On my daily walk this morning, just for the heckuvit, I made a snowball.

Then, to continue down my path of whimsy, I made a snow angel.

I’ve been missing whimsy in my life lately. It’s much easier to get bogged down in all the “musts” and “should” of life. Those things are all clearly explainable as to why I do them.

But why did I make a snow angel? I don’t know. I don’t have a clearly obvious answer for that. Because I wanted to? Yes, but it was more than that. It made me feel good. It was simple but it was a tiny adventure in my otherwise sober hour of exercise. It made me feel childlike and simple and free.

I don’t know how else I can pursue a path of whimsy in my life but I know that I will try. If a detour that small and nearly insignificant can make me feel so good, then I want to try to find more of that…

Winter Stumblings

I am smack in the middle of winter here in northeast Ohio with no clear signs of the season letting up (in spite of what the little groundhog had to say) and I am stumbling between hibernation and exploration. Although I am staying as much inside as I am able I am also ready to get out again with my camera and investigate my world!

So yesterday I ventured out a bit and saw what beauty the ice can bring. This old and dead flower bush that is left over from a late summer blooming has become nearly immortalized as it is frozen in the drippings of a melting icicle higher up. It must be very weighted down by the heft of the icicle but it is mustering through and waiting for the thaw.

 
That is how I feel. Winter is always heavy for me but on some days I see the bright sun and know that it is coming back again soon and strong. Like this old bloom knows that even as I am taking the picture of its frozen existence the icicle encompassing it is slowly melting away...