Warming the Bones

Okay.

I know that just two weeks ago I was posting about
celebrating the winter season.

However, there comes a point in time when I get just a little tired of it.

I fondly remember how it looked,
when I could walk out onto my front porch
and take in THIS colorful site:

It was just a few months ago. Eons ago.

Then, the view got to be like THIS:
(Notice the white dusting on the top of the mountain.)

Not quite so colorful, but still lovely,
even with the garage roof slicing off the bottom of the mt.

Now, day after day, I have THIS scene to greet me:


About late January,
I realize that my eyes are searching for color.

Seek and ye shall find.

So, on my daily hikes, I SEEK.


And I find blessedly bright red rose hip berries
greeting me along the canyon pathway:


And the brilliant green moss and multi-colored lichen
growing in a couple of spots along the northern canyon walls.
(These cliffs are too steep to hold the snow.)

Given the right conditions,
the rocks themselves can be dreamy with colors.
(Water from the melting snow brings out the hues.
It only happens on a day above 32 degrees.)

However, some days it seems like my canyon walk is just filled with
WHITE, GREY & BLACK.


Then, we'll have a few days without a snowfall
and, peaking out from it's nordic blanket, I'll see something like THIS:



It stirs my heart and warms my bones.