As I told you in the last post (Simple Beauty) a big storm was headed my way (the same one that’s hitting the east coast hard right now). It arrived over the course of two or three days, at first shrouded in fog, which is unusual for us here in the mountains of northern New Mexico…
I haven’t mentioned it but I’ve started using my backyard canyon as a sort of home gym. I walk to its bottom every day and climb its steep slopes back up, quite a good workout I can tell you. Anyway, everything looked different dusted with a layer of snow. The trees were sort of bent and closing in and I didn’t easily find my usual paths down. It was all hushed and seemed a little more wild, especially when I crossed the coyote tracks leading out from under an old juniper.
But I thought the canyon looked especially beautiful with her dusting of snow…
Then came the hoar frost! I’ve never seen such a thing. It covered everything with much bigger crystals than regular frost…
…turning my world into a sort of fairy’s wonderland…
…shrouding it in beautiful mystery…
And then the snow came in earnest…
I watched it fall all day and into the night creating a gorgeous morning’s walk the next day…
Skye’s my little snow hound…
She LOVES the stuff (here she is checking out the cat enclosure)…
Did I say “snow hound”?
And of course we all know how wonderful it is to come in from the cold to a nice warm fire. Ahhhh…
I particularly love the bright white “snow light” that infuses everything, even finding its way in through the windows…
A little later in the day I headed out for the canyon determined to get my day’s good exercise, but the landscape was almost unrecognizable.
My usual pathways were gone so I had to seek out new. I slipped and fell at least three times going down but I (stupidly) kept going.
I couldn’t even find the huge rock formations that normally guide my way. Here’s the first one I came upon hidden in a deep blanket of snow…
Soon I could see that the slope down was impossibly steep and knew I’d better heed the warnings and turn back. But it was harder going up than down! I hadn’t counted on that. My boots slid on the thick ice underlying the snow and I couldn’t get purchase. I actually got a little scared. I literally had to pull myself up with my hands for long stretches. It was in this posture that I saw this hoarfrost covered in snow. Beautiful isn’t it? (Never too scared to stop and take a picture!)
But it really was stupid and dangerous. My gloves soaked through instantly and my hands were quickly turning into blocks of ice. My jeans were wet and heavy and my boots filled with snow. The climb was exhausting and I got very, very cold. I can tell you I was extremely happy to see this home fence marking one end of my property.
So, clearly, I made it home, happy to be alive.
I am thankful for so many things this Thanksgiving, this being just one of them.
Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. May your hearts overflow with the simple gratitude of being alive.
Love to you all,
Jeane
Beautiful pictures of your life of art, beauty and solitude. And am excited and happy that Finn was included as I’ve often wondered how he was doing. A most Happy Thanksgiving to you and to all of the family from NC.
Thank you Desarosa. Finny is doing amazingly well–I just talked to his vet about it yesterday. It was very, very touch and go there for awhile and I feared I’d never see his old energy and personality return, but I’m happy to say he’s back in force– patrolling the canyon and the pastures, keeping me safe. AND he’s started to grow some under down. He’s becoming a BLOND! A most happy Thanksgiving to you as well.
Okay, I am going to say it…. Jeane Marie, what were you thinking? At what point did your dog turn back or was she with you the whole way? I am thankful for many things, but you making it back alive and uninjured is the main one. You must be feeling better to have pulled off saving your life. Peace seester!
Clearly NOT thinking I’m afraid. And I don’t take the dogs with me into the canyon anymore. Kelee can’t make it back up well at all. The last time I feared I might never get him back up to level ground again. So if Kelee can’t come the other dogs can’t either. That would hurt him too badly. The day before this incident Kim had worried about me because I took longer than usual (shooting pics and enjoying the silence) so on THIS day I told him not to worry about me if I took an extra long time. I sure regretted THAT. But I also knew he’d come looking eventually. I don’t really think my life was in danger because I had that backup. 🙂
Beautiful words and photos and now I am ready to think about Thanksgiving. You are such a pleasure. I will do my suburban thing tonight , and I will find a way to cook when I am too tired, and do laundry and paint… some watercolors. We have cold and wet , slightly snowy weather here but not near so beautiful! Tomorrow I am having Thanksgiving at my sister Melody’s home and that is a change! I am thoroughly looking forward to it. I will share this with all my facebook friends because it is glorious!! 🙂 Hope you are painting and managing some kind of wonderful art! although your posts and photos are even better than a lot of ART!! there is love and beauty and nature in your work! I love it totally!!
Thank you so much Alison for such a lovely series of compliments. I am NOT back to painting yet, although I did deliver one 5’X7′ canvas recently. So I’m extra glad that you see the posts as art because they ARE my art right now until I can create enough peace to create with paint again!
they are definitely a beautiful type of Art which bring happiness and beauty to many!
I am so glad you made it back home safely. This was a dangerous moment that could have been bad. Glad Tim is around, also, and the dogs. But one appreciates life more when we understand what a gift it is. Your blog is a gift, by the way. Thank you for sharing from your heart. It must be exhausting. Take care, now. Please.
Thank you, Sherry, I’m grateful to be safely home, too, and will try to be more sensible on future trips into the canyon.
I very much appreciate knowing that the blog is a gift to you. Thanks for telling me. It really does make a difference. The blog is no longer exhausting for me, now that I can just write from time to time when something comes up. But I AM realizing that I’m using it as a creative outlet instead of painting. I must take steps to change that!