hopefulness

 There are icicles everywhere. Riding along, you see scads of them, hanging on almost every building. I don't know why some buildings don't have them. It's very cold all the time, but when the sun is bright, I guess there is some melting, because these things are lengthening by the day.

I had finished knitting the hand warmers and gave them to my friend, but I'm knitting another pair with the same yarn. She wears them over thin knitted gloves, and the basic bind-off I use doesn't have any give, really - they could be a little less tight at the opening, and since I have more of the yarn, and they're easy to make, I'm knitting another pair with a different bind-off, and it does seem better. I have a book that's just cast-ons and bind-offs, and it's very handy. Sometimes you buy books you think it would be good to have, and they just accumulate and you wonder why you bought them, but I'm happy I bought this one. 

A year ago, I received a book of Coleridge's poems, which I'd asked for, but they haven't really clicked with me. I enjoyed Malcolm Guite's Mariner, so I guess I'm more interested in the man than in his poetry. But I do like this one which I read today:

All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair -
The bees are stirring - birds are on the wing -
And Winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!
And I, the while, the sole unbusy thing,
Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.

Yet well I ken the banks where amaranths blow,
Have traced the fount whence streams of nectar flow.
Bloom, o ye amaranths! bloom for whom ye may,
For me ye bloom not! Glide, rich streams, away!
With lips unbrightened, wreathless brow, I stroll:
And would you learn the spells that drowse my soul?
Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve,
And Hope without an object cannot live.

- Work Without Hope, composed Feb 21st, 1825

And we know from Emily Dickinson, don't we, that hope's the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.

it's just Daisy

 I realized Daisy wasn't in the basement (where she spends so much time, watching at ground level all the activity at the feeder). She wasn't on my bed, or my brother's, or in the living room or with Annie. Maybe she was under some furniture, near a heater. But it came to me to check the closets.

She was in the bathroom/linen closet, curled up in the ironing bin. How long was she there? Maybe an hour. Did she scratch at the door? No. Was she agitated at being closed in? No, she was cozily resting (maybe sleeping) in there.

The way she quietly slips in when we open a door, when she comes out of nowhere and we don't see her - well, it's just Daisy.

Of course I have to wash those red napkins again.

hanging on

 Well, the storm is hanging on; they changed the snow's end time to eleven. So, it's still going. Inside, I am hanging on to my wintry placemats. I was about to put them away, but, in view of the weather....... well, they are nice and cheery,

Meanwhile, there's some talk of another snowfall next weekend, and I even saw the word "blizzard" mentioned.

frost and cold

 

O ye frost and cold, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.

O ye ice and snow, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.

-  Daniel 3:69,70

big snow coming

 The thermometer outside my window says it's ten degrees, and it's going to get colder. It will be very cold for a few days, but that isn't the main event: the very big storm that's crossing the country will bring us a foot of snow, maybe a foot-and-a-half, tomorrow and Monday.

Tuesday evening I started to get that feeling of a cold coming on; it progressed, and I ended up missing a day of work. Today, I got caught up a little with some of the food that's been waiting in the fridge: I cooked a chicken for tomorrow's dinner, a meatloaf for the freezer, a small batch of granola and some energy bites for myself. 

The furnace has been going on all day. A foot of snow is not a huge amount - the hullabaloo is mainly over two things: the size of the storm, which is big enough to cover much of this large nation, and the ice that so many in the south will get. That will cause problems, if it hasn't already. I don't think we're going to get any.

I took so many pretty pictures of the last snowfall; I wonder how long it will take for my enthusiasm to wane, if it ends up a snowy winter?

“In the morning you will see

 

the glory of the Lord.”   -   Exodus 16:7

waiting to get in

 "At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendors we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Someday, God willing, we shall get in."

                                                          -  C.S. Lewis, from The Weight of Glory

Found in Plough magazine, Winter 2026

scenes from a snowy morning

 

evolution of a snowy day

 They predicted snow all day today, starting at five o'clock. Then they said it would snow 'til three. There was a forty-four percent chance of a dusting to one inch. A forty-two percent chance of one to three inches. The former, because it was the larger percentage, was highlighted. 

I woke up at seven, and the snow had already covered most of the ground, and was nestling in the bushes.

I was hoping the forty-two percent camp would prevail. 

Around mid-morning I saw a lighter sky, and got nervous; was the sun going to break through already? But it got grayer again.

Did you ever notice that snow gives everything a Currier and Ives sort of look? 

Anyway, like I said, it was supposed to stop by three, but before that it stepped up the pace and the flakes got bigger and started to stick to the trees. More than a dusting, I would say!

It improved the look of my garland on the fence.

It's rather sparse,

We went grocery shopping in the wonderland. 

What is it about winter evenings, before the dark, especially in the snow, with a light in a neighboring window to contrast with all the coolness?

Did I mention it was supposed to turn to rain at the end? It didn't.

birds and branches

 We're going to have snow Saturday. I'm looking forward to it, though it won't be much.

Today there was sun, and I slipped outside an hour before dark, for some change of air. I had seen a gardening youtuber talk about what wild rabbits like to eat in winter. Apple branches, mostly, but also pear and crabapple. So I went around to look at our trees, thinking about prunings I could leave for them now and then, especially when there's snow cover. I cut a couple of crabapple twigs and left them where I think they live. The tree is full of crabapples, and last year Clare mentioned that she had a better crop when she removed them herself, so, I think I'll do that. I can leave them on the ground for the creatures. 

We've had three of these tall arbor vitaes near the garden, and they' were so big; last year my brother said he'd have to take one or two down. Well, nature seems to have done it for him.

We realized a couple of weeks ago that two came down at some point. Roots and all, just up and out. I haven't pushed the upright one to see if it's going to be next. 

Sometimes my co-workers will say they saw a cardinal at their feeder, and they're all excited. We see them every day! Today I saw an unfamiliar bird out my bedroom window; he was with the sparrows and finches, and about the same small size. I got a good look at him via my camera zoom, and then took a little film.

Then I looked him up. He is a downy woodpecker, apparently very common in our state! But I've never seen one.

"In the woodland I manage, we use the birds' passion for collecting to plant young deciduous trees in the monocultures of old spruce plantations. This is how it works. We put seed trays on posts and fill them with acorns and beechnuts. Jays love to come and help themselves, and they distribute their booty in the soil hundreds of yards in every direction. It's a win-win situation. We get precious new stands of deciduous trees in the woodland, and the jays get huge quantities of winter provisions with very little effort."

                                          -  Peter Wohlleben, The Inner Life of Animals

I can picture this entirely! When the blue jays come to our feeder, they throw seed right and left. A jay must be a jay, must be a jay.

finishing up with the holidays

 Our snow has been gone for a while; the temperatures are in the forties - a January thaw, I guess. There may be a snowstorm brewing for Thursday, but it's too soon to know any of the "ifs": if the storm develops, if it comes our way or goes another. 

I sewed up two panels of red plaid fabric, lined, and clipped them up in the bathroom for curtains. 

I like the sort-of rustic air of plaid, and I hung this wooden ornament on the rod, between the panels. 

I heard mention of The 39 Steps, by John Buchan, on a podcast, so I got a copy of it. A short book, written in 1915, it kept me turning the pages. A man-on-the-run story, written in that very matter of fact style that was more common - well, I was going to say "back then", but I was thinking of the style of Raymond Chandler, and he came later. I mean that plain way of just describing everything without all the emotionalism which saturates the stories of our own day. It's rather refreshing for a change, and I'm going to try the next in the series, called Greenmantle. 

I've been putting away some of the more obviously Christmasy things, but it all takes time. I am in no rush to get rid of Christmas. In recent years, we've had our holiday party afterward, because it's easier to relax and take the time for it. So, I got together with my co-workers the other day and it was very nice. To see young men enjoying the company of older guys and vice versa - it was great. We have a good group.

bumping into Thomas Traherne

I've come across mention of Thomas Traherne a couple of times lately and wonder if I should get some of his writings.

 "Principles are like a seed in the ground; they must be continually visited with heavenly influences or else your life will be a barren field."

                                             -  Thomas Traherne

Epiphany

 "True contentment is a thing as active as agriculture. It is the power of getting out of any situation all that there is in it. It is arduous and it is rare. It is the discipline of Epiphany."

-  G.K. Chesterton

creature comforts

 A tufted titmouse sitting under the back awning, working on breaking into his sunflower seed.

and a squirrel we've observed, twice, sitting on the railing outside, just enjoying the sun.

a Happy New Year

 and a charming one, after snow throughout the night, and now everything looks clean and fresh.

And, my wish for everyone who comes here, whoever you are:

May God, the source and origin of all blessing,
grant you grace,
pour out his blessing in abundance,
and keep you safe from harm throughout the year.

-  Amen

May he give you integrity in the faith,
endurance in hope,
and perseverance in charity
with holy patience to the end.
 - Amen

May he order your days in his peace,
grant your prayers in this and in every place,
and lead you happily to eternal life.
- Amen

AND MAY THE BLESSING OF ALMIGHTY GOD
THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT,
COME DOWN ON YOU AND REMAIN IN YOU 
FOR EVER.

- Amen*

*(from Magnificat, of course, from which I'm always quoting and which prints things better than I could say them.)