Wait for it...

  We had a flock with a mix of cedar waxwings and robins in our neighborhood last week.  They arrived suddenly to ravage the ornamental trees that still had frozen fruit hanging from their branches.  It's too early for ground foraging and I'm fretting about the robins' well being.  I'm guessing that the unkind cold and storms that the southern states experienced has pushed the birds north early to seek food.  I hope they have the strength and sense to travel south again until the end of March.

    The surface of the lake changes dramatically from day to day.  The ice is still thick enough, with layers that tell the story of a belligerent winter.  Yesterday we saw 48 degrees with brilliant sunshine (Yippee!) but the forecast for the next 7 days sends us back to bitter cold days and subzero nights.  I handle that kind of prediction better in late February than in November.  Still, there's extraordinary beauty in the mist rising over the ice or a blue ice formation jutting out from a rocky cliff.  Nature is tough but she leaves reminders of her artistry, even on the bleakest of days.

    I find these last days of winter a good time to create.  Long, cold days pass quickly when I'm immersed in painting seashells and dreaming of sun and surf.  It won't be long now...patience, patience.  W