TRAILS – Page 12 – Skelton Sketches

Oh, what fun!

Posted on February 20, 2015April 29, 2017 by lindaskelton

I haven’t seen these since I was a kid traipsing to the candy store with my friends on lunch break…

I found it in Banff of all places, along with Necco’s to share with the grandkids…

Image result for necco Does anyone remember them?

These great American classics are hard to find in the cold white north!

(But enough of trivia.)

Oh what fun we had on our latest trip to visit these energetic upstarts!

And at the last we were accepted by the newest one too…

Then it was time to go, and oh the early morning tears… (Even five-year-olds are touched with the grief of good-byes…won’t heaven be something!)

We made a day of the drive ‘home’ and stopped to ski and then to soak in hot springs…. now that’s the way to do a trip! When we were young, and when our own kids were young (sorry kids), a trip was a thing to get over with as fast as possible. Only quick pit stops were allowed.

Now that we are getting old, we pause more often to take in our surroundings. What a treasure God has given in the beauty of Creation! Have you ever stopped to wonder what it would be like if all the world were flat?

Though snow is sparse this year, we found trails with man-made snow and had a go of it. We are absolute newbies at Cross-country but eager to learn ( :
(Now, to keep up with Jim!)

And what an incredible backdrop we had!

This is my Father’s world and to my listening ears all nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres!

–LS

Fresh, White, and Slippery!

Posted on February 6, 2015April 27, 2017 by lindaskelton

I haven’t been on a pair of skis in 30 years! And on that first (and only) other occasion I fell and broke my ski pole just minutes out of the rental shack. I remember little else about the event, other than being terrified of the hills! So it was with some trepidation that I rented a pair of skis yesterday and hit the trails with Jim…

After two hours we quit for lunch, but we’re hooked… We were back to watch the evening fall and the night course light up…

When in snow country, do what the snow country people do! And now we’re in no rush for spring to come. We have to learn to ski first!

Defying forecasts of rain, a hush of snow was falling as we woke this morning……

Snow is not only fresh, white and slippery, it is beautiful!

–LS

Last Walks…

Posted on January 7, 2015April 28, 2017 by lindaskelton

Not knowing when we will pick up and leave this mill town, every walk is precious as it could be the last…

This one is, taken between Christmas and New Year’s, is a favorite…

I don’t see the mill as spoiling the view, for without it here, there would have been no Powell River. Did you know that according to the International Encyclopedia this was once the largest paper mill in the world? Ironically, I just recycled the last volume of this old encyclopedia set. Too much paper in this house!

And out one frosty morning walking with Jim while our house was being shown we stumbled upon these wonders of spun frost. Wonderful! Have you seen them?

Officially called ‘frost flowers’, here’s the scoop on how it happens:

“Frost flowers develop when air temperatures are freezing but the ground still is warm enough for the plant’s root system to be active. Plant juices flow from these roots up into the stem, where the cold air freezes them. As the moisture in the plant freezes, the ice crystals push out through the stem. They may emerge from a small slit to form thin ribbon-like strands or they may split open a whole section of the stem and push out in a thin, curling sheet. Sometimes several ribbons of ice push out to create a flowerlike petal effect. As long as the juices flow, air temperatures remain low, and the plant is shaded from the sun, these ice crystals continue to form. But the petals of frost flowers are very delicate and will break when touched. They usually melt or sublimate when exposed to sunlight and are usually visible in the early morning or in shaded areas.”

But I prefer to bypass the scientific explanation and just look and say WOW!

—Aren’t God’s works WONDER-FUL?!

–LS

By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened. Job.37:10

Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? Job 38:29