hope

Mid-winter, and newer images

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We have reached mid-winter. We had a string of sub-zero temperatures in mid-January, bottoming out at -32 degrees. Those were the days to hunker down inside, keep warm, and be thankful for modern conveniences and warm clothes.

We’ve also had a string of mild days, some with sunshine and some with gray skies. If the sun is out, the snow will compact or even melt in places. The roads become sloppy, then often freeze overnight as the temperatures drop. And when we have sunshine it seems our spirits lift – there’s the promise of spring and its warming sun. People, including myself, react to the prospect of spring with smiles and hope. Hope – something we’re all looking for this year in particular, in this part of the country (and elsewhere too). To me that hope is found in the setting sun each day, and the promise of its rise the following morning. The clouds and sun can give a symphony of colors, each one different as they sweep across the sky.

I’ve added a new page to my website that has some of my newer images. You can find it as a listing in the top menu of my website, or as a drop-down choice. As I look at this collection I see the hope and light that I just spoke of in the paragraph above. A light that brightens or softens, that reflects or shapes. I hope you’ll enjoy the 16 images on the page and appreciate the hope that abides in each season and day.

Hope in the sunrise

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Quietly this year will be leaving and the new year will be ushered in; as it always has done over time, just as every day’s sunrise ushers in a new day. With each sunrise there is hope dawning – hope for each one of us, hope for all of us. How fitting are these lines by Emily Dickinson:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all

I wish you all an abundance of hope for the new year’s sunrise, and for each day that follows.

A promise of a bright day

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Christmas and a new year are both fast approaching. Amidst all the preparations I’m looking forward to a more hopeful time. Each morning we see the daylight overcome the dark of night. There’s a promise of a new start, a promise of a bright day.

I hope your upcoming days are filled with peace in your mind, kindness on your lips, and a joyfulness and lightness in your heart.

Pasque flowers for spring

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Today is Easter – a day filled with promise, hope, and spring.  Yet this year is not like other years.  Many of us are celebrating the day without friends and family and without the many traditions that we have come to associate with Easter.

And usually Mother Nature is on board too, but that’s not the case in Minnesota today.  I’m looking out the window at snow coming down and collecting on the grass and trees.  When the temperature was 60 degrees yesterday I thought the 3-6 inches of predicted snow was wrong, but that just may hold true.  Somewhere there are lovely small pasque flowers that are keeping their blossoms closed to protect themselves from the snow.  They too know what’s necessary for survival.  And yet I know spring will turn the corner, and these flowers will open up again and be thankful for the moisture and the sun.  There is promise and hope.

 

Hope

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Webster’s dictionary defines hope as wanting something to happen or be true.  So it is with spring this year.  We “hope” for sunshine, warmer temperatures, the bright colors of flowers.  We “hope” that the passing days bring longer hours of sunshine.  And yet Mother Nature has alternative plans.  This week we rode a roller coaster through snow and strong winds, rain, and the promise of warmer air.  Through it all we strive to embrace what it is, just as these runners ran through a deserted Como Park having the trails and snow to themselves in this once-again wintry landscape.