The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year, but that we should have a new soul.
~ G.K. Chesterton
In the blink of an eye, another year has come and gone. The Earth is changing. Could we be too? Here in Cow Bay, we had our share of the extreme weather that made headline news across Canada in 2010. Numerous storm surges caused flooding along the coast while high winds brought down tall trees.
Still, there was much to be thankful for.
A mild winter and very early spring made hearts light. The warm summer that followed brought gorgeous blooms and amazing tree growth. When fall’s leaves finally turned, many welcomed the cool, fresh air on the tails of a wicked September heat wave. This winter has been very mild with little snowfall to date. Surely cold and snow are lurking just beyond the corner of the new year.
Though we may not have any control over the weather, we do have control over our response to it. As weather patterns continue to change in the year ahead, I wonder how we will respond both individually and collectively. Will we become smarter planners like the ants, or more likely to sing in the sun while it’s shining like the grasshoppers? Perhaps a little of both.
Natural phenomena and the effect of Nature on the spirit were frequent topics among my posts in 2010. I especially enjoyed writing about Nature’s potential to teach, comfort and inspire:
A few posts even made it to the front page of WordPress in 2010.
- Don’t Clear Your Woodlands!
- Nova Scotia Celebrates Earth Day with a Bounty on Coyotes
- The Delicate Shore
Deforestation, aggressive coyotes and our vulnerable coastline will continue to be concerns in the year ahead. However, regardless of what Nature has in store for us in 2011, we will always have much to be thankful for, including one another. Happy new year and happy trails to all in 2011!
All are but parts of one stupendous whole, whose body Nature is, and God the soul.
~ Alexander Pope
Your thoughts and photographs, the quotations you choose, as well as the topics that form the core of each post–thank you, Amy-Lynn, for all you share with us. You help us on our way to grow new souls.
Happy New Year and thanks for all the beauty you share with us!
Amy
I have enjoyed your photos and posts throughout the year. You have captured so many beautiful moments and sights, but the best part is your well thought out comments and fitting quotations. Thank you for sharing.
It is curious that you have such unusual warm weather while here we have had the coldest year in 50 years.
I wish that 2011 will be a happy year for you and for all of us
If only all humans were forced to spend a year at the University of Mother Nature I believe lives would be richer; we would all be more grateful and the whole world itself would be healthier. Thank you for doing your part to teach us all in such a satisfying way. Your prose and images are always informative and interesting and always a balm for the soul. I will be going back to see the posts you’ve highlighted and that you wrote before I ‘existed’ here, and I’m looking forward to following through 2011 and beyond with you.
Happy New Year,
Cindy
Happy New Year Amy-Lynn.
May I just “second” the previous posters comments.
You rock !
Sybil
As always, visiting your blog wraps me in restful thoughts, making me glad to be a part of this writer’s world where minds and souls share inspiration, laughter, tears and a bit of nonsense. Photography is gorgeous. Thanks for being one of my favorite bloggers who keeps delighting me every time I visit.
I like the new theme, and think it set off the sandpiper to perfection. It’s always good to visit, Amy. I look forward to keeping up with the news from the Salt Marsh and the back yard too. Happy New Year.
**HAPPY NEW YEAR**
I think the allegory of ant and grasshopper is apt.
Happy New Year!
An amazing quotes you chose! And photos!
Love this section “Though we may not have any control over the weather, we do have control over our response to it. As weather patterns continue to change in the year ahead, I wonder how we will respond both individually and collectively. Will we become smarter planners like the ants, or more likely to sing in the sun while it’s shining like the grasshoppers?”
Thank you all for your kind comments. It’s so nice of you to keep visiting
Happy New Year!
I have been away from the internet for several weeks, so I have some catching up to do on your posts! What a lovely new theme you are using! It makes it look as though you are carrying a notebook with you on your walks through Mother Nature, like the old naturalists and biologists and explorers used to do.
I like it.
Reggie, I did like that quality about the new template too. However, I do wonder if the ruled paper background is a hindrance to readability. Nice to see you around again
Hi, Amy~~
I, too, want to second the comments of the others. Though I don’t often leave a comment here, I do come and read your blog very often, and always appreciate your photographs and well-written lessons from nature. I was a bit taken aback by the new look but then realized, as Reggie says, that it does look like a notebook in which you are journaling as you go on your walks.
Keep up the wonderful work, my dear friend!!!
Happy New Year to you & your family, and to all of your readers!
Thanks Joan. XO from my side of the continent to yours
Wonderful way to mark the end of the year, with some big, open horizons suggestive of the coming year. Superb new theme you’re working with as well, though ultimately it’s the thoughtful content and lovely images that keeps us returning! Best wishes, Julian
Thank you Julian
Yes there are certainly some big, open horizons ahead for us all. Happy New Year!