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winter has returnedfrigid fog in the valleyfollows its low path
We've had a very strange and warm January with all of our snow melting in the unusual warmth. This last week, the snows and cold have returned a bit, though still not to seasonable measures.
(Nikon D2H, Tokina 12-24, PhotoShop Tritone and IR effects.)
A chilly morning,
'Buck and Tracey cuddle up.
This is 'A Good Thing.'
Some portraits of the grrrls to make the family happy. 
I had set out to make this a place for a hard look at life in rural Maine. Once in a while I still hope to make this a place to show of my personal photojournalism projects as well, but I will also abuse the space and use it as my own personal scrap book of sorts for all kinds of my photography. (Fuji GW670III, Veliva100, DuoToned in PhotoShopCS)
What's left of the trees
from last year's timber harvest.
Our forest's earned rest.I started my Blog and 2005 PAW with a photograph of a skidder. I figured to do so again this year. I also will strive to add more multimedia entries to the Blog and make sure that all of my PAW shots here on the Blog are accompanied with a Haiku. (I did this with my first PAW project back in 2001.)
Skidders have been moving the selective cuttings of our timber for three years. Now that the forest is opened up and cleared of the severe damage done by the 1998 Ice Storm, She will have a chance to thrive and grow stronger. We will continue to harvest a few of the weaker trees every year for firewood, but it will be almost a decade before we will need to have a skidder at work on our land again.
(Fuji GW670III, Velvia 100, B&W in PhotoShopCS.)
Though my family observes Yule on or about the 21st of December, to celebrate the return of the Sun, we also observe the rituals of Christmas with our extended family to celebrate the birth of Yeshua of Nazareth in respect for all of the wisdom that He imparted to the world. (Which sadly is most of the time completely ignored by people of all religions.) For Yule we usually give gifts to each other that we've made ourselves.Though we are by no means wealthy by American standards, we realise that we are much better off than the vast majority of the people in the world and we thank the Universe for that daily. We go out of our way to make sure to instill in our children that spirit of giving to others less fortunate than we are throughout the year as we can. Every Christmas though, our families, my wife, Santa Claus and I also provide the kids with a few 'real' toys that the kids can just enjoy for themselves just for the sake of the fun of being a kid.
This year we were very blessed because my father-in-law survived the heart attack that he had on the 21st and though he ended up spending Christmas in the hospital waiting for a quadruple bypass (which he underwent on the 27th and is now recovering from) we were able to go to his room late Christmas morning to be with him. My wife having her father with her is the sort of gift that isn't made in China of plastic nor paid for with plastic (in the American way), but we hope that it will be enjoyed for many years to come. I wish you all a very happy new year and will soon return for something like a PAW project for 2006.
After a long night of feasting, gift giving and rejoicing, they ventured out before dawn to walk across the crunchy frigid snows down to the circle to welcome the reborn Star in the East as their ancestors had done for centuries before them.
In the Western Hemisphere and the snowier parts of the North particularly, Yule marks the halfway point of the darkest half of the year (and so is also called MidWinter). It is a time to stay close to home and warm by the fires. A time to celebrate and enjoying the most precious gift of family and good friends. From now until Litha the Sun will grown stronger and give us more and more light and warmth.
