Ah! December.......

Hello, my friends, can you believe it is already December? 

I am always amazed at how quickly a year can go by! 

It seems like yesterday that I was sharing the beautiful 

blossoms of spring, and now here we are, 

counting the final days of 2016.

Come along with me and we will look for some
winter beauty with five lovely quotes
for the season.

Although some may say December is bleak, 

I find that these shortened days 

have their own fragile beauty. 

As long as I've lived here (35 years), I can
honestly say that no two moments are the same
when watching nature here in the foothills
near Mt. Rainier.

The most fleeting of moments can reveal some
amazing surprises.

Nature is an ever evolving force and there is no 

better proof than when watching weather over 

a mountain range. 

It is only in winter that the snow covered trees

turn this lovely shade of pink as the sun goes down

on the horizon. 

Here you can see the highest point of the tree line

on the flanks of Mt. Rainier. 

It's a fairy-land forest! 

Although......I would not want to be there

when the sun goes down! 

xoxo

"Melancholy were the sounds on a winter's night."

- Virginia Woolf - 

Jacob's Room

The patterns of bare branches etched across a gray sky

have their own ethereal beauty.

xoxo

" The lost leaves measure our years;
they are gone as the days are gone."

- Richard Jefferies -
The Life of the Fields (1908)

And when you take a closer look at their feet,
you might find the most delicate of sylvan glades.

Perhaps if you are quick enough,
you might see a gnome or two :)

While lesser trees retreat into dormancy,
in winter our beautiful evergreens
steal the show.

There is no other music quite like
the wind playing the boughs of
a venerable fir when all the forest is
in wintry silence.

The fissures and cracks of a mighty fir's trunk
demand reverence.

xoxo

"Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance."

- Yoko Ono -

Without the ruffles and frills of leaves
to distract us, we notice the lesser forms
of moss, lichen and ferns.

xoxo

"What good is the warmth of summer,
without the cold of winter to give it sweetness."

- John Steinbeck -
Travels with Charley

Even in winter we are never alone
in the forest.

Here a Northern Flicker peers from the branches
of a nearly naked Big Leaf Maple.

The neighbor's well-dressed horse browses
on Salal as we return from our walk
in the forest.

Kai waits for Whitey Bear and I, with
the impatience of youth.

The two of us are slowing down a bit
as we head into our own winter years.

Just a bit.......

Holly and Ivy have their own gentle grace in winter.

Who needs flowers when you have such beauty?

Although, Sedum begs to differ.......

There are jewels in winter, too.

Here, the flying jewels of our Anna's Hummingbirds
lift the spirits on a dreary day.

Berries are winter's jewels, more beautiful
than pearls.

Who can deny the richness of Barberry and Winter Berry
on a cold, rainy day?

Gatherings from winter strolls
grace my vintage hand-turned wooden bowl.

I found this bowl on one of my many
antiquing excursions with my Dear Mother.

I still remember the day and the shop
and the fun we used to have.

My Mother had the rare gift of being able
to laugh at herself. Her nickname was
'Muddle Fuddle' and we had many a
laugh over the silly things she would do.

Like the time we went to the mall
at Christmas-time and forgot
where we parked and even what
door we came in!

After flagging down a security guard
in a golf cart to take us around,
(apparently a common
occurrence this time of year)
I looked over at my Mother and
noticed her coat was put on inside out
in her haste.

We laughed and laughed all the way home
thinking of what that poor security guard
must have thought of us.

I miss those wonderful days
and my bowl brings back sweet memories.

Sprinkled with a bit of balsam essential oil,
my gatherings makes a lovely woodland potpourri that
can be added to with each outing.

The days are short this time of year....
Time for tea!

Thank you for coming along, Dear Friends!
I hope you, too, find some winter beauty
wherever you are!

xoxo

"Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which
attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o'clock, warm
hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed,
curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor,
whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without."

- Thomas de Quincey -

xoxo

Today I am linking with:

Five On Friday

Won't you join the fun?