Scenes From a Frigid Afternoon

I was getting a bit of cabin fever after lunch so despite the thermometer refusing to rise above 35 degrees, off I went to see what I might find in the world besides rosy cheeks and chilly thighs.

First was a holly tree near the pond decorated with berries and snow.

Then the swirl of ice patterns across the surface of the water.

Further along I revisited this tree of oyster mushrooms that we discovered a couple of days ago and documented the waterfall of caps cascading down the trunk.  This is the largest outgrowth of oysters I think I've ever seen.

Last but not least I was taken by this fringe of christmas fern hanging along the edge of a stream bank.

I was glad I braved the cold.  At the top of the hill I stopped and leaned against a big tree to feel the sun on my face and catch my breath.  I recited to myself the Gayatri:

You who are the source of all power

Whose rays illuminate the earth

Illuminate also my heart

So that it too may do your work 

Then I walked back to the house. 

The glow of the woodstove is that much more dear when you've been out in the chill air.