Ready for the Winter Ball

Goodness knows why but this wonderful pine tree looks to me as if it is holding up the heavy layers of a ruffled ball gown.

 You know you can see it too...






"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world."  John Muir

Dare to have a purpose

Dare to stand alone

It's written in the sky

Far beyond what you know, there's a place we need to go.

It's written in the sky.

As darkness falls

It would be easy to disappear in the dead of winter.

Stumbling through a frozen forest;

The trees silently witness your wandering.

A lone wolf beckons the night with a hungry howl.

Darkness falls.

Be-dazzled!

Beautiful

Mystery

Just a dream

Follow

Follow the light

I'm just a dreamer

You are just a dream

Follow

Follow the light


From: Follow the Light
By: Sub Focus

My neighbour hung these colourful baubles on the bare branches of her tree.

They are the perfect distraction for this cold, sunny winter day.

The magic is in your eyes

Don't go chasing the gold at the rainbow's end,

for it's the sun,

touching those tiny rain drops

on the blue horizon

 that brings such beauty

to your

eyes.

It's temporary

These branches, weighed down by the snow,

remind me of life's burdens,

when it feels like the weight of the world rests on our shoulders.

We don't see the light

 peeking through,

Don't feel the change

around the corner.

Be patient,

it's coming.

Life, sometimes so wearying,

Is worth its weight in gold

The experience of traveling

Lends a widsom that is old

Beyond our 'living memory'

A softly spoken prayer:

"It's the journey that's important,

Not the getting there!"

From: It's the Journey That's Important

By: John McLeod

The Dream Protector

How are those dreams coming along?

November 2011

It was just a few months ago that I wrapped up the blueberry bushes and corralled the sprawling lavender plants into a stiff upright form to protect them from the snow.

Look at them now!

I bet they're happy to have me as their gardener!

Aren't you glad you protected your dreams?

Click here to go back to November's post.

Hear the tolling of the bells!

In the silence of the night,

How we shiver with affright

At the melancholy menace of their tone!

For every sound that floats

From the rust within their throats

Is a groan.

From: The Bells

By: Edgar Allen Poe

Snow Storm

The winter snow will rage and roar,

Pile up snow drifts at my door,

Howl and growl with all its might,

Bury everything in white.

From: The Winter Storm

By: Elaine Magliaro

Pinocchio

The birdhouses hang where they always have, their  bright colours and cheery attitude belying the frigid temperature outside.

"It's fine,

c-c-come on in,

warm as anything inside,"

says the birdhouse with the Pinocchio nose.

Not to be fooled, the birds have moved on to warmer spots until the Spring.

Like Icing on a Cake

Ever wonder how a snowflake feels as it tumbles toward the earth?

"Now if I fall, will it be my lot

To be cast in some lone, and lowly spot,

To melt, and to sink unseen, or forgot?

And there will my course be ended?"

Who could have known these snowflakes would choose to decorate my deck and chairs.


Not unseen or forgotten, but appreciated and celebrated!


From the poem The Snowflake
By: Hannah Flagg Gould

Kindness is like snow...

                                                 
It beautifies everything it covers.

Author unknown

It's a magical world!

When snow falls,

it is a magical event.

We are transported

to a whole new world.

If this is not enchantment,

then I don't know what is!

What's your story?

Throughout the Celtic world, trees, particularly misshapen trees, cast a long shadow in folklore and poetry.


This particular tree always catches my eye.


The bulge in its trunk is so curious.
The horizontal scar around its waist makes it look as if two different trees were spliced together.


Something definitely happened in the history of this tree.


What's your story?

Life is just a juicy game!

The Flame

Bland

Bold

Spicy

Plain

Life is just a juicy game

of brain and brawn

pain and pleasure

till we see

beyond the blame

of right and wrong

and things we measure

to the bright

and burning flame

we all so fully do contain.

Kelly Athena

Beware the Chink in Your Armour

Everyone has a sore spot or two, a weakness.

They stem mostly from our insecurities and uncertainties.

When it comes to friends,

quality is more important than quantity.

Be careful who you let into your life.

How do you know you really love trees?

This is the time of year that I get to see the real tree: its history, architecture, network of branches, age and strength.  During the summer and fall the leaves hijack my eyes, they are high fashion and makeup, dazzling accessories.

So, here is the authentic tree.

Awesome!

What you see is what will be.

Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?

Maurice Freehill

After I took this shot, the sun moved out from behind the evergreen.

It touched the ice-covered branches of the tree on the right

transforming grey ice into shimmering diamonds.

From dark to light.