Icy Tears

Winter would stay forever if it could.

It's worked hard to establish itself,

building layers upon layers of ice and snow,

determined to become a permanent part of our landscape.

It's understandable then,
to see the long, sharp, icy tears of sadness

when warm winds blow in
and it must relinquish its grip.

Rings of memory,

frozen in time,

wait anxiously to be released

to rejoin the story of the seasons.

Stripped of Winter's decorations,

the forests are left dark and empty,

save for the icicles
that twinkle like haunted chandeliers,
a memory of happier times.

The ground swells with unfamiliar waters;

milky-grey and ice-cold,
not ready yet for life to begin.

Ice touches gold.

Winter and Autumn, old friends,
reunite for a brief moment.

Together they transform bare fields
into treasure-chests brimming with jewels.

In the same way Winter arrived,
it leaves us breathless, sparkling
with a beauty we won't forget.

And then, with one swoop of a wand

the seasons change. 

Delightful December

Last night the snow fell.

Scampering around like a family of frantic field mice,

we pulled shovels from the back of the shed,

removed forgotten items from the yard

and added twenty minutes extra to

tomorrow's travel plans 

to deal with the

"weather."

After everything was done,

I stayed to watch the snow coat the branches of the trees

until they were as beautiful as a freshly iced cake.

The plunging temperatures caused some

to pull up the collars of their coats

and stamp an annoyed dance

onto the icy ground with their heavy boots.

I chose to watch

the golden light spill from the windows

of the houses onto our street.

It looked so cozy;
all these families gathered for a hot evening meal,

while their humming furnaces
sent soft plumes of smoke

into the darkening sky.

This frozen, wet stuff...

It's just rain, really.

Is it more annoying

because it's going to stick and stay?

Surely snowflakes

are a form of enchantment;

falling, frozen stars,

light as air,

each one sculpted, unique, miraculous.

They gather here and there

with an artist's flourish

and make something new from what was old.

Or, they melt and freeze again,

allowing us glimpses into other worlds

that only winter can help us find.

Whichever way you choose

to view it,

I welcome the snow

and all its wonder.

Oh Spring, Where Art Thou?

It appears Spring has been hijacked by Winter,

and is refusing to leave.

Fresh snow continues to fall

discouraging the tulips that have optimistically

poked their heads out of the cold, hard ground.

The forest remains bare-branched and empty.

The only things out to greet me on my walks

are last year's weathered flowers

And the joyous sound of birdsong welcoming

a Spring that has yet to arrive.

The sun assures us it is doing it's best

to move things along,

Casting the most lovely glow on anything

brave or hardy enough to make it through the winter.

And so I admire what fall has left behind;

A gift given once but appreciated twice.

"Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yes, patience...

And so I will continue to admire

the longer days and (slightly) warmer temperatures.

While I wait for Spring to truly arrive.

Dragonfly Dreams

I live in the middle of suburbia.

A land of sidewalks, paved driveways and every now and then

a teensy, tiny greenspace.

We looked long and hard to find our house

and chose it because of its12,000 square foot lot

 in a well-treed neighbourhood.

But, was I going to find dragonflies here?

Of course not...

That is, until I planted my garden

and they began to visit

regularly.

Even then, a dragonfly pond?

Can you even build one just for dragonflies?

It turns out, you can :)

It took us a few years of experimenting and educating ourselves

before we recognized the Pond Dragons (dragonfly larvae)

that scuttled along the muddy bottom of the water.

This is the first year I saw them emerge...

from my pond...

my Dragonfly Pond.

I am over the moon and beyond happy.

In the first photo:

I rescued a dragonfly from the rising pond water.

Its wings had not yet hardened enough

for it to fly away.

In the second photo:

Something twinkling in my apple tree caught my eye.

It turned out to be a dragonfly drying its wings

in the sunlight.

In the final photo:

- Best of all -

I witnessed several dragonflies

laying their eggs in the moss near the water

which means...

more dragonflies will be born in

Dragonfly Pond!

Dragonfly dreams do come true :)

Perennial Beauty

The tall grasses I see on my daily walk

must be the most photographed

plants on my blog.

I can't seem to get enough of their beauty.