"Twas in the Moon of Wintertime

We sang the Huron Carol this morning. The imagery is wonderful for our northern Wisconsin setting, where it is easier at this time of the year to imagine wandering hunters than shepherds out in fields. The children's message was going to be centered around illustrations that go with the song. Since there were no children younger than 16 in church today, there will have to be another time and place to share this song.

‘Twas in the moon of wintertime, when all the birds had fled,
That God the Lord of all the earth sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light the stars grew dim,
and wandering hunters heard the hymn:
Jesus, your king is born!
Jesus is born!
In excelsis Gloria!

Snow

you can't take a laptop on a hike . . .

I called this "Trailside Thoughts" because hiking along a trail often leads to interesting thoughts. The difficulty is in remembering those thoughts afterward to enter them in a blog. I don't take a notebook along and stop and write ideas down. Instead I carry a camera - which leads to images, memories, and even metaphors, but not words.

Gryffin takes Rikka for a walk

Rikka can't go for a walk anymore but hates to be left behind. Gryffin pulls when we walk him and we think he might make a good sled dog. So - here are both dogs doing what they love, one helping the other. Rikka was a little leery at first, but when we got to the neighbor's house and their dog came out to play with Gryff, Rikka had a big doggie smile on her face.

beginnings and endings

Tomorrow we are headed north to Michigan. For Gryffin this will be a new adventure. He hasn't been on any major trips with us. Last time we went to the UP Rikka was a pup - just 2 years old and very happy to be out exploring the world. This time she is home with Grandma. She can barely walk and would be uncomfortable riding such a long distance.

So - this trip is bitter sweet. Rikka is missing her favorite thing - a trip. But Gryff has something wonderful in store for him.

Trails to Rails

Many bike trails are rails to trails - old railroad lines that were converted into bike trails. In what looks like a reverse of that, thawing has changed my cross country ski trail into what looks like very narrow gauge railroad tracks. Packed down snow under the skis has melted slower and now stands above the surrounding snow, looking like something Jack Frost could use for his snow train.

Is it a lion or a lamb when March comes in at 9 below zero? We didn't have a storm, but you can't really call such out of season cold weather "like a lamb."