january in middle canada ...

our big heavy saturday paper didn't quite make it to our door, it had snowed last night!!!  so i swept my way to it ... notice the orange bag ... so it's not lost in the whiteness!!!

 

and as i was out there, enjoying the sparkling world - i noticed how the bushes at either side of the steps looked like unpicked cotton!  i guess i'm having arizona thoughts, since i won't be going there this winter ...

 

the cold makes sun mirages ... or sun dogs ... sometimes they look like ice rainbows ...

 

all that pristeen beauty - yet with a bitter cold edge ... a typical january day on the prairies ...

same day pics

i don't usually have a sunrise

and a moon picture

for the same day ... it just worked out today - i happened to notice how lovely they each were ... just in different ways ...

i'm glad the Lord has set a definite span for each day ... if it's a good day, we want it to go on and on ... if it's a bad day, we are glad it's over ... then it all evens out for the many normal days inbetween ...  

the fall season continues to be a challenge for us ... i get a little of that seasonal sadness thing ... and leo gets more pain because it tends to be damp at this time of year ...

i was reading psalm 34 this morning and it encouraged me at the start of  the day ... "i will bless the Lord at ALL times .." ... and now at the end of the day... "the Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them who TRUST in Him shall be desolate." ...

chilly temps

the snow fell and so did the temperatures!!! it is officially a mind numbing -22C as i type this ... and tonight it will probably be -30C ... since it was so chilly - i made some chili ... yum ... it turned out great and helped to warm us up ...

my blues have lifted ... it seems they strike, make me sad - then they evaporate as i read the solid, real, Word of God ... "Thou has enlarged me when i was in distress ... the Lord will hear when i call unto Him ... put your trust in the Lord ... Thou has put gladness in my heart ... for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety." Psalm 4 verses ...

blessings on your tuesday ...

storm on the prairies

thursday and friday were beautiful days, here in my little town ... the sun felt warm on my face as i walked to work ... there was a freshness and even a hint of spring in the air ...

but that was then ... and this is now!!!

even tho' we only received a few inches of snow - there is a blizzard out there with highways closed all over the province ... it's the wind that is the culprit - making the snow swirl and dance to it's tune ... blinding the motorist and causing the wind to bite anyone who dares go walking in it!



as long as i don't have to go anywhere, i don't mind a day like this ... leo and i have been enjoying our saturday and the coziness of our condo ... he has been watching hockey ... and i have had my nose in a book (the Brushstroke Legacy, a novel ... by Lauraine Snelling) ... *smile* ... it has been lovely ...

here is a pic of my teenie tiny rose plant ... it brightens up the dining room table with it's offering of delicate little flowers ... it doesn't seem to mind the storm raging just a few feet away ...

i am still in hibernation mode ... now it's back to my book! blessings on ya!

Any proverbs about weather are doubly true during a storm. ~Ed Northstrum

we're talking weather today ...

this is where we are at ... at the moment!! it is quite cold and definitely no ice melting prematurely here in the prairies ... hoping that you all are cozy and warm, wherever you may be!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal underneath, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

April!

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

spring ? maybe? maybe not!

spring is playing with us manitobans ... one day it is lovely ... folks are walking, riding, running - enjoying the warm rays ... the next day the ground is covered with that white stuff again!

today was of the lovely variety ...

however, if tomorrow happens to be blustery and cold - i made sure i checked out some good books from our town library ...

i DO hope April will come in like a lamb ... but if not - well it will just be winter's last hurrah!

have a GREAT weekend!

snow day

my internet came back this morning ... it was a short little outage that my server promised to compensate me for, with one free month ... *grin* ... bonus!

it was a snowy day yesterday (my view pictured above) ... i spent it puttering around the house and also reading ... it was nice to just sit and enjoy the quiet of my world ...

the book i am reading is called Night Light, by Terri Blackstock ... it's the second in the series ... about a world where all modern conveniences cease working because of pulses that disrupt them ... interesting concept ... what would a person do? no blogging, that's for sure!

i just got back from a long walk around town ... now ready to sit and read for a bit ... i'm sooooo bad when i get a good book - i need to know what happens!

sunrise at 40 below ...

have you ever wondered what a sunrise at -40F/-40C looks like? take a gander at the picture above ... this was the view from our dining room window, first thing this morning ...

there was an eiry glow ... ice mist shrouded the frozen river ... cars drove slowly, with engines whining ... towns folk stoically went for their morning walks, bundled up - layer upon layer upon layer ... schools were cancelled ...

the beauty was there ... in such a breath-taking way ...

cold is peaceful too ... i mean, when was the last time you heard of eskimos wanting to do harm to mankind? or northern countries spoken of as dangerous melting pots?

cold like this is a forced rest to those of us that live on this tundra ... and for me, who needs to finish unpacking ... it was a very fine productive day!

and despite the frigid weather, i could still say " this is the day the Lord has made, i will rejoice and be glad in it! " ... maybe said with a wee bit of defiance!