AND IT KEEPS ON COMING

Enough already - we had 7 more inches of snow again last night - our total on the ground is over 2 1/2 feet now - enough is enough - and it is snowing right now - not hard, but snowing. Don bought a snow shovel - first one since 1978 - and has used it 5 times since Saturday night.



Every time he goes out to shovel I run out on the porch and take pictures. I figure I should at least show my support - since I am NOT going to shovel.



He is wearing a Crayola hat that belonged to our youngest daughter in the 70s when she was in grade school. We don't have many knitted winter hats around here.



Wall o' snow down our sidewalk



And crow's hat keeps getting taller and taller - this time he has on his christmas bow. And this is after his head was cleaned off of snow one time already.



The wind picked a little bit ago and some of the trees began losing their lovely snow coating.



The poor little car - it will need a big towtruck to get out of here. It is the yellow bit showing on the left of the photo.



Snow boat - to nowhere.


A little summer table, under the trees, and full of snow.



Again - the benches in the yard - they are slowly disappearing. When our kids were little and we lived in Kansas they would call this loaves of bread and would "cut" it with their mittened hands.





More snow on the swingset - soon the snow will be up to the bottom of the swings. I took this with a flash in the dark this morning while Don was shoveling.



Poor cold robins - sitting in the blackberry vines

And here are some pictures of the snow around Bellingham - some taken during the time when there wasn't quite so much snow - it is too slick now to get out and take more - and I don't want to anyway - I've had about enough of this white stuff.


See what I mean about our town being built on the hillsides - every road is one level above the next - making for slippery roads. This is Fairhaven - an older part of town - with a huge hotel along the waterfront and houses marching up the hills.


Cold water rushing under a bridge. Brrr r rrrr rrr


Tunnel o' snow - atop a hill that sits in the middle of Bellingham



All decorated up for the holidays








Brrr rr rrrr - herons sitting in the cold - but the lights are pretty


The old county courthouse - Ben calls it the "counting" court house - he says people count things in there.





And so we sit and wait - as more snow falls - and the birds peck about in the feeders for something good to eat - and the deer wander in an out of the yard. Soon the snow will stop - at least that is what they tell us - we'll believe it when we see it - and now I must go and work on a quilt, since I have plenty of spare time today. Enough already!!! Thankyewverymuch!

JOYOUS AND WARM SOLSTICE GREETINGS TO ALL

At last the shortest day of the year - a time of celebration and good cheer. The sun is coming back - the days are getting longer - there is hope of spring again - even though today our world here in NW WA is covered in two feet of snow and more is coming down.

This is one of the favorite celebrations in our family - some are making "sun" cookies with yellow frosting - some are making art that reminds them of spring and sunshine - others are simply enjoying nature and thinking of the good things that have passed through our lives this past year.

Newgrange, in Ireland (Irish: Dún Fhearghusa) is one of the passage tombs in County Meath, one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world and the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites.



Newgrange was built in such a way that at dawn on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, a narrow beam of sunlight for a very short time illuminates the floor of the chamber at the end of the long passageway. This light lasts for 17 minutes on the day of the Winter Solstice. There are many prehistoric sites around the world that are also engineered in this manner.



The Roman midwinter holiday, Saturnalia, was both a gigantic fair and a festival of the home. Merry-making took place, and the halls of houses were decked with boughs of laurel and evergreen trees. Lamps were kept burning to ward off the spirits of darkness. Schools were closed. Friends visited one another, bringing good-luck gifts of fruit, cakes, candles, dolls, jewellery, and incense. Temples were decorated with evergreens symbolizing life's continuity.


In pagan Scandinavia the winter festival was the yule (or juul). Great yule logs were burned, and people drank mead around the bonfires listening to minstrel-poets singing ancient legends. It was believed that the yule log had the magical effect of helping the sun to shine more brightly.


Yule log


A Scandinavian Yule tree - lit with candles.

Mistletoe, which was sacred because it mysteriously grew on the most sacred tree, the oak, was ceremoniously cut and a spray given to each family, to be hung in the doorways as good luck. The celtic Druids also regarded mistletoe as sacred. Druid priests cut it from the tree on which it grew with a golden sickle and handed it to the people, calling it All-Heal. To hang it over a doorway or in a room was to offer goodwill to visitors. Kissing under the mistletoe was a pledge of friendship. Mistletoe still has a special place in our home celebrations.



There are great traditions to build on and enjoy this time of year. A wreath is a good place to start - a symbol of the circle of a year. After making the wreath and making wishes for the coming year - it can be placed outdoors. After the new year the wreath can be recycled back to nature - or it can be saved and burned in the Summer Solstice bonfire.


If you like - add some pine cones spread with pnut butter and rolled in bird seeds - to welcome our feathered friends to our homes.






Making desserts is a great way to celebrate - and add birthday candles to the dessert - which often might have the shape of a sun on it. Each family member can light one candle and give a thankful thought about the past year - or a hopeful thought for the coming year.



Big fires in the fireplace - or burning candles if you are not so fortunate to have a fireplace - are both symbolic of the soltice celebration - calling to the sun to come back and shine stronger for a spring and summer of growing food.





Gift giving is a wondeful tradition on the Solstice - either opening one of the many gifts under the tree - or having special gifts in a basket to share with family and friends on this wonderful day.

And baskets of food are often taken to friends and family as part of the Solstice celebration. Don't forget some of those sunny cookies.





And of course singing is a great part of any Solstice celebration - Deck the Halls, and Carol of the Bells are two very significant songs sung at this time of the year. Reminders of our connection with nature and our connection to our past and to our future.

We find many of our holiday celebrations come from variations of the ancient celebrations - bringing us all closer together, sharing our celebrations with one another.

Happy Solstice to all - we'd love to hear about your Solstice celebrations.

MORE SNOW SNOW SNOW

Bench Henge (our own version of StoneHenge) - the bench on the far left is barely visible - the snow got so deep it covered the little bench and then swallowed it up.
Have we got more snow! Not that we actually wanted any - but we got it. It seems like it never stopped snowing - and from the looks of things - I believe that is true.

We had over 12" of new snow on Monday morning and Don walked 1/2 a mile to the bus stop so he could get to work.



He said it wasn't bad in town so he decided to drive to work on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then it happened - even more snow, snow snow - and he took a snow day on Thursday. I was supposed to work on Thursday also - but if Don isn't going out then I surely am NOT. We did christmas cards, wrapped packages to be mailed, drank hot tea and ate christmas cookies.


Snow in the side yard


No swinging today unless your name is Snow Elf. Just look at that "stack" of snow on the swingseat.

My internet went out early Wednesday morning so I was missing the fun of blogging and reading blogs - then two young men from Comcast came out a day early and discovered that the power company had cut into the cable when they were busy fixing our electrical problems a week ago - and the cold weather made the cut worse and finally broke it completely in two. Now I have my internet back and I'm happy. It is amazing how often I thought I'd go to the computer to look something up - and realized it wasn't there. Ahhh the joys of modern science, and nice young men who can fix cables.


A forest of snow covered trees.


Summer picnic table - with a few flower pots still sitting on it - you can see the little windchimes sticking up out of one pot - and a pitiful little Hollyhock plant in the middle of the table. Brr r r rrrr


The boat is almost gone.



A bigger snow hat for crow.


And a snow hat for elephant watering can - I think he is wanting to go in the shed now, where all elephants spend the winter.


Did somebody drive into that little lamp post?


The big tree in the back yard.

That nigth it was so quiet and still outdoors - so we deicded to take a walk in the snow. Our street had been plowed so it was easy walking - and there was no traffic all the time we were outdoors. We don't usually have much traffic anyway - but this was unreal - and so quiet!!! I love the quiet of snow.


Nighttime view of the snow. The footprints in the snow are from a deer that was visiting earlier.


Swings and trees in the quiet and dark.


Crow in his snow hat, with the glow of the porch light.


It was so cold that by the time I got to taking pictures of the christmas tree in our living room - from outdoors, that I was shivering and couldn't hold the camera still. I love the squiggly wiggly lights - though I didn't like the shivering.


One more view of the wiggly squiggly lights - I'm just fascinated by these lights.

Hope your roads are clear and your days sunny!