Month: February 2015

Snuggled

Kendal, nestled against Stella’s back.

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First caress

The first caress of morning sunlight on a snowfield.

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Draped

In February our redbud tree is draped in hoarfrost, a beautiful sight to behold. Soon it will be festooned in gay, lovely pink. At either time, it is a blessed sight.

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Black, white, and grey

The understated beauty of an overnight hoarfrost.

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Sparse colour

In February, black and tones of white, grey, and brown dominate the palette. It becomes necessary to look deeply and far for colour. This barn and shed well off the road added some welcome reds to the scene.

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Commonplace?

A most marvellous hoarfrost occurred overnight. Among many other acts of grace it performed, it turned the commonplace – in this case, a clothespin and clothesline – into beautiful works of art.

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Park building, Lambton County

Waiting for the summer season and its crowds of people, parties, activity. In the meantime, it marks time as winter continues.

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Sharing

A Northern Cardinal and female House Finch share space at the dinner table.

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Cold

As is much of eastern Canada and the US, it’s very cold here. The porch thermometer reads -20C. Going outside for more than a few minutes means the cold bites fingers, toes, nose, ears. The dogs, even outdoorsman Achilles, spend very little time out. The furnace is doing yeoman work keeping the living room not-cold. I once thought of traveling to Churchill or Yellowknife during a winter, to experience true cold. That’s no longer necessary.

Yet we are blessed. We do have a working furnace, food in the cupboard, our pipes are not frozen, we have reliable electricity. I do appreciate all of these blessings and the many more we have.

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Clown

I sometimes think of the White-breasted Nuthatch as the clown of the songbirds. It moves upside down. It wears a distinctive, funny suit. It has a funny little call, surveys the scene by turning its head every which way. Flits down to snatch a seed then quickly retreats to the safety of a nearby tree to open and devour its prize.

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