Finding Beauty in the Beast of Winter

Oh, what a bone-chilling winter it has been! I won’t sugar-coat it, it has been miserable. This has been the winter of never-ending snow, ice, freezing rain, sleet, and more snow here in the Northeast U.S., as well as parts of the South, the Midwest, and reaching into Canada. In fact, due to a weather condition called a polar vortex, many places around the globe have seen severe weather. 

The frigid cold around here has set records. Many mornings, I've awakened to temperatures in the single digits; the other morning, the thermometer read a mere 8 degrees. It was warmer in Alaska that day! Some people like the cold, some people like snow, and I respect that. But for me, winter is definitely not my favorite season. 

Still, despite the drabness and chill of it all, there is an assured beauty to winter, a serenity in the silence of new fallen snow. So to cheer things up while waiting for spring, I'm sharing photos taken around my home this winter, followed by winter art that I hope you'll enjoy. 

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I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?
And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt;
and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again."
~Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass 

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The birds of winter around my home  

Blue-gray gnatcatcher 

Robin in the snow (we see robins here all year-round)

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The Cardinal stood out like a picture fair,
As snowflakes struck its body there.
Upon a branch of the winter tree,
Nestled among the needles proud and free.
~Joseph T. Renaldi

In my area, cardinals are only seen in the winter months. 

Cardinal sitting pretty on a snowy morning

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The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
~ Robert Frost

Crow (taken with a long lens)

Crows on a snowy roof

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Coco loves the snow!

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Winter Art

Looking at winter through the eyes of an artist, you can see the majesty and beauty in the season. (I enjoy looking at the season much better than I enjoy being in it!)

Snowy Landscape at Arles ~Vincent Van Gogh 

Train in the Snow at Argenteuil ~Claude Monet

Beneath the Snow Encumbered Branches, Scotland ~Joseph Farquharson

Winter Afternoon, Norway ~Hans Gude 

Whitehall England in Winter ~Paul Maze

Winter Coast, Prout’s Neck, Maine ~Winslow Homer

Snowy Monday in New Hampshire ~Lilla Cabot Perry

Skating in Central Park (New York 1934) ~Agnes Tait

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Spring briefly visited the other day and brought lovely weather with temperatures in the 50s. Everyone smiled at Spring and then Winter got jealous, roaring back with gusts of freezing cold winds and dropping temperatures. As I’m typing this, it’s 19 degrees outside! There are local weather reports of a possible late March snowstorm next week. Winter is not leaving quietly this year! But Winter’s days are numbered. I saw a lone daffodil bravely poking her head out from a small patch of snow, a welcome sight. Spring is just around the corner!

©2014 JerseyLil’s2Cents all text and photos
Paintings in public domain (from WikiPaintings, WikiMedia Commons and Google images) 

Clancy and The Blarney

Top o’ the Day from Roscoe O’Dog and Coco O’Dog! We’re taking over JerseyLil’s computer while she’s busy eating Irish chocolate to wish everyone good cheer on the Feast of St. Patrick!  In true Irish tradition, may the celebrating continue throughout the month of March, or until you run out of pints to drink and stories to tell.
  
Dogs are quite fond of St. Patrick. Legend has it that he chased away the snakes from Ireland, and we enjoy chasing reptiles and critters, too. 

Have you heard the story of the Irish dog named Clancy who came upon a leprechaun one glorious morning and had the most exhilarating chase of his life? Well, sit back with a pint and we'll tell you the tale.

Irish ancestor’s dog. Name lost to history but we’ll call him "Clancy."
(From Mannix/Rivers/Leonard Family Genealogy, circa early 1900s)

Once upon a charmed morning on the Emerald Isle in a place only glimpsed for brief moments when the mist of dawn lifts to reveal a golden sunrise, a handsome and spirited canine named Clancy was enjoying the start of a new day. It was shaping up to be a beautiful morning and Clancy's keen sense of smell could detect the aroma of breakfast sausages in the air. Lazily digging around in the green clover for dog bones he had earlier buried, Clancy suddenly sniffed out a wee man wearing a worn but bright top hat and smoking a clay pipe. What a surprise, it was a leprechaun. Startled, the leprechaun hurriedly ran away, puffs of smoke and bits of gold dust trailing behind him.

Excited by the thrill of the chase, Clancy ran after that swiftly fleeing leprechaun, over hill and dale, until he cornered the wee trickster at the end of the rainbow. Once there and cornered, the wee fellow was compelled, upon the oath of ancient laws, to hand over his pot of gold. Clancy's chase was rewarded, he had the pot of gold! Oh, but that's not the end of this dog's tale. 

Running happily through fields of shamrocks carrying his treasure, Clancy came upon a bushy-tailed red squirrel native to the land. Eyeing that shiny pot of gold, the squirrel began chattering loudly at Clancy, trying to get him to drop the gold and pursue a chase through the fields. Clancy pondered the situation...oh, how he loved a good squirrel chase, but he was not about to part with his hard-earned prize.  

Irish red squirrel (Clancy's nemsis)
(photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Determined not to give up on the much-desired gold, the clever squirrel then claimed to have a tasty stash of corned beef-flavored dog bones hidden among the shamrocks. That got Clancy's attention; he was hungry after chasing the fleet-footed leprechaun over hill and dale. While Clancy was momentarily distracted by the thought of delicious corned beef-flavored bones, the squirrel quickly grabbed that pot of gold from Clancy and ran off, chattering away with glee and waving his bushy, blow-dried tail behind him. There was no stash of dog bones to be found. Clancy had been tricked…by a squirrel. That old squirrel was full of the blarney!

Feeling dejected and about to bark at someone, Clancy brooded in his dog house, then wandered over to the local Watering Bowl Pub to drown his sorrows. While lapping a pint and exchanging miseries with his canine buddies, he suddenly caught a glint of something out of the corner of his eye. Curious, he sniffed around and "Praise be to St. Paddy," there in the corner of the room was the pot of gold!

After running off with Clancy's treasure, the wily squirrel had scurried over to the Pub to rest and celebrate with a pint. Having a bit too much of the celebrating, the squirrel meandered off accidentally leaving the gold behind. So Clancy got his paws on that pot of gold again...that lucky dog! 

And that's no blarney tale!   

May your dog bones be plenty; May your troubles be few.
May the paw-fect good fortune of the Irish Dog be with you!

An original fable ©2013 JerseyLils2Cents

Leprechaun image from public domain clipart

Barking to the Snow Gods

Coco likes what she sees!

Winter decided it was not to be taken for granted here, and with a blustery huff and puff, called upon the snow gods. All too happy to oblige, the merry but bored snow gods quit tossing frosty icicles at the moon, and instead tossed them down to the ground taking direct aim at my yard. Coincidence? I think not. I believe Roscoe and Coco have been barking to the snow gods, and along came a late season winter storm.

Coming down in big flakes.

For several hours, snow fell in big flakes accumulating like a soft, white blanket on the ground. It looked pretty and serene, as long as you were snug and warm inside watching it, preferably with a mug of hot chocolate or a glass of red wine...with a side of dark chocolate! Outside, it was chilly and windy. 

Roscoe checks it out.

Refreshing snow drink.

This was a wet, mushy snow, the kind that only sticks around long enough to say, “Hold off spring, Mother Nature is not done with winter!” After a while, it turned to an icy rain. 

By the next morning, the sun came out, temperatures were above freezing, and much of the snow began melting. Still, the dogs had a chance to get outside and check it out…which is only good reason for snow to be in my yard so close to spring.    

Spring officially starts here on March 20^th. I am ready for spring!

Perhaps with the promise of extra trips to the dog park and a few extra doggy biscuits, we’ll have no more barking to the snow gods. Well, at least not until next winter.

©2013 JerseyLil’s2Cents

Snow Dogs and Musings on Winter

Coco, my snow dog, from last winter when we actually had snow.

My snow dogs want to know…where’s all the snow this winter? Roscoe and Coco are eager to get out and frolic around in the fluffy white stuff. Yes, fun for them, but not so much fun for me attempting to shovel the stuff while bundled up so tightly I can barely move. Expert shoveler, I am not, LOL! Ah, but watching my dogs run around joyfully playing in the snow is fun (if only they could shovel and play!).

This photo shows all the snow we've had so far this winter and the season is nearly done. Now you see why my snow dogs are complaining. Many areas farther up along the Northeast have had heavy snow storms, but my area was spared the brunt of those storms. I call it being "spared." My dogs call it being "gypped."

You call this snow? Roscoe and Coco are not impressed!

Although snowfall has been sparse here this winter, I am not complaining. My dogs are the inquisitive ones regarding snow. I could take it or leave it. In fact, when I lived in sunny Southern California years ago, I can say I never missed the snow. Not once. But like Dorothy in Oz who finds she’s not in Kansas anymore, I’m not in California anymore. When you live in the Northeast USA, it will snow every winter, at least a little bit, and sometimes a whole lot.

I grew up in New Jersey and as a child, loved to play in the snow and especially enjoyed snow days off from school. As an adult, I eyed sunny California and didn’t look back when it came to winter. Now I am back on the East Coast again, not in New Jersey, currently in Maryland, but the weather is similar. That being said, I don’t totally hate snow. A new snowfall can be a lovely, peaceful scene. I’ve always loved those Currier & Ives prints of snow scenes in early America with winter travelers happily riding through sparkling white snow in horse-drawn carriages. 

Currier & Ives. Isn’t this a lovely scene…and look, there’s a dog in it, too!

There is something inviting and romantic about watching the snow fall outside while sitting inside so cozy by a fireplace holding a mug of hot chocolate, or sipping a glass of wine by the warm glow of the fire….OK, I saw that scene in a movie lol!  Sounds lovely, though. 

More often the reality is: shovel, shovel, toil and trouble, white fluffy goodness turns to mushy mess and patches of ice you don’t readily see cause you to fall hard on your butt. Ouch! Well, perhaps you are more coordinated than I am, but it's a scenario I've experienced more than once. I now prepare by wearing extra layers...everywhere! Still, for my sweet pups, I wouldn’t mind just one nice snowfall so they can play around in it. Then I really must give them lessons in shoveling. Hey, maybe I could attach a shovel to the end of a sleigh and they could pull it. After all, they are Northern mixed-breed dogs. Roscoe is Collie, German Shepherd, Chow, Akita mix; Coco is German Shepherd mix. Well, one can dream, and I am always thinking!

My dogs are clamoring for me to post more photos of them. Such attention hounds! Look for them to be guest blogging here again around St. Patrick's Day (I am part-Irish, so my dogs get to be Irish too). Since we have no good snow photos for this year, I am posting their pictures from last winter. Aren’t they just adorable? 

Roscoe and Coco last year when we had snow worth playing in

Let’s Play!

Coco likes what she sees!

OK we cleared a path. Now for some rest!

Dig In!

Roscoe thinks it doesn't get any better than this!

I'll close this post with a photo I took of a snow bird on a fence singing for spring. My dogs can have winter, I’ll take spring. Sing, little songbird, sing!

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©JerseyLil’s2Cents 2013