUGE! (LOL)


Here's a pic of this handsome guy from Wikipedia:




Update: This guy may have come back for another visit. Check out THIS post and let me know what you think. Think it's the same guy? If so, he seems to stop by each January. :)

Ok, back to our tablescape...got the shutters all closed, so time for a bit of candlelight.



Thanks so much for stopping by this evening. See that porch out there through the French door? In about 8 weeks, we'll be back out there tablescaping...and this girl can't wait! :-) Looking forward to seeing your beautiful tablescapes!



Dinner Plate: Gibson, Clarendon; Big Lots
Snowman Salad Plate and Mugs: HomeGoods, several months ago, no brand name shown
Snowflake glasses: Dollar Tree, several months ago
Flatware: Silverplate, Pattern is Beethoven, eBay
Napkins: HomeGoods, Before Christmas
Snowmen ornaments: Kohls, after Christmas sale
Snowman Tea Pot, Sugar & Creamer: HomeGoods, no brand name shown
Centerpiece: Large Snowman Pitcher, HomeGoods, no brand name shown; Nandina from my yard
Red and White Snowflake Tealight Candle Holders: Colonial Candle



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