(No) snow #8

Sorry to have not posted for a while. I decided on fairly short notice to fly out to Seattle to surprise my niece, who was having a decade birthday. I think it's fair to say she was surprised. She shouted "Oh, my G--!" and nearly fell over when she saw me. So, it was worth the two days of flying to have two days with family. :o) And I got to meet the new dogs in my sister's household, Emma and Katie, who will later be my entry in Sweetnick's Weekend Dog Blogging this week!

Meantime, I need to stop putting up beautiful pictures of snow, because we have nearly none left. The gorgeous snow that produced all those pictures was on January 5. We've had nearly no snow since then, and have had lots of days with rain or warm temperatures. At this point, gardens and grass are peeking through a very thin layer of wet, heavy snow and it's all quite dispiriting, I must say. I know there are those who feel winter is to be avoided, but I absolutely love it, as long as it includes snow to coat the world and make everything magical.

Anyway, I took this picture a couple of days after the big snow, when the sun came out to illuminate the white birches behind the massive maple tree next to our house. Isn't that blue sky gorgeous?

Photo taken Jan 7, 2006, All rights reserved.