Goodmorning 40 below!

 I always feel energized with the cold.  And this time in addition to the normal euphoria, i secretly think 2024 is trying to set the record straight on the warming up of the planet, 2023  was an exceptionally warm year, we'll see. It is a new moon, and it is being said, 'what comes with the moon goes with the moon.'

The first 10 days of January were, i will say, average. We had some beautifully cold days lately. beautifully in my book being around -20 C/-25C. I have some lovely walks those day, the snow cover still being such that i can tramp around in the woods. I am always slow to move onto my snowshoes or skis.

 Monday it was rather dark  and people were talking about this, the cloud cover yes, but in this instance the hoarfrost, make it quite dark. An interesting gloom, i have to say. In summer the forest can be black with the trees in full leave. I like winter because without leaves the fores is much lighter and much more open. Not so with the hoarfrost, Again quite beautiful but one looks into a wall of white, and no light gets through., hence the gloom.

And i got kind  of lost in a  slice of pizza  shaped piece of woods north of here. the wedge shape is made by trails, so not by the end of the forest. In the middle of this pizza  piece,(say 50 acres)  there is  a lovely ridge, where i did get to see a light spot in the clouds, which indicated the sun was trying. When i came  close to the point of the pizza slice, i though i take a short cut to , to reach the trail on the northside,  With the snow on the ground an on the branches, this bushwhacking is not the easiest, and with no sun to guide me, i felt i was walking in circles. Unlike Winnie  the Pooh i did not come upon my own tracks, but say half an hour in  just when i was going to make a real attempt to walk in a straight line, i came out by the  crust on the west

  I had taken the longest root possible to reach a trail.

Wednesday's walk was adorned with blue sky, so less of a risk to get lost. Beside all being glorious with the hoarfrost and all, I happen to flush out two grouse ( i made photos but whatever my computer might be on the blink it does not let me upload photos). I felt sorry for the grouse,  they had been hunkering down underneath the snow. I could see their track entering a little hole in the snow, a foot further now a bigger hole with wingmarkings on the snow, where they had flown out of.  I stayed very quiet because now they were sitting all fluffed up from the cold in near by trees. I was able to back out to not disturb them any further.

Blessed  beyond I feel for all the beauty.

I link it to my resolution to be kinder.

And i know my husband wants me, we will do another game of trinomino.

Life is good. and yes i will throw a log in the woodstove!

Peace on Earth

My reslution for this year is peace in my own life, let me at least not throw any proverbial bombs anymore.

As the new year is already over a week old, i have to admit, i already have thrown some bombs. 

And what i mean with that is  i will  often say things rather blunt. 

I finally, age 63, start seeing that really nobody truely likes that.

To change myself like that, i need awereness, otherwise it is out before i know it. Of course  a good start is to have at least some awereness when i throw such bomb.

It makes me wonder if the 'real' bomb throwers actually have much awereness. Probably not, right?

A few days ago i started off really good. You have to know my husband is aging quite rapidly, and more then ever he wants me to be by his side. Now there is a bit of a controlling aspect to this, which i have battled with for my whole marriage. No more battle! I had a plan to go walking with friends, leaving in the time slot when i normally have my morning walk with him. Instead of dropping it as bomb and having to battle . I brought it very gently,  and expressed understanding  for his feelings.  

I still cannot believe how easy that went, i was out of the door  before i knew it, all peace and harmony.

Now i also happen to have a bit of a problem with my vocals, so meeting up with my friends,  i said   i will not be talking as much as i ussually do. They were probably quite ok with that, because we tend to talk a lot. Sometimes we even throw in some silent meditation, say we walk 15 minutes without talking. That is hard for us. But this time i  just let them talk.

I have to say no awereness here on my side, when i am with people i hardly ever have awereness, I meditate every morning and that is what i work on to stay attentive to the moment, knowing, like for example now; my fingers are typing, that the clock is ticking, my mind says much more then i can type here. When i am with people no such thing, as awereness, i am just blabbering about. (hopefully often quite intelligently or at least entertaining)

 And sure enough after an hour into the walk i forget all about my talking less and my peace resolution,was totally not on my mind,  and  I actually became quite blunt, weirdly so.   As my throat did hurt i had some awereness that i was talking too much, but not enough realization to stop, and  twice in the next hour i realized i was quite rude, once i apologized  but then later did it again.

Peace to you All!

What was your moment of awereness today? Which is always worthy to be celebrated!

Happy New Year

  Ha my resolution! I want to try again, making a blogpost ever few days. Connecting with people in order to bring joy, meaning,whatever we desire (as a blogger here said)

Desire to make the world better maybe? For all to be in balance?

So this is how my morning started.  Listening to the radio; what comes with the new year is that on the radio they always seem to be somewhat positive. I loved  a conversation about:

Resolution practices!  

So she said; not a time for time out, but a time for time in. She said something like :When someone is hurt, who is hurt? what can the causer do to elevate that hurt. Healing Circles.

I will try to practice today, too often i still get mad at my spouse. I will let you know.

Something else i am going to do today is some simple art. I already made some glue this morning. (white flour and water, boiled to a paste). left over from christmas i saw a bunch of paper, beautiful pinks and orange and gold. I found the color scheme so striking, i  decided i will make something with it.

Also i have a date to go swimming, yes still in the river, now farther up stream, as the river is freezing.

What a blessed 2024 already. to feel inspiration like that.

How is your 2024 going? Anything, the good the bad, just what is.

As that is where we are. And that is a glorious thing.

Kusawa Lake. I did not build this structure, but some one did, what fun!

"my tree" at autumn equinox

 

I went looking at my tree,

 summer is over, fall has been here a few days now, but the tree ain't showing it. The trembling aspen that i follow, looks very much the same as last month. Considering it hasn't grown much over 20 years, i suspect only to see the seasonal changes. but no yellow in the leaves is showing yet. The middle of August, sometime the middle of August does start showing yellow leaves, i do often think that it has more to do with drought then with fall time weather. Morning temperatures are plus 5, no frost yet. But we had a ton of rain lately, that might account for leaves still green, as green as can be with the silver-grey from the miners.

It makes me look close at the tree, i see the folds in the bark,  droplets of the red sap, the dusty bark, but i all expect to see that, . I see spiderwebs and  dead insect bits. those look plausible.

and then suddenly i see her! later on @inaturalist i find out it is probably a running crab spider. She totally blends in with the bark, i wonder if she is dead too and touch her legs lightly, ha not knowing her apt name yet, she does run away, and  scrutinizing the tree on the other side i find her again or is it another one. 

 
https://squirrelbasket.wordpress.com/

Aspen Serpentine Leafminer (Phyllocnistis populiella)

 Hello there! I haven't been here for too long a time,  but all is well. 

This afternoon i walked up to my neighbours to tell them i am a grandma now:) yes it is a healthy baby boy. I walked to them by the way of the tree i am following, and realized it is already past the middle of the month.

  My tree is doing as well as can be expected, the crown looks lovely. it has been rather dry this summer, but we have had some rain and a spitter spatter even fell this afternoon, although it never reached the ground

The tree is affected by the leafminer, but so are all poplars that i know off, i could find out for you how far and wide it's reaches are now. I did read that the first leaf miner along the Alaska highway was spotted in the 1950-ish. So i have not known otherwise. For  many years  now we always say, "oh the leafminers are really bad this year."

https://squirrelbasket.wordpress.com/

wáxwaoz̓

 

Lewis' Mock Orange

Philadelphus lewisii

This beautiful  fragrant shrub was blooming along seven o'clock drive,  June 13 2023

I have more of the plants growing there posted in oct. nov. dec. 2021.

It is Idaho's state flower.

It is said to be good for bank stabilization.

The wood is very hard and used for making tools.

Also the leaves and flowers  are slightly soapy, so nice to wash your hands in a creek with.