Thirty Days Thankful: Nature

Today, I am thankful for the beauty of the natural world. For this post, I'll focus on sunlight, streams, and snow.

Sunlight

The sun is most literally a bright spot in life. I simply cannot abide rainy days, and we've had plenty of them this year. (When I was in my big city obsession phase, I thought it would be fun to live in Seattle, but now I realize my intolerance of rain wouldn't lend itself to Seattle-dwelling. Even if it is the really neat city that Frasier was set in. The weather would be much too aversive.)

I love catching a sunrise or a sunset on my commute. I love golden hour, that special time just before the sun sets, where the atmosphere is suffused with warm, golden light. I love light on a partly cloudy day, how the clouds cast shadows upon the fields, and the sun breaks through in brilliant rays . I love light in a forest, how it outlines the leaves in lacy patterns against the ground. I love how the sun shines through stained glass windows, and at just the right time of day and intensity of light, it will cast the color of the glass upon an adjacent wall. I love the rippled reflection of the sun on water. How it makes a fresh snowfall glitter like millions of diamonds.

It's no wonder there are so many songs and writings and artworks about light. It is such a beautiful thing, and there's comfort in knowing that the sun is always there, even on the dreariest days.

Streams

Minnesota might be the "Land of Ten-Thousand Lakes," but Wisconsin has plenty of streams and rivers... 7,446, to be precise. Lined up from end to end, they would stretch 26,767 miles, which is enough to wrap around the equator!

A few of my favorite trails cross streams or run alongside rivers. They always make for some right pretty pictures. :)

Snow

I still get that little kid sort of excitement about the first few snowfalls. When I look out the window on a morning with fresh snow, it makes me gasp in wonder, like Ralphie on A Christmas Story. (My tune always changes by April, of course.)

This passage describes the feeling best...

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? ~ J. B. Priestley

What are you thankful for today?

'Til next time,

Eva