Bright colours for a snowy day

A glorious red double hibiscus makes the heart glad on a gray day!

Eleia sneaks onto the dining table to check out the small pot of miniature daffodils - bits of colour for a gray snowy day. wonder if she'll eat them?

One of the interesting things about winter in Canada is that everything often seems as if its all part of a gigantic negative - all in black and white. Colour in the form of red dogwood branches, Mountain ash berries, evergreen branches attract our eye. Even the drab colours of the little birds in winter - goldfinches in particular who fade from rich cadmium yellow to antique gold - will draw attention simply because they stand out so much against the snow or the gray skies, little golden coins swirling around feeders and trees.

So the Christmas season, which is probably more commonly celebrated in the WASP country neighbourhoods than in large cities around the world as we become more of a global planet, linked by electronics, seems more joyful if only for the brightly coloured lights in the evenings that decorate trees and buildings and for the other cheerful decorations.

We tend to leave them up longer I think, specially while the nights are longer than the days and spring seems so far away.

On the other hand, winter brings its own joys and challenges - hiking in the snow with the dogs, snowshoeing, skiing and visiting with friends and neighbours. A friend of mine who has begun working in Igloolik in Canada's far north, told me the temperature outside was -46 and for days the wind blew the snow into goggles and freezing faces. Getting around wasn't easy. However when it's clear - the two hours of light they now have for the next few months is hot pink and glorious - a constant sunrise/sunset at the moment. Now THAT would be fascinating.

Hope you'e enjoying wherever you are today.