The sun passes from east to west so low in the sky just to the south of our house that we don’t see much of it. Some glittering through the trees, a moment in a small window, a brief shadow on the grass. This morning I woke just before 5 and saw the stars in a clear dark sky (a surprise because of yesterday’s torrential rain) and then I realized that I was also seeing Mars, red and still, a little to the southwest, and quite low.
We walked on the high trail today, to take advantage of the light. Lots of elk sign, but no actual elk. And fresh coyote scat. The creeks were too full for us to continue on our usual route so we wandered down to another area, passing tiny moss gardens with the most elegant ferns.
You take beauty where you can find it in January. These slender alders, for instance:
Or the bright note of one raven, flying high, the sound ringing above us in the cold air.
...Theresa Kishkan 
On days like today when I look out my windows (because it’s too cold to be outside) and see such a different view from you, it’s hard to believe we live in the same country. Coniferous green is all I can see, and not a whole lot of it at that….
We did have a fall of snow before Christmas but it melted within a day! And Forrest and Manon returned to Ottawa on New Years Day to minus-39 degrees. (F. swam in Ruby Lake a day or two earlier, to celebrate the turning of the year!)
The contrast is stunning, isn’t it?
Yes, amazing. A little warmth in the sun here by mid-afternoon, yet yesterday Forrest and Manon skated on the Rideau Canal…
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