Monday, December 5, 2011

Winter is Coming

It seems that however we'd like to ignore it, winter is definitely coming. The evidence is out there... the leaves are gone from the trees, the temperatures are dropping, and the squirrels are fattening up!


All I can think of when I get dressed for work (and the walk there) is, "Will this be warm enough?" Cute is no longer part of the equation! I've also noticed that I eat a lot more, and tend to make more soups and baked goods. Remember last year? I baked up a storm! Yesterday I baked some banana nut muffins, some of which got chocolate chips in them. They turned out pretty good, too!


Along the Monocacy River
K and I are still getting out for walks, though we bundle up a bit more now. The trees have a much more austere look to them. They are down to their bare bones... their foliage having long since fallen away. I think they're beautiful.

The skies look colder now, too. Even when there are clouds, they are icy looking. It's enough to make me shiver looking at them!
This is the time when we burrow into ourselves. We need to dig deeper to find the whimsy and joy that summer or spring bring out of us naturally. It's a time when animals hibernate or at least, hunker down for most of the day. People don't have that luxury most of the time. What do you do to push away the Winter Blues?
I am determined to push my levels of creativity over this winter... I think that will help a lot. And to brave the cold to go outside more... though that's easy to say now when it's still just in the 30's and 40's.
People have their home fires burning... the air has that woody scent. It's this time of year that makes me wish I had a fireplace! That definitely makes you feel cozier, doesn't it? 
So I'm mentally preparing for the long winter ahead of us. It's going to be cold. It may be difficult, but it's the perfect time to dig deep and find the strength inside of each one of us to discover how to smile and laugh when the world outside is slumbering in it's death-like season. We must remember that there is always a rebirth, and that change is inevitable in all things in Life. And like winter, the dark times we might find ourselves in shall pass. 


Blessings to you all. xox

3 comments:

Terriaw said...

beautiful pictures! Do you use a lot of filters or just show the photos as is? Such a beautiful time of year to be outside. I love to explore, even though most plants have gone into dormancy around here. Still very peaceful and tranquil out there.

shari said...

Thank you, Terri! Some photos I took using Hipstamatic on my iPhone... then I put it through one filter on Instagram. Some have no filters. It just depends on how I want the photo to look... These ones have mostly been through two filters. The leaf photo at top is the only one that didn't get taken with Hipstamatic, so it only got one filter.

Yes, it's quite peaceful here, though not quite as lovely as fall. We had a shorter autumn season than I would've liked, owing to the strange weather. But maybe this winter will be milder than last year, which would be great!

Brandi Hussey said...

Autumn never lasts long enough for my tastes. As I type this, we're coming off of low 30 degree weather and I'm FREEZING.

But I do love your photos oh so much, Shari! They are so lovely, and I do have to admit, I love the smell of woodsmoke on the air...

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