Awakening from winter

We appear to have turned the proverbial corner from winter to spring. It was not a straight-line trajectory, but it was a snowstorm followed by a warm up and then a cycle of repeat a few times. My attention has been on other things the past few months, and my photography has taken a back seat to those concerns. But it’s never far from my mind, and when I’m “out in the world” and a scene presents itself to me, it sometimes cannot be ignored.

This was the case this past Easter morning. The world was quiet and still before dawn. The air was cold as the temperatures had dropped below freezing overnight. Yet there was the promise of warmth from the sun. I watched as the eastern horizon slowly awakened to the most beautiful shades of blue, rose, and gold. As the light started to glow, there was a cacophony of sounds – turkeys gobbling across the opposite shore, Canada geese honking in the bay to the south, and ducks quacking as they flew towards the shore and then swept back into the air. It was as if a chorus was announcing the arrival of Easter and of spring. And maybe this was the final turning from winter to spring.

Structure in the snow

This has been a hard week. My mind has been anything but calm, and the “news of the world” has not been kind. Sleepless nights and fits of anxiety have not helped.

The other morning I awoke to a fresh layer of snow on the ground. For most winters that would not be unusual, but this year the winter precipitation has favored a track around us. The meager snow has been icy and anything but photogenic. But this new snow had softened the immediate world around me. There was a layer of white covering the grass and lying gently on the pine trees. Even these allium heads welcomed the bits of snow in their centers, cupping it around the delicate stems. I marveled at the intricacy of the seed heads and their ability to weather and stand up to the winter winds and storms. Bravely they stand as a testament to summer and fairer weather.

It was a welcome relief to spend time with the alliums and the fresh snow. I forgot about the “outside world” and focused on the “news of the heart” – the sturdiness and resilience of nature.

Frost

Our snow drought continues in the North. Where we would normally be looking out at a foot of snow or more, we are still able to see grass blades standing up through the snow dusting. Even my family in Kansas has enjoyed more snow than we have, although “enjoy” may not be the word they would use.

But we have had cold temperatures. Our lakes are frozen and we have had some lovely frosts – the kind that coat the tree branches and leaves, and the field grasses that are still standing. Even if we have no snow, for a short period of time in the early morning we can look out on a landscape painted carefully with white.

On another note, today was Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington, D.C. I was quite taken by the eulogies and remembrances that were said this morning. He was a humble yet inspirational man who accomplished so very much in his life. In the mid-1970s, I lived in Georgia for a short period of time while he was governor. Even then I was impressed with his honesty and genuineness. The world is a better place because of him and the people he touched.

Hope in the sunrise

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 quick trip to Arches National Park

We were fortunate to enjoy a quick 24-hour trip to Arches National Park in Utah earlier this month. Our timing was good as the weather was in the 40’s with bright sunshine, although we did find some residual snow in shadow areas. December is certainly off-season for the park as there were few other visitors which allowed us time to enjoy the quiet and appreciate the scale of these massive rocks. This landscape has been generating and changing for over 100 million years, and yet today we can walk among these rocks, spires, and eroded arches with easy accessibility and marvel at our small space in this big world and universe. Like earlier visits to other national parks, this trip renewed my appreciation for these special spaces. Big thanks to the people that set aside our National Parks and the people that work to protect them and share their wonder with others. Hopefully we will never take these parks for granted and future generations can experience a beautiful December visit like we enjoyed.