We’ve had a bit of a cold spell this week that has slid its way south and east–so many of you have felt it, too.  Yesterday morning clocked in at a chilly minus eighteen, and we won’t even talk about the wind chill. But that is all a part of an ordinary Minnesota winter.  What has not been normal is our snowfall!  I guess we’ve sent it all to Boston this year!

But as the tree shadows show, it was very sunny yesterday.  And even though it only warmed to eleven degrees above zero, the strong sunlight melted the snow from the roof of the house and formed icicles.

The dripping water splish-splashed into a crevice on the granite planter below the window.  It was sort of a marvel that any water outside at that temperature wouldn’t be frozen!

Some of the icicles had crashed to the ground, skidding on the snow and shattering into pieces.

The extreme cold brought the pileated woodpecker to the bird feeder.  He stopped for a bite of frozen crabapple in our young tree, his chicken-like feet clutching the small branch as it swayed under his weight.

The sun-warmed rocks and dry leaves around our hosta garden made stepping-stones through the snow, when usually they are hidden far into spring.

Dried hydrangea flowers still graced the blue-white landscape, not buried under a mound of snow or nipped off for a rabbit’s supper.

Each winter is unique and offers its gifts to the birds, wildlife, and to us.  After a record-setting cold and snowy winter last year, we are almost basking in the easiness of this year.  The sun is already angled to warm things up on the coldest days and lights the sky past the five o’clock hour.

We all carry expectations based on past experiences.  Some of us believe the thoughts we think while the facts of our senses are telling us a different story.  Those ideas can come crashing down and shatter to pieces with enough illumination.  We have to open ourselves to the splashing water of a frigid-cold day, to the warming sun in February, to the sparkling light and the dusky shadows of our lives, and to the possibilities that entice us to live life large.