I felt a bit gloomy today, for no apparent reason and considering what all those helpless people in Haiti are going through, I had a hard time justifying those feelings.…nevertheless, I just didn’t have a lot of pep this morning. So I decided to go for a walk outside, first thing this morning, in the newly fallen snow and bring my camera along. A walk in the woods always lifts my spirits.
This morning I decided to walk around the yard and gardens. I don’t cut back much of my flower beds in the fall, mostly because I don’t have the energy or desire, but also because the chickadees and goldfinch love to eat the seeds come winter. They somehow cling to these brittle little flower stalks, pulling seeds out of the Echinacea and Rudbekia, as they sway back and forth in the snow and wind. It’s amazing to watch. This morning I took the time to really look at the now-dead flowers with the fluffy flakes of snow covering them. Instead of a scraggly, brown, dried out flower head, there sat a dark stem contrasted against the clean white snow, with a little puff of flakes sitting high like a crown upon the flower. Everywhere I looked there was a different kind of beauty to take in….Astilbe covered in snow looks like a stand of mini-Christmas trees. The weight of the snow on the feathery strands of ornamental grass looks like a bunch of little old men, hunched over. The trees too, beckoned to be photographed as their trunks and branches formed beautiful lines and contrasts. The Hemlock especially caught my eye, as the flakes of snow filled in the spots between the needles and weighed the whole branch down, pulling it closer to the ground and forming a ‘wall’ around the trunk. It just makes you want to crawl inside and hide there.
There were lots of tracks in the new snow too. We saw deer tracks in the woods yesterday, but to find them in the yard is exciting. It looks like they came in closer to get a drink from the one spot in the yard where the creek is open. I love the idea of them sharing our yard (at least in the winter when there’s no lettuce to munch on…) But I’m not sure Buddy is as fond of them being around…the first thing he does when he is let out in the morning is to bark and bark and bark. I’m sure it’s to let the deer know, and any other creatures that have been romping around in the yard, that he is now up and out and this is his yard and they’re to leave immediately!
Here's some of the photos of my walk…
They are growing up! I am re reading my Buddhism for Mothers book..trying to not freak out at all the changes and how busy everyone is doing their own things. I hope my girls are strong and wise. I hope they take chances and make mistakes....get messy as the Friz would say. 
