The only words that ever satisfied me as describing Nature are the terms used in fairy books, charm, spell, enchantment. They express the arbitrariness of the fact and its mystery.
~ G.K. Chesterton
Perhaps it’s because skies are so grey and the days are so dark, that late December’s sunrises seem especially precious.
You don’t need to be a child to feel that there is something magical in the air at this time of year. Who would have thought rose hips from summer’s wild blooms would have transformed so easily into a snowman’s grin? All you need is a little imagination…
Nature has been waiting all year to share its gifts of the season…
With or without the presence of snow, there is something enchanted in the outdoors… available to everyone and easily bought for the price of opening your eyes and your heart.
Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things…
~ Sara Teasdale
The woods look barer than they did this fall when all the bright leaves covered the trees. But, it’s at this time that reflections of the sky can finally reveal themselves in previously hidden forest brooks… You never know what’s waiting to be discovered in the woods. Even in late December, there are still surprises to be found.
He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.
~Roy L. Smith
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After being listed on the homepage of WordPress.com on December 27th, 28th and 29th, this page has received more views than any other on this site to date. Thank you to all who stopped by for a visit.
You are such a poet!
Sunrise is very beautiful! Wondering what is the temperature in the morning.
Nadezhda, thanks 🙂
This morning, the temperature was just below freezing (0 Celsius) while this afternoon it is + 3 Celsius. By tonight, it’s supposed to be + 6 Celsius which is much warmer than usual for this time of year.
“…easily bought for the price of opening your eyes and your heart.”
That is a lovely line that will live in me.
Thanks
Jon Ball
Thanks for letting me know you liked it Jon. Nature’s wonders truly are available to everyone.
You are exactly right about December sunrises!! They are spectacular in ways the other months can only imagine. I’ve been shooting sunrises for a full year in my local town and I can attest: December and January are the most spectacular. Thanks for this!
Pat, I’m not sure why this is – perhaps it’s because the warm colours are in such striking contrast to the barer landscape, or because the sun rise is more south-east than at other times of the year.
Regardless of the reason why they’re so beautiful, being later in the morning, these sunrises can be enjoyed by more people than at other times of the year.
The pattern of feathers (themselves patterned) is very you, Amy. Your sunrise image is spectacular. I’m thinking about taking magic into your heart, as well as having it already there. You have brought a lot of it to us this year.
Ha ha Pamela… you’re right. I guess that pattern is me. I think it started when Gerry gave me that Goldsworthy award back in the spring 🙂
I think that magic got placed in my heart by my grandmother who’d sometimes place odd things in the garden in such a way that they appeared like they belonged there. Then she’d act surprised when she’d come upon them while walking past with an unsuspecting visitor. Sharing the magic is the best part of it 🙂
that snowman looks like he’s up to something
Quite possibly fallingnotflying. He’d better act fast though, as things are melting quickly tonight.
I’ve been finding an enormous amount of beauty in December this year. Your words have expressed it greatly.
I love that last photo of the manger scene under the tree. That is just magical.
Thanks Kate. We haven’t had much snow yet but it’s still been beautiful here too. I’m glad you liked the manger scene 🙂
I absolutely love your photos! 🙂 That photo of the sunrise is just spectacular. Well done on capturing the sheer beauty, the colours are amazing.
I also love the snowman and the nativity scene under the tree. What a superb idea, and what a clever Grandma you had to pass it on. It’s lovely.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Cindy, that sunrise was as short as it was spectacular. It certainly didn’t last long. I was lucky to capture it.
So much effort goes into making snowmen and here in Nova Scotia, with our fluctuating temperatures, they can unfortunately melt pretty quickly. I thought I’d save him in a photo for my grandson.
I didn’t set up this nativity scene in the house this season and felt I was missing something.
Your photos are beautiful! I can’t decide whether I like the poetry, or the photographs, more…luckily I don’t have to choose =) Lovely.
Thank you for your comment shoegirl. I’m glad you liked both 🙂
The snowman and the boy make a perfect pair, round faces, big eyes, cute smiles…
I agree, being playful and childlike keeps us young and healthy.
Very nice for this December.
Thanks nam long. December’s grey days can hold more than meets the eye at first.
I can only experience such winter via pics, while living in a tropical region.
Nam long, the advantage to virtual travel is that you don’t have to shovel any snow 🙂
I always feel as though I’ve been invited to take a bit of a walk outside with a thoughtful friend when I visit your posts. Thank you for this. It is all beauty.
Yousei, your visits and comments are always appreciated. You’re so welcome.
Just wanted to let you know, I saw your blog in the list of “Just Pressed” when I signed into WordPress yesterday. THAT was cool.
Thanks Yousei. It’s still up there this morning which is pretty amazing 🙂
You deserve it. Your blog is a peaceful, beautiful oasis. I love coming by and partaking of your photographic and prose offerings. Makes me want to keep working to improve my blog–high school competetiveness still in tact. 😉
Ha ha Yousei! Thanks again.
Great pics..indeed 🙂
Thank you aya 🙂
Beautiful blog worth seeing and reeding, simple and beautiful thoughts.
Thank you for your compliment qualander. I always try to keep the message simple and wonder if I am able to accomplish what I set out to do.
I would like to express how much I love your website. For a person who faces summer all year long in the tropics, it is truly a blessing to discover your site. Today marks the day that I stumble across here, the first day but definitely not the last.
-Leah-
Leah, it’s nice to experience all the seasons but sometimes the harshness of our winters make Nova Scotians wish they lived somewhere tropical. I’m glad you enjoyed your visit. Please do come back again 🙂
Beautiful thoughts and photos today, Miss Amy! We saw a wondermous winter sun set the other night on a drive in the country – didn’t have my camera with me – darn it!
Love the manger in the moss!
Cindy, the good thing about sunrises and sunsets is that there’s likely to be another great photo opportunity again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next…
I’m glad you liked the manger in the moss. That moss is still so green compared to the grass.
What a perfectly enchanting post, Amy! Your grandson is a lucky boy. I know, because when I was a very little girl I had a grandma with a very good imagination and a very special place in her heart just for me.
Thanks Gerry, enchantment is a staple of the season 🙂 I feel lucky to be a grandmother to such a brilliant child as I’m sure your grandmother did as well.
Nice photos, specially the first one.
nature is really beautiful, thanks God!
Merry Christmas 😉
Thank you. Nature’s beauty is incomparable and is truly the art of God. We’re offered something new and splendid to fill us with awe every day.
The photos are beautifully braided together with your words and the quotes. So glad WordPress featured you today!
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thank you pyrit. It was quite the stroke of luck to be selected by WordPress :)and to get so many visitors for this post especially.
Your lovely quotation is one I’ve used in the past in a post about handfeeding wild birds at
The virtue of patience is so often taken for granted by humans.
I love this post. Sometimes you forget about the beauty of winter becuase you’re too cold to take a moment or you work through the short sunshine. =)
astitchintime, you’re right about these days being so short that we seldom are able to make the most of the wonders in the natural world at this time of year. When we have the time it is often so cold that we choose to stay indoors. It’s worth leaving our comfort zones even for a short time in order to catch a glimpse of what nature has to offer.
The sunrise is beautiful. The colors are amazing. I’m more into the colors from sunsets, especially here in Los Angeles where the smog makes for amazing imagery.
My Social Relevance, I wonder what makes up the differences in colours between sunrises and sunsets. Would the smog in LA make even your sunrises different from ours here in Nova Scotia?
The photos are so beautiful!
Nguyễn Quốc Toán, thank you for visiting and taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
Thanks for that feather shot, I’ve been feeling all feathery and whimsical since I spotted it!
Ha ha! Islamama, feeling feathery is nothing to sneeze at!
Amy Lynn what can I say ? Everyone has beat me to the punch. So I’ll just say “I second EVERYTHING everyone else said”.
Peace.
Sybil
Thanks Sybil 🙂 🙂
Pax to you too.
I love the quiet beauty and simplicity of your blog. I am sure it must touch the hearts of all your readers,like me. I have been watching ‘The snowman’ film, and your photo absolutely catches that same sense of magic. Wishing you much joy for 2010.
Thank you for your wishes Linda. The same to you. That snowman film is so absolutely wonderful. It’s been years since I’ve seen it. I love the ‘Walking in the Air’ theme song.
The balance between your words, quotes, and photographs is wonderful. Each pulls the reader deeper into that space of enchantment you write about.
Keep sharing! 🙂
Thanks Mars. Each by itself doesn’t seem to get the point across well enough. Blogging is an excellent medium for combining these different elements of expression, and then sharing them directly with others.
It,s Sunrise…
Ouuwww…
So beautiful…
But..i don’t believe that..
So nice…
It’s unbelievably beautiful Ester. Thanks for stopping by and sharing in the awe.
There is a certain quality of dreaminess to your posts… its lovely and poetic at the same.Your pictures and words pull me towards that world which you are trying to share… I can almost feel the dampness, the cold and the beauty of it all at the same time.
Thank you for sharing this part of the world which I may never set foot on but seem to feel like I’ve already been there because of you.
You’re welcome Melinda. What nice things you’ve said 🙂 Nova Scotia has a lot to offer as we’re almost surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and there are still plenty of wild forested areas. Funny that you should mention the dreaminess. The annual guide for tourists to this province is actually called ‘The Doers and Dreamers Guide.’
Congrats on all the views and comments! Lovely pictures and the creche under the tree is excellent! And such a fun snowman… I hope you had a fantastic Christmas…and Happy New Year!
Thanks millhill. Placing the creche under the tree was certainly one of those inspired moments 🙂 I had a wonderful Christmas and hope you had the same.
[…] received more views than others. Two in particular, October’s Complementary Palette and December’s Days of Enchantment topped the list, as they were featured on WordPress.com’s […]
Thank you for taking us outdoors.
You are a natural poet. And your photos are so pleasing. I am glad to have found your blog.
Thank you for your kind comments pyrit. I hope you have a chance to get outdoors in your neck of the woods too.
Well, Amy Lynn, like Sybil said, I second everything all the other readers have said!
The sunrise, the feathers in the bird bath (a pattern within a pattern), the creche in the moss at the foot of the tree, the enigmatic smile of the snowman…such a wonderful summary of the season!
Many thanks, from a friend and admirer!
Thanks a bunch Joan 🙂 Happy New Year to you!
Oh my goodness, you have had 64 comments on this! Congratulations again on your feature on the “front page”. What a lovely message for folks to hear.
Kathy, what’s even more incredible are the page views: 1,700 for this page alone since it was posted.