The joy of seasons

Last week in Utah, the weather was beautiful with temperatures in the 70s. This week, a nice spring cold front moved through and brought lots of rain to the valleys and snow to the mountains. I enjoyed getting out for a hike once I could, and was thrilled to see these delightful conditions in the foothills, where seasons are colliding.
It's easy to get our hopes up in the spring; we have a week of unseasonably warm weather, and we put away the snow shovels and winter boots. Even nature agrees, as the hills start to turn green and we see plants and blossoms sprouting all over. Then a snow storm dumps its whiteness on us and we have to postpone our enthusiasm, just a little.
In this case, it was even more confusing. The late afternoon light with overcast skies made the trees glow like it was peak autumn! These are the scrub oaks and other trees that hold their dead and dry leaves until the spring instead of letting them "fall in the fall." But the glowing color almost made me forget we'd already been through winter!
Having such compressed feelings of all four seasons reminded me how much I love seasons! Some people enjoy living in a place where the seasons blur together into what they consider some ideal, but that would not work for me. I have learned to find beauty and enjoyment in all the seasons! I #GiveThanks for the blessing of variety and change.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nature's secret maps

Image
  On a hike in the woods earlier this week, Bonnie and I noticed there were logs set across the trail now and then, probably for erosion control. But on closer inspection, we started to realize there were patterns on the logs, and on even CLOSER inspection, we started to realize that the patterns looked like trail maps! Clearly, we decided, they were secret messages for the highly observant hikers indicating the locations of spectacular secret ancient treasures!! Of course, it became necessary to follow the pattern of a couple of the secret maps. After some expert and exhaustive tracking, we excitedly came to the end where the spectacular secret ancient treasure would be, and found nothing... only this (see additional photos). Oh, wait...... I #GiveThanks for spectacular secret ancient treasures and the chance to discover them by following nature's carefully encoded maps.  
Read more

Napping in public

Image
  As I get older, a good snooze now and then is a joy and a blessing. I seem to want to enjoy that blessing more frequently! Not a thing wrong with that, especially in the circumstance shown in the first photo (thanks Matthew for the photo).... As I was in a meeting earlier today, watching those seated in front, I had some flashbacks that involved others, and perhaps myself, who struggled with the particular challenge of staying awake in that setting. I remember thinking in the past, "How rude - not a very good example for a leader to doze off in front of everyone." But later I learned how hard it can be to remain alert, when very early morning meetings and a demanding schedule can wear on your ability to endure. I guess I had to "be there" to fully appreciate the struggle. Years ago I remember reading a delightful essay by BYU English professor Richard Cracroft titled "On the Vicissitudes of Serving in the Bishopric" (such a memorable title!) in which he
Read more

Every Day is a Gift

Image
My father's mortal experience ended when I was 7 years old. He didn't get the privilege of seeing his five children mature and marry, and have children of their own, or feel the special joy of being a grandfather. I now have grandchildren the age that I was when he left us - a whole generation of extra time. So I #GiveThanks for the gift of one more day, a priceless ongoing sharing of joy.
Read more