New Growth Green

"Open your eyes to the beauty around you,

Open your mind to the wonders of life,

Open your heart to those who love you,

And always be true to yourself."

Donna Davis

The breeze is softly tickling my face, twirling my hair and lifting the music through the air. How can I convey to you how I feel in my heart right now? It's spring!

Several things have happened since I started this blog...Maurita came over for lunch, we tramped around the woods taking pictures and laughing, and I had a wonderful visit with big brother Micah. Now, I am listening to the St. Olaf choir on CD, drinking ginger tea, and downloading pictures from the walk today to share with you!

On our walk, Maurita and I had to stop to breath in the smells, admire the flowers, climb enbankments, run up hills and down little paths, sing, and laugh at ourselves. The green was that of new growth, so bright in the spring. I thought of Helen Keller quotes. Because she was unable to see and hear, she had to touch, smell, and feel with the heart.

"Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousand of miles and all the years you have lived." Helen Keller

"To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug." Helen Keller

Slacker

I was just informed by a very important person that I have been a blog slacker. I take this seriously, and though it hurt, I believe it is having the desired effect. I'm blogging again!

I don't know where to start or what to include, but certain life events have driven me to journal more and blog...well...none. Many things have happened in this last month, but it's hard to know which of those things are blog material.

I started dating Matt:

Had a visit from Mama, Daddy, and Angela...

...and found out that Daddy likes to do dishes...in Minnesota!

Had a murder mystery party at my house for Sarah's birthday:

Went to visit Ben and Tandalee and am now home with a cold and pink eye: [no picture]

Babysitting...

When was the last time you totally jammed out to kids music? Played baby tigers? Spent a whole hour trying to get two kids to go to bed? Well, that's what I did this evening, plus some:) It was a nice change and totally different kind of challenge after spending all day studying ECG's in and out of class. Lunch included stimulating conversation with Sarah and Emily at a Greek restaurant, but other than that, it was a day of ECG overload. After walking by my old hospital floor and tying up some loose ends on this and that at work, I dropped by home barely in time to leave to babysit four kids, ages 7 1/2 to 1 1/2, three boys and little girl.

Spring is in the air! Everyone and their dog were out running today! Just walking the 4 or so blocks home, I must have seen 4-5 people running or walking with a dog. The grass is beginning to show in places in the front yard! Are you catching the excitement!!!

Melting

"Sunshine cannot bleach the snow

Nor time unmake what poets know."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

After class today, a friend and I went for a long walk and talk along the river. It was in the 40's today, and the coat became unnecessary as we trudged through the melting snow! See! Bits of grass are showing through and the ice on the river is cracking!
I have thoroughly enjoyed the winter, but it is exciting to have more sunshine, see some ground, and even hear the first few birds chirping. A few days ago, we had the fluffiest snow imaginable. I hated to brush it off of my car and wanted to take pictures instead, but alas, I had to go to work. Even with signs of warm weather, we will probably get a few more snows before Narnia completely melts into spring. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain and snow! Here's how I feel about it:

"To appreciate the beauty

of a snow flake,

it is necessary to stand out in

the cold."

"I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old aquaintance among the pines." Henry David Thoreau
"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." John Ruskin

Note: only the first two photos are from today.

Winter Sea Caves

We debated as to whether it would be worth making the trip to Bayfield yet again simply on the hopes that the sea caves would be half as spectacular as the few pictures I had seen. Wow! It was well worth the time!
The picture above is a personal favorite. Fairyland? Is this real? Erin taking a picture, gloves and ski pole aside.No, Erin is NOT suspended, and no photo editing was done!

While there appear to be pools of water in some of these photos, its all ice, except in the photo below, where a stream did run into the lake.

Ice, ice, ice

I think the above ice formation looks like a mushroom.

Me with an ice shard. The lake ice sometimes shifts apart creating cracks. Other times, it crunches together creating upheavals and ice shards such as this one.

New meaning to black ice. It's interesting to stand on it and look down a foot into it. On the left is Erin on an ice slab.