undiscovered

a leisurely late afternoon paddle on the des moines river yesterday afforded me a chance to commune with the eagles, geese, and a pair of swans. nature continues to amaze me in all that she provides for our eyes to behold. i never tire of the solitude.

To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me. --Sir Isaac Newton

preserved from a past year

nature does nothing uselessly. --Aristotle

(ornamental cabbage-Brassica oleracea)

tradition

braving sub-zero temps has become a tradition on new year's day and this year didn't disappoint. a solo paddle with 20 mph winds out of the west kept the bare skin covered, but a turnaround on sunday brought out the northern contingent as stripbuilder joined me for a trip to the dollar bridge and back.

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.