Last Walks…

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…

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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!

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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?

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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?!IMG_20141230_095133636

–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

The advent season has come…

With the coming of the advent season our first snow has fallen.

Even an inch of snow makes the world a brighter place…

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…transfiguring the common fern and salal… and making neighborhood houses look somehow more cozy.

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It’s time once again to pull out Christmas things and think of gifts and greetings to be sent…

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Meanwhile our willow marks the season with her fast falling leaves

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And the backyard is all frosted wonder…

 

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It’s the light shining through that makes it all so glorious isn’t it?

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“…the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.” (Mt.4:16)

–LS

 

Huckleberry

Frosty Days

P1130408(from a walk around the block…)P1130410

We’ve had a whole string of frosty days… both first and second snow have fallen.

But best of all is the frost–

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–that teams with Sun’s brilliance to turn grass to diamond-studded spears

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and grace things long dead with crystalline beauty…

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Turned earth lies like frozen crater fields housing frosted treasure.P1130358

Once-sodden leaves now shuffle crisp and fragile underfoot.

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The chard is clad in ermine.

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And every seedy head has become a marvel…

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Frost, in killing, beautifies.

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–LS

“For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” II Cor.4:11