“There’s something very magical about water and what happens to it when it freezes. I don’t think there’s anything else in the world, perhaps in our universe, that is quite like ice.” ~Ira Flatow
Ice on the lake
winter
In search of the Sandhill Cranes
After spotting three Sandhill Cranes on farmland near our house, I was curious to find out why the cranes were in the area. I did an online search and discovered that “Hop-in Refuge”, located not far from us in West Tennessee, is a wintering home to several thousand Sandhill Cranes each year. Used as farmland during the summer, it is then flooded to provide habitat for birdlife during the winter months. I was excited to go on a road trip in search of the Sandhill Cranes. We found that though the refuge is closed during the months of November thru February, there are plenty of cranes to see dotting the farmland in the surrounding area.
“Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures.” ~Unknown
Radiance
“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.” ~Victor Hugo
Hoarfrost
On one of my morning walks last week, I noticed these feathery ice crystals covering the blades of grass along the road. They created quite an interesting, magical little world of their own.
“That’s the whole problem with science. You’ve got a bunch of empiricists trying to describe things of unimaginable wonder.” ~Bill Watterson
Cardinals on a snowy day
Northern Cardinals add a lovely splash of color to an otherwise dull winter day.
“One must maintain a little bittle of summer, even in the middle of winter.” ~Henry David Thoreau
Of winter’s lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer’s secret
Deep down within its heart.
~Charles G. Stater
Flashes of gold
I was pleased to see the goldfinch enjoying sunflower seeds from the feeder and berries from the bushes in our backyard this week. Snow and cold weather usually brings them around.
Exhaust the little moment. Soon it dies. And be it gash or gold it will not come again in this identical guise. ~Gwendolyn Brooks
Bone structure
“I prefer winter … when you feel the bone structure of the landscape.” ~Andrew Wyeth
Imprints
“The important people in our lives leave imprints. They may stay or go in the physical realm, but they are always there in your heart, because they helped form your heart. There’s no getting over that.” ~Rachel Cohn
Hope
“Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burdens behind it.” ~Samuel Smiles
walking on a country road 