genius

Nature is full of genius, full of divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand. -- Henry David Thoreau

nature as artist

i continually am amazed at how perfect Nature's artistry presents with every season. it is such a privilege to capture even a small part of what can be seen in everyday life. an early morning hoar frost covered everything as if to remind us that we are amateurs when it comes to tree decorating.

even spiders had their webs flocked for the festive season.

newbie

with santa bringing TAE xc skis we took to the golf course for a cursory lesson and a chance to share the good snow. this is probably the best snow we've had for many a holiday and it was great to find activity even on old knees. afterwards, the swim spa was a welcome reward at 106 degrees F but i can't show those pics :)

happy trails

our search for just the right Christmas tree was a journey of minute proportions in contrast to past years. on probably the best day of recent past we took a mere 10 minutes to find just the right, albeit skinny by past standards, tree. unfortunately the snow is disappearing and my xc skiis are waiting for an initial voyage, but there portends a promise of enjoyable time to come.

this sculpted tree was too big for our bay window, but might have been mixed in with bro mark's palm tree farm. perhaps it is a Hanukkah tree in the making.

pre lunar eclipse paddling

my first trip this winter, to the dollar bridge and back w/ stripbuilder, skirted the ice shelfs on the river but the waxing gibbus moon was bright enough to keep us safe. it would be fun to be out for the lunar eclipse but cloudy skies would probably prevent that anyway. a new season of river rat pack will keep us singing warm songs i think.

any reef in a storm

my last excursion on red rock w/ stripbuilder took us past an exposed tire reef off whitebreast. the western wind made for interesting paddling w/ a shoulder not quite dependable. recent ortho/mri results have revealed a biceps tendon that doesn't want to stay in the groove. it sounds a lot like my life right now - hard to find the right path without pain. downsizing is putting a strain on free time, but i'm cleared for more activity.... until the tendon snaps and i'm looking for a hobie w/ pedals. nature takes us in the direction we are supposed to go i guess, so i'll find the wind and drift along...