Today is the first day of the 12 days of the Winter Wonder Photo Challenge on Micro.blog. The subject for today is Frost.
Living here on Maui frost is far from a common occurrence. Maybe you’ll see it at higher elevations and on the summit of Haleakala during the winter months, but definitely not where I live.
So I have chosen a photo that was taken in South Wales in December 2010.
I was driving in the car yesterday listening to some Holiday music, music that I actually didn’t like (they were just on whichever Playlist was playing at that time) and it made me wonder what Christmas songs I do like (I am going to say Christmas here as opposed to Holiday, as Christmas was the word that was used to describe this time of year when I was growing up in Britain.
🤫 We’ve woken up to a still and quiet Sunday morning. This is just what the doctor ordered after a busy second half of the week. The sun is out, the sky is clear, there’s not a breath of wind. I am grateful for this feeling in the air (though pouring rain would have been a good excuse to just sit and watch a movie). ⚘
🎄 I saw this cartoon by Liza Donnelly and it made me ask myself, why do I anthropomorphize our Christmas tree? I notice that I do that each year. I don’t give it a name as Liza does in her cartoon, but I find myself concerned that it has enough water, and that it is looked after well, and about its sacrifice for our enjoyment through the Holiday season. Why do I do that, I wonder? ⚘
🎇 Over the last two nights I’ve enjoyed seeing all the houses lit up with Holiday lights while driving by. Each year there seem to be more and more houses joining in the fun. While definitely not as meditative as The Candle Light Ceremony from a couple of nights ago, I am experiencing the lights in a different way (as opposed to my “bah humbug, crass commercialism” perspective) - a letting in of joy and light as the days get shorter. ⚘
From a corner of my iPhone Home Screen. A little festive fun created with the help of Festivitas created by Simon B. Støvring.
The scene as we left the Candle Light Ceremony at my grandson’s school last night. Grades 3 and 7 took part last night, other grades will do their own Candle Light Ceremony through the week. Kindergarten, my other grandson’s class, will be on Sunday evening. It was a peaceful, meditative evening, recognizing the shortening days, the external darkness and the light within each of us, particularly the children taking part.
🌧️ It’s just started raining, hard. Unless it eases up or preferably stops, which I hope that it does, this evening might need a Plan B, or some reworking of Plan A.
I need this song today as it is anything but how I feel. It helps to lift me.
Pharrell Williams - Happy (Official Video)
I seem to be falling a day behind the last couple of days. This is yesterday morning’s rainbow. There were none this morning, so hopefully I am caught up now. 🌈️
😋 Oh simple joys. I just found a jar of Marmite at the back of the cupboard. Marmite can no longer be found here on Maui, and I have not ordered any in a while. I’m now looking forward to breakfast tomorrow. ⚘
Yesterday morning’s rainbow 🌈
A quiet beach on Maui’s north shore, strewn with tree stumps and the West Maui Mountains (Mauna Kahālāwai) in the background.
I caught a rainbow hiding out amongst the clouds yesterday morning. 🌈
🌕 Looking out over a ghostly lit landscape as the Super Moon casts its eerie light across the land tonight. ⚘
No matter where I have traveled, it is the people that I have met and seen along the way that have made the journey. Yes, I have gazed out onto scenery that has moved me and stayed with me long after I have travelled onto new vistas. Yes, I have gone searching for solitude in nature, away from the busyness of everyday life and the concrete jungles of our modern cities.
😕️ Some days I seem to be able to get things done with clarity and all the time in the world. Other days I feel as though I am stuck in treacle, every job feels hard and difficult, and little appears to get done. Today I am having both days in one! ⚘
A faint, partial rainbow this morning. 🌈️
The trees across the valley from us lit by the rising sun, the light on them contrasting strongly against the dark storm clouds behind them.
Finished reading: Train Dreams by Denis Johnson. I didn’t know what to expect, picking up the book when I learnt that the new Netflix film, which I haven’t seen, was based on a book.
On one level a simple story of a man’s life, but also as I read it of his connection to the natural world around him. I look forward to seeing how the book was interpreted for the film. 📚