Autumn is soon ending and winter is officially starting on December 21, so there aren’t many of those lovely fall colours left, but they’re not completely gone.
There are lots of grasses still and some of them are beautiful. I find that this one almost looks like a weaving.
On second thought, it’s not so much the colour as the texture of these grasses that I find so appealing. We are suddenly getting some very cold winds, so seeing these lovely plants is somehow very comforting.
Happy weekend.
If you’re in Europe, Happy Saint Nicholas Day! Saint Nick – or as he is known in The Netherlands, Sinterklass – was also referred to as Nicholas the Wonderworker. He was an early Christian bishop from Turkey who practiced from about 300-340 CE and died on December 6, hence his feast day.
He was revered for his generosity and particularly for his custom of secretly providing desperately needed food or money to the poor or struggling. He also gave small gifts to children.
When Dutch colonists arrived in New Amsterdam, today’s New York state, they brought with them the tradition of Saint Nicholas or Sinterklass, which was translated into English as Santa Claus. However, Henry VIII – the much married 16th century king of England who also tended to behead his spouses if they upset him – had already decided to move any celebration around Saint Nicholas (known as Father Christmas in the U.K.) to December 25.
For countless centuries prior to the rise of Christianity this particular day had been celebrated as – among many others – the Feast of Saturnalia or the Celebration of Yule, a time to honour the return of the sun through light displays, gift-giving and banqueting. Over time, the traditions of the two sets of “New World” colonists, U.K. and Dutch, became combined into a December 25 celebration of a fly-around-the-world-in-one-night, North Pole-domiciled entity known as Santa Claus.
I think it’s important to remember that the tradition of Saint Nicholas or Sinterklass or Father Christmas or Santa Claus was based around the idea of giving – in secret – to the less fortunate, something that seems to have become terribly lost in our intensely spendy world.
Food for thought.
Happy Wednesday.
We recently had a beautiful winter sunset.
The very air around us was enveloped in the loveliest pink hue.
The weather conditions were perfect: a calm lake, snow in the mountains and a beautiful gloaming light …
… bathing a lone duck in a flawlessly rosy reflection.
Happy Tuesday.
It was a rather rainy month but we definitely had some beautiful colours to admire, if only for a short time. Here’s a selection.
The beauties of autumn are mostly gone now but we’re entering a time of year for seasonal celebrations and lots of light displays. Not as good as nature’s shows but definitely also a lovely time of year.
Season’s Greetings.
We had a little sun followed by a little cloud followed by a little rain (which in the mountains was snow), so the weather has been very mixed.
It has been very overcast and rainy but I’m very happy to report that we’re still snow-free here in the valley bottom.
Happy December!
We had some sun! The wind was rather chilly but after all these grey, rainy days, it was nice to enjoy a bit of brightness.
As we moved into the afternoon the sun started to disappear behind some cloud, but my, it was a terrific little break!
Happy Saturday.
National Geographic has released its pictures of the year, including this amazing shot of penguins getting ready to follow one of their number into the ocean from an incredibly high ice sheet.
You can see all of National Geographic’s pictures at this link:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/graphics/pictures-of-the-year-2024
Happy Thursday.
To all our American friends and relatives …
… from all your buds to the north …
I hope you have a lovely day, no matter how you choose to pass it. 🍂
Here in the valley we have had buckets and buckets of rain which in the mountains is coming down as snow, and as low as 800 metres above ground (2625 ft), to be exact.
Our neighbourhood ski resort, Apex *(https://apexresort.com/), is opening soon but there are other undeniable signs, too.
There’s a proliferation of barberries and I’ve noticed that the ducks, geese and coots are all starting their winter huddles. Today during my walk, I could see my breath a bit too, despite the fact that it was 5° (41F).
But probably the best indicator is the snow on the mountains. That’s a pretty definite sign!
So I’m thinking that winter is surely here, and no matter how we parse it, we’ve got a good two months before there will be an inkling of a change. Happy winter Wednesday. ❄️
* For information only. This is not an advertisement nor have I been paid to mention Apex ski resort.
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