now it feels like winter

Yosemite, while in the peaceful beauty of winter, gives its hearty vistors little surprises.

I love the way snow covers the imperfections of human marking and scarring of the landscape, blanketing everything in the splendor of frozen crystals.

Days that opened with hikes in the snow and ice, as well as some downhill runs in a saucer, were closed with rounds of backgammon, hot food, and warming drink.

Yes, indeed...now it feels like winter.

changes in light

Bare trees, having shed their dress of summer leaves used as protection from the heated long days of light, now stand as tall, unadorned guardians over darkness of the longest night of the year. Winter Solstice (for the northern hemisphere) has arrived. Our candles are lit. The drums have been played.

Noel

OUTSIDE,

memory

assumes the silent

sound of night

where

the crystalline vacuum of

dormant gardens may

witness a

warm

cheerful

glow

through

the window

to

INSIDE,

where

the heart finds

nourishment, love, joy,

mischief under mistletoe

and other ways of gently saying,

"Now shorter days can go!"

--David H. Thomas

fall equinox

A shift in sunlight, change of seasons. Greetings, fall equinox. We usher into our kitchens: pumpkin pie, fresh baked bread, homemade onion soup, hot oatmeal cookies, slow-roasted root vegetables; into our attire: gloves and mittens, layers, felted hats, wool pull-overs, thicker socks; into our evenings: hot cocoa, hot tea, quilts, alpaca/wool knitting, studying; into our yards: leaf raking, cleaning out flower and garden beds, planting winter vegetables.

glorious summer sun

The sun is at its zenith today, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Summer is officially here.

May your summer months be full of radiant sunshine, plenty of fresh foods, and time to contemplate.