Fabulous Friday: Signs of Spring

~

Jack, or Jacqueline Frost, visited our garden last night.  The temperature dropped quickly after the sun went down, and there was no wind.

Long, intricate ice crystals formed on every moist surface.

~

~

I went out early enough this morning to discover them.  The sun’s first rays were just stroking them, and releasing each ice crystal back into the sky as mist.

~

~

“In the process of  falling to the earth,

seeping into the ground, and then emerging,

water obtains information from various minerals

and becomes wise.”

.

Masaru Emoto

*

As I wandered around, admiring the rim of frost on grass and leaves, buds and glass, I also noticed many signs of spring.

The ground in our garden may be frozen hard, but determined green shoots still emerge.

~

~

Perennials still push up a few tentative leaves.  Woody buds swell.

~

~

And the desiccated chaff remaining from summer’s growth blankets the ground.  It, too, prepares for spring as it decomposes and enriches the soil for all that will follow.

~

~

Maybe it is in our nature to watch and wait for signs of events still beyond the horizon of our lives.   Perhaps it is a lack of discipline when we shift our focus from ‘what is’ to ‘what will come.’

~

~

Even as we appreciate winter’s gifts of fiery sunsets, quiet snow, long evenings and intricate crystalline artworks shining in the morning sunshine;  spring already stirs in our hearts.

~

~

Woodland Gnome 2018

~

~

“What is the relationship between love and gratitude?

For an answer to this question, we can use water as a model.

A water molecule consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom,

represented by H2O.

If love and gratitude , like oxygen and hydrogen,

were linked together in a ratio of 1 to 2,

gratitude would be twice as large as love.”

.

Masaru Emoto, Hidden Messages in Water

~

~

Fabulous Friday:  Happiness is contagious!  Let’s infect one another.

More Growth: Past, Present, Future

~

“Patience is to wait for the ice to melt

instead of breaking it.”

.

Munia Khan

~

~

“…ice contains no future ,

just the past, sealed away.

As if they’re alive, everything in the world

is sealed up inside, clear and distinct.

Ice can preserve all kinds of things

that way- cleanly, clearly.

That’s the essence of ice,

the role it plays.”

.

Haruki Murakami

~

~

“Snowflakes are one of nature’s

most fragile things,

but just look what they can do

when they stick together.”

.

Vesta M. Kelly

~

~

“Thank goodness for the first snow,

it was a reminder-

-no matter how old you became

and how much you’d seen,

things could still be new

if you were willing to believe

they still mattered.”

.

Candace Bushnell

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2018

 

For the Daily Post’s

Weekly Photo Challenge:  Growth

~

Knowing Winter

~

“One can follow the sun, of course,

but I have always thought that it is best

to know some winter, too,

so that the summer, when it arrives,

is the more gratefully received.”

Beatriz Williams

~

~

Much of North America lies frozen this week beneath a layer of icy whiteness.  Weather maps on TV are clothed in shades of blue, purple and white.  It is a respite from this year’s heat, perhaps, and a novelty for those who enjoy winter.

Here in Williamsburg, in coastal Virginia, we see temperatures drop below the mid-twenties only occasionally, and not every year.  But we are also in the midst of this Arctic cold snap at the moment.  There is a chance for snow tomorrow evening.

~

~

The garden, and the larger world are frozen tight and hard this week.  Those winter faring plants I potted up so carefully last month sit brittle, a bit limp and desiccated in their pots today despite the brilliant sun shining on them.  I gave each pot a bit of tap water yesterday afternoon, hoping to thaw the soil long enough for roots to draw a bit of moisture in to the thirsty plants.

~

~

We’ve wrapped our olive trees in clear plastic bags and set them in the warmest corner of our front patio, where they capture the mid-day sun.  They’ve grown too large now to bring indoors each winter.  We hope they make it through to warmer days ahead.

~

~

But there is only so much anyone can do when such bitter cold blows in to one’s neighborhood.  The lowest temperature we’ve seen here since Christmas was 12F.  It feels a bit odd to cheer on the mercury to climb through the 20s, hoping it might actually make it up to 32F before the evening chill returns.

~

~

But such is our life at the moment, and so we have decided to enjoy the novelty of it.  It is the season to trot out one’s heavy sweaters and gloves, and possibly even a jacket.  I had forgotten which drawer our gloves got put away in last spring, and needed a reminder.  A pair now live in my bag, ready to pull on whenever I step outside into this frosty world.

But clad in hat and gloves, wool and pashmina and jeans, I set off to capture photos of ice today.  My partner kept the car warm and idling while I scampered about on the banks of Mill Creek and the James River in search of ice sculptures.

~

~

The wind was almost quiet, and the sun blazing bright and glinting off the frozen marshes.  It was nearly 24F as I captured these photos today.

~

~

We were delighted to find eagles flying in lazy circles above us and large congregations of geese gathered along the roadsides.  I could hear waterfowl splashing into the creek in search of lunch as I picked my way down the frozen trail to the water’s edge.

~

~

A heron clung to a branch along the bank, watching as gulls dove into the creek and ducks cavorted along its glassy surface.

~

~

Halves of minnows, cut up by some intrepid fisher-person for bait, lay scattered about on the sandy beach.  Frozen hard, they held no appeal for the foraging birds around us.

I marvel at the sight of spray cloaked grasses and ice glazed stones.  The river and creeks here are tidal, and the rising and falling water and windblown spray make for ever-changing textures along their banks.

~

~

Sheets of ice get pushed up in the marshes on the incoming tide, and slushy brackish water takes on odd hues in the wintery light.

~

~

Our oddly frozen world dreams this week in weirdly grotesque forms.  Frozen soil pushes up in the garden, heaving fragile root balls not properly mulched and insulated against the cold.  Ice crystals sprout from stems and leaves in the first light of morning.

~

~

Only the birds appear impervious to the cold.  Small flocks of blackbirds gather on the frozen grass.  Songbirds hop about in the trees as we pass.  I wonder at the mysteries of nature which allow them to survive such frigid weather.

Whether sitting on the ground, swimming in the frozen creeks or gliding on a current of air, they appear almost comfortable.  This is a great gift they enjoy, and that we do not.

~

~

We are mostly watching through the window panes to see how the rest of this month unfolds.  Our cat spends long hours dozing, curled up in a blanket on the couch.  He shows no interest in exploration beyond his food bowl at the moment.

Surely the world will soon be slick and white if the forecast is to be believed, and our garden will slumber on under a bit more insulation as we dream of spring.

Yet, in this moment, we know winter; and see its beauties all around us.

~

~

Woodland Gnome 2018

~

~

“There is an instinctive withdrawal for the sake of preservation,

a closure that assumes the order of completion.

Winter is a season unto itself.”

.
Haruki Murakami

~

Sunday Dinner: Determination

~

“Achieving your goals depends more

on the way you manage to push through

the bad days, than shine on the good ones.”

.

Lorri Faye

~

~

“An invincible determination

can accomplish almost anything,

and in this lies the great distinction

between great man and little man.

.

Thomas Fuller

~

~

“The foolish man seeks happiness

in the distance.

The wise grows it under his feet.”

  .

James Oppenheim

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

~

Growth

~

Bits of energy dissipate and coalesce, eternally, reshaping our world.

~

~

Where does matter come from?  How does it organize itself into ever greater complexity?

~

~

What guides the subtle patterns of its becoming?

~

~

Gardeners ponder these mysteries as we watch seeds become plants become flowers and fruits.

~

~

We ponder the wonder of it all as we eat the fruit and save its seeds for the coming seasons.

~

~

In winter, we ponder these mysteries anew as the sky crumbles into snowflakes.

~

~

We watch the formation of icy stalagmites and fragile ice crystals.

~

~

Moisture, drawn from the air, materializes before us in the most intricate patterns.

~

~

We watch reality crystallize around us. 

~

~

Sometimes slowly, sometimes in a single breath; energy moves from form to form in its endless dance of life.

~

Porcelain bowl by Denis Orton, is filled with paperwhites stirring into growth and wild moss from the garden.

~

Woodland Gnome 2017

~

~

Water has a memory and carries within it

our thoughts and prayers.

As you yourself are water,

no matter where you are,

your prayers will be carried to the rest of the world.

.

Dr. Masaru Emoto

~

 

Sunday Dinner: Fire and Ice

~

Fire and Ice

 

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate.

To say that for destruction ice,
Is also great

And would suffice.

.

Robert Frost

~

~

“Ice contains no future , just the past, sealed away.

As if they’re alive, everything in the world

is sealed up inside, clear and distinct.

Ice can preserve all kinds of things that way-

cleanly, clearly.

That’s the essence of ice, the role it plays.”

.

Haruki Murakami

~

~

“Keep a little fire burning;

however small, however hidden.”

.

Cormac McCarthy

~

~

“The greatest gift of life on the mountain is time.

Time to think or not think, read or not read,

scribble or not scribble –

– to sleep and cook and walk in the woods,

to sit and stare at the shapes of the hills.

I produce nothing but words;

I consume nothing but food, a little propane,

a little firewood. By being utterly useless

in the calculations of the culture at large

I become useful, at last, to myself.”

.

Philip Connors

~

~

“Everybody has a little bit of the sun and moon in them.

Everybody has a little bit of man, woman,

and animal in them.  Darks and lights in them.

Everyone is part of a connected cosmic system.

Part earth and sea, wind and fire,

with some salt and dust swimming in them.

We have a universe within ourselves

that mimics the universe outside.

None of us are just black or white,

or never wrong and always right. No one.

No one exists without polarities.

Everybody has good and bad forces working with them,

against them, and within them.

.

Suzy Kassem

~

~

“Fire tests gold, suffering tests brave men.”

.

Seneca

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

 

 

 

 

‘Faux’ Snow?

It remained above freezing, in the mid 30s F,  during our snow yesterday and well into the night. How did this snow accumulate on such a warm day?

~

I remember watching it snow through the classroom window, all those years ago. 

Snowflakes filled the air, and we all hoped for an early release followed by a ‘snow day’ off.  But as hard and fast as the snow fell, it barely covered the grass outside our school; the parking lot shiny wet but clear.  It just wasn’t sticking.  Why?  Do you remember when it had to be freezing for snow to ‘stick?’

In grade school science classes we learned that ice forms at 32F or 0C.  Snow formed in the frozen clouds high above our heads and drifted down to Earth.  But if the Earth was still warm, it melted on contact.  Oh, those were the days….. of real snow and normal weather.

~

~

Yes, I’m nostalgic.  As lovely as our snow might have left the garden yesterday, the uncomfortable little secret, the truth in other words, is that our temperatures remained in the mid-30s all day yesterday and well into the night.  And yet, we watched huge, sloppy wet flakes of snow quickly cover the ground, the shrubs, tree branches and roofs.

We had nearly 2″ of snow on the deck railings before it quit in mid-afternoon.  And such a heavy snow!  It weighted down the shrubs and bamboo terribly, uprooting and bringing 30′ bamboo stalks over to touch the ground under the weight of it clinging to their upper branches.

We had early morning rain, yesterday, before it changed over to the frozen stuff, which left puddles of water on the front patio.  Those puddles never froze all day; and yet flakes of ‘slush’ floated on top much of the afternoon.

When I made my afternoon circuit around the yard, broom in hand knocking some of the weight off of the bamboo and the shrubs, my boots sank down into the muddy wet ground.  The ground was far from frozen, and yet was covered in an inch of ‘snow.’

How is this even possible? 

~

Snow remained on trees, roofs, and the garden late this afternoon. Once the temperature finally dropped overnight, it went down to the 20s for much of today.

~

Maybe you remember, as I do, a certain company’s TV ad slogan : “Better Things for Better Living…. Through Chemistry.”  It was their official slogan from 1935 until 1982, so I grew up hearing it often.  Chemical company research has improved daily life in many ways.  And it has also produced some pretty noxious products which have done great harm to our environment.  Scientific research remains a mixed bag in any area you care to name.

But it was in the early 20th Century, in our modern era, when entrepreneurial scientists first began to offer their services to ‘make rain’ in drought stricken areas of our country.

The city of San Diego hired Charles ‘Rainmaker’ Hatfield for $10,000 to fill the Lake Morena reservoir, after several years of severe drought.  Hatfield mixed and then heated certain chemicals together to ‘seed’ the clouds; with dramatic results.  He couldn’t spray them from an airplane, but he burned the chemicals on tall towers around the lake.  Hatfield was too successful.

After 17 days, 11.4 inches of rain fell, flooding the lake, bursting dams, causing mudslides.     Residents sued the city for millions of dollars worth of damage.  San Diego never paid their ‘Rainmaker’ for his efforts because of their catastrophic results.

~

Beginning as rain, our snow yesterday soon grew thick and heavy. The forecast for ‘scattered flurries’ mushroomed into hours of heavy, accumulating snow. More is on the way….

~

There is a long history of efforts to change the weather; a mostly silent history, as it is very controversial.  California cities have been hiring rainmakers off and on through much of this century to relieve droughts, according to a series of articles published in the LA Times.

Our government grew interested in manipulating the weather as a way to influence the battlefield as early as the 1940’s Project Cirrus.  Experiments have been ongoing, under many project names.  You didn’t read about this in your high school history class?  I can’t imagine why….

Ask a Viet Nam veteran about how our government extended the monsoon season to flood North Vietnamese roads in the 1960’s.  Known as “Operation Popeye,” this highly classified program continued from 1967-1972.

~

Just before sundown today, and I’m surprised at how much snow remains.

~

The first successful experiment in creating a snowstorm came as early as November, 1946 over New York.  Dry ice was dropped from a plane into the clouds, and it snowed.

But results from these experiments continue to be unpredictable.  Sometimes they work; sometimes they don’t.  Sometimes they work too well, causing property damage and loss of life from the ensuing storms. 

But the experimentation not only continues, it is now global.  Popular Science Magazine ran a series of articles about the weaponization of the weather as early a 1958.  In 1977, the United States was one of several countries who ratified a Convention at the UN to ban weather modification as a weapon of war.  Even so, accusations between nations continue as fantastic weather events unfold each year.

But now there is a new adversary in these ‘weather wars’:  the warming of the planet.  Though there are a myriad of causes for our steep increases in temperatures lately, scientists are working with many experimental protocols to slow the trend.

Which brings us back to snow.

~

~

Have you ever used a chemical ice pack?  These are kept at the ready for athletes to ice their injuries, and are sold in most every drug store.

Our chemists have learned how to mix chemicals in a way to create ice.  And, our geoengineers have come up with a chemical soup they can spray over rain clouds, which will cause ‘chemical ice nucleation.’  This is how snow can fall when it is as warm as the low 40s F. Several US patents have already been granted for these mixtures and processes.

We all know that water can absorb and store heat.  Water vapor super cooled chemically, has proven effective in sucking heat out of the atmosphere as it falls.  This is how it suddenly grows much colder while this ‘faux snow’ is falling, and how it can remain in a ‘frozen’ crystalline form even when the ground on which it has fallen remains above freezing.  This is an ‘endothermic reaction’ where the water vapor in our atmosphere absorbs heat energy, even as it chemically freezes.

In fact, this engineered snow, which may begin when temperatures are well above freezing, eventually results in  deadly cold temperatures.  Have you noticed the unusually cold temperatures, following snowstorms, over much of the planet in recent years?  These much publicized winter storms help confuse us about the extremely warm temperatures in other parts of our planet.

~

Snow freezes to the limbs, and lingers for a very long time. This photo was taken nearly 30 hours after our snow stopped yesterday.

~

When you hear ‘heavy, wet snow’ predicted, be suspicious.  This geoengineered snow is much heavier than natural snow, and does tremendous damage to trees and shrubs.  For one thing, it freezes to the limbs and won’t fall off naturally, adding weight to limbs and branches for an unusually long time.

Geoengineered snow contains a number of heavy metals, used in the chemical nucleation process.  These metal particles, like Barium and Aluminum, contaminate everything they touch and get into our ground water supply.

Are all snow storms the product of geoengineering?  Probably not.  I hope not.

Once you begin to delve into this subject, you begin to watch weather forecasts with a different frame of reference, though.

~

~

If you have read this far, and you’re thinking, “That Woodland Gnome really is a nut case to write this stuff;” then please just do a little more reading.  And please notice that I’m saying, “Please.”

Pour yourself a mug of your favorite beverage, polish your reading glasses, and just follow a few of the links I’ve embedded for you.  Each of those links will lead you to a few more, and you will see the vast body of hard evidence to back up what I’ve shared with you here.

Why would you do this?  Because you want to know a little bit more about this weird weather we are all experiencing lately. Just as we do.  

And while you’re at it, take a look at the Weather Underground’s Wundermap the next time a storm is approaching your area.  Set the parameters for several hours of history, and just watch closely.  Play around with it a little bit.  You may be a little surprised at what you see.

~

How wonderful to see a clear blue sky.  We enjoyed brilliant sunshine today, with frigid winds.  Looks alike a cold week ahead.

 

~

Woodland Gnome 2016

 

 

 

 

WPC: Off Season

~

Is there truly an “off season” in the garden? 

Certainly, it depends on your climate zone.  Here in USDA 7b we can garden year round.

~

~

Roses bloom until December.  The first of the spring bulbs might be spotted from December until February, depending on the weather.

~

~

We grow Violas from October until June, and many gardeners harvest collards, carrots, and other hardy crops right through the winter.  Our best gardening season starts in March or April, ending in October or November.  But that is our prime “frost free” time for most vegetables and annuals.

We have so many wonderful shrubs, bulbs, and hardy annuals that we enjoy flowers every day of the year in our garden.  Camellias bloom from October until May.  Roses begin when the Camellias end.

~

Oregon Grape Holly blooms from late December through February here.

~

That isn’t to say that we don’t have difficult weather.

We have ice and snow, thunderstorms, hurricanes, heatwaves and worse.  But it tends to balance out.  And we learn to work around it.

It has already gotten so hot and humid that we can barely stand to go outside, some days.  Our heat index was over 100 several days this week.

~

~

There might as well be a foot of snow on the ground for all the outdoor gardening we can do in heat like this!

But there are always things to do.  All gardening doesn’t happen outside in a flower bed!

~

~

We are approaching mid-summer in our garden, now.  New butterflies turn up daily; and our turtles, frogs, lizards, toads, butterflies and hummingbirds  keep us company.

We listen to frog song each night, and listen to the lizards skittering around behind the flower pots whenever we step outside.

A pot of Gardenias blooms near the back door, greeting us with their sweetness as we come and go.

~

~

The perennials grow visibly each day, squirrels feast on the little fruits swelling on the limbs of our fruit trees, and the second crop of roses is coming out.

~

~

This is a  wonderful time to pause and remember the beauties of winter.

I will sit and enjoy these photos as the hot summer sun climbs to its summer heights, braising us in its searing heat.

~

Here we are, enjoying our garden in weather fine and fowl!

~

Whether you live north or south, east or west; I hope you will enjoy them, too.

This is what the “off season” looks like in our Forest Garden.

~

~

For The Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Off Season

Woodland Gnome 2015

 

…But It Feels Like Spring In Here…..

Monday’s vase of branches from the garden unfold their buds and release their pollen.

~

There may be a eight inches of new snow outside, but it feels like spring in here!  The branches we brought in for Monday’s vase are unfurling in our balmy heat indoors.  And with spring comes, pollen.

~

~

It is a timely reminder to enjoy the moment, without trying to rush things too much.  Every season has its own joys and trials, after all!

But the air outside is squeaky clean and fresh today.

~

~

It was well-scrubbed by snow, which fell all night long and well into mid-day here.  Heavy and wet, it has done what it has done in the garden to some of our shrubs.

~

~

I did a little bit of snow clearing on the deck before heading for my make-shift potting area in the basement.  Ignoring appearances outside, I am feeling the quickening of spring and decided to get on with it indoors.

This is a good time to find gardening supplies on clearance sales, and I picked up several beautiful ceramic pots at half-price earlier this week.  Since the last of last season’s potting soil was ‘buy one get one free,’ naturally, I stocked up.  What a huge blessing!   

~

A lovely fern found at Lowe’s this week can grow on in its new pot until time to go outside for the summer in a large basket.

~

I’ve also been shopping the ultra-affordable deals at our local Lowe’s store.  I brought home a beautiful pot-bound fern this week, and had already picked up a bag of Canna lily roots a few weeks ago.  Two bags of seed potatoes, some Ranunculus roots and a bag of Gladiolus bulbs sit in our garage waiting for action.

It may be too early to start seeds without a light kit, but it is a fine day for potting up!

~

~

Those Begonia Rex I’ve been rescuing from sale tables have proper pots this afternoon, and look much happier for it.  The footed ferns I’ve brought home this winter also have lovely ceramic pots and a spot in what little sun we have to offer.

I like to start Canna roots indoors in a large plastic  storage box half filled with potting soil.  Though hardy, it is way too early to set new plants outside.  So I’ll give this group of eight a few weeks of growth indoors before moving them outside in late April.  It was surprising to see how much their buds have grown while sitting in their package.

~

Trader Joe’s offered this lovely fern in early February. Finally, it comes  out of its nursery pot and into a larger ceramic one today.

~

The tiny Ranunculus roots also went into pots today with a division of overwintering Spikemoss.  I love their bright rose-like blooms in early spring.  These can break dormancy in the garage, and their pot will go outside on fine days once they show new growth.

The list of spring garden chores will just have to wait a while longer.  The weather hasn’t settled enough for us to begin pruning back woody plants or cutting back perennials.  Given how late our last spring came, it may be wise to wait until at least the second week of March. Cutting too early leaves the pruned stems exposed to moisture and to cold.

~

Another Begonia Rex, also from Lowes this winter, settles into its new pot.  The small division I cut out of it grows on in its “seafoam” pot.

~

After killing a plant or three in my eagerness to start the spring clean up too early; I’ve learned to wait for that magical time after the worst of winter’s weather has passed, but before too much new growth has begun to  sprout.  This is a hard chore to time properly, and I feel badly cutting back branches already in growth.  The roses, especially, are always eager to get on with spring several weeks before winter weather has passed.

~

~

Once the snows melt and soak in a bit, we may start some clean up of winter’s leaves.  They can be shredded once they dry out and go back to the garden as mulch.  There is Holly Tone to spread and beautiful packets of fresh seed just waiting to begin growth.

But that may be a while yet…. It is snowing hard again this afternoon.  Temperatures are dropping, and this will all be ice by morning.

~

~

No matter;  it is already spring for us indoors.  We are getting a bit of a head start with a little pre-positioning of resources, and a lot of love.

 

Woodland Gnome 2015

~

 

 

 

 

Snow and More Snow

~

I can remember times, when I was still teaching, when I would lie awake at night wishing for a snow day.  School kids have more in common with their teachers, sometimes, than they may realize!  Everyone needs a break from their routine from time to time.  And everyone I know is wishing now for a break from the snow.

But that break is still down the road and over the weather horizon.  Another storm moves in tonight. We have restocked on the essentials: coffee, cream, and cat litter.

~

~

Snow remains a welcome sight in the winter garden.  Beyond it’s beauty, it also insulates, hydrates, and provides the extended period of cold so many plants in our region require for spring growth.

We may not think about it, but snow absolutely functions like a blanket on our garden beds and in our pots.  Deep snow protects roots, crowns and leaves from winter’s very dry and extremely cold winds.

~

~

Snow insulates and protects sprouting bulbs and awakening perennials, helping them through these last weeks of winter.  Like mulch, it helps maintain a more even soil temperature so plants don’t ‘heave’ up out of the ground during the freeze/thaw cycle.

~

~

Our ground water is replenished from melting snow.  But so are our potted plants.  Plants can’t absorb water very well from frozen soil.  But melting snow waters plants and helps thaw out the soil when it melts in the mid-day sun.  Without snow, hardy annuals and perennials living in pots through the winter may dehydrate on sunny days, especially when it is windy.

I often water our pots with warm tap water on wintery days when there is no snow cover, just to give the plants a chance to re-hydrate.  I’ve also applied a dilute solution of Neptune’s Harvest, in warm water, to offer a little boost of minerals to help our pots make it through winter’s last ‘Hurrah.’

~

~

Snow cover helps certain fruit bearing trees, bulbs, and perennials maintain the periods of extended cold they need in order to grow.   Gardeners in regions with gradually warming climates find that some plants no longer get their required ‘chilling hours.”  This means replacing old reliable plants with different cultivars adapted to the warmer climate and fewer hours of freezing temperatures.  Our extended periods of snow this winter help those plants which need the cold as part of their annual pattern of growth.

~

~

We humans are extremely adaptable, and stubbornly tough.  We find work-arounds for all sorts of frustrating circumstances.  We will deal with this coming winter storm, and the next, and will learn some useful life lessons in the process.

~

~

May spring find you sane, healthy and soon.

But until this winter passes, please remember to stop to appreciate the beauty of it all.

And keep in mind that snow brings its blessings along with its frustrations.

~

~

“The world as we have created it

is a process of our thinking.

It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”

.

Albert Einstein

 

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2015