Procrastinating on Snow Days

We had a friend, Nel, who maintained February always had at least nine sunny days.  She wasn’t a meteorologist but relied on her memory to substantiate the claim. When we started paying attention, it seemed as if she was right. February might be too soon to plant or mow, but nice days often had us outside,

A Winter Day

Bits and blobs of leftover snow clung to branches. There hadn’t been much… less than an inch… but the temperature hovered near zero (celsius) most of the week so it was slow to melt. Then, just as the last trace disappeared from barren branches, the sky sprinkled fine snow and dusted everything fresh white again.

“… ridged inch deep with pearl”

… . The snow had begun in the gloaming, And busily all the night Had been heaping field and highway With a silence deep and white. . Every pine and fir and hemlock Wore ermine too dear for an earl, And the poorest twig on the elm-tree Was ridged inch deep with pearl. . [James

“Every intricacy of twig…”

. There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very
hollows in snow.  It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every
blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance. [William Sharp] The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the

A Winter Wander, and Contest Winners

. Footsteps crunch a path through powdery snow and wisps of breath trail on frigid air. An abandoned bench mourns a friendlier season… a time when garden beds didn’t snooze beneath a layer of crystalline insulation, but beckoned with fragrance and colour. Now the bench serves only as a temporary resting spot for chickadees and

The Plot… er, the Snow, Thickens (There’s a Giveaway, too!)

Chilly west coasters are coping with the intrusion of an Arctic ridge of high pressure. It’s creating strong outflow winds and bringing frigid temperatures from the Interior of the province into our normally balmy south coast. As the front pushes towards the coast it’s meeting warmer Pacific onshore currents, producing… what else? More snow. Just

Frozen Light

. “I am the light of the world.” . [John 8:12] . . How exquisite your love, O God! … You’re a fountain of cascading light, and you open our eyes to light. . [Psalm 36:7,9 – The Message] . . Blanshard Peak – 5,085 ft – part of the Golden Ears mountains of the Garibaldi Range

Windows on Winter

Windows on winter Sun-blessed discoveries On a chilly morn Wandering ‘coon tracks Across my back deck Pressed in powdered snow Glimpses of beauty Branches of white lace Tree spears stretching tall Evergreens shiver Showering snow flakes To capture lost warmth Fresh winter snowfall Fluffy white crystals Dusting winter’s day ~ What’s your writing day like? Can

Whispers of Winter

  Soft and silent snow Aftermath of windswept flakes Whispers of winter ~ Lonely autumn leaves Chilled by a crystal blanket Drop dying colours Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we

Pre-Winter Blasts and Blusters

  We west coasters may be teased as wimps, but we’re accustomed to balmy rainforest-type conditions here. When temperatures take their first winter plunge we shiver and complain. This weekend blustery winds blew our first short lived snowfall into skiffs and drifts, and layered nearby mountains in a wardrobe of white. Most of the snow