Snow Faeries

Day 49: The Snow Faeries came calling last night, and with them they brought one of the modern era's most precious commodities: silence. I had almost forgotten what it doesn't sound like, that absence of traffic grumbling on the road, but over the last four hours, no more than four cars have dared the snow; no log trucks, no jeepers, no early-shift commuters and more telling, no plow. The Faeries must have gifted Flatland as well, calling those enormous scraping, growling machines to the lowlands with a sense of greater urgency than that of our small mountain community. Silence! It brings a deep calmness to my spirit, creates space between the snarl of thoughts and cares winding through my head. It has been too long since I heard nothing, far too long, and odd though it may seem, nothing can be as critically important to existence as any or all of the somethings in the world.

Star Trek

Day 134: "Captain, I am detecting several objects of indeterminate nature off the port bow. They are keeping pace with our speed of warp five." Data's fingers danced across the console as he spoke, running a sequence of analyses as he attempted to identify the phenomenon. Picard's crisp order for the viewscreen cut across the other background voices on the bridge. "Sensors indicate an electrostatically charged field between the objects and the Enterprise, sir. It is interfering with obtaining a visual lock. They appear to be composed of hydrogen, oxygen and trace elements. One moment...the sensors show...no, that cannot possibly be correct...small amounts of the oil commonly found in Helianthus...Earth sunflowers, sir...and urates consistent with nitrogenous waste. With all due respect, sir, I believe humans would call that substance 'bird poop.'"

We picked up a light dusting of snow last night, with clouds dissipating by morning. The rising sun cast handsful of sparkling diamonds on the ground and, as usual, I tried to capture the glint and glimmer with the camera with no particular success. I retreated to the house to try again through the dirty glass of my east window, but the camera wanted to focus on the dust motes. As I panned in an attempt to find a cleaner gap, these objects hove into view; water droplets hanging from one of the shepherd's-hooks holding my bird feeders. Suddenly, I was transported into the world of Star Trek and a photographic adventure. Microcosm, macroscosm...who is to say in which we live?

A Package Full Of Starlight

Day 73: Little Pik-pik is wondering where to hide the gift he picked out for his mother. He knows she likes to sit in the top branches of the tree, but he's thinking he might be able to tuck it in against the trunk where she'd never think to look. The only problem is that it's sparkly, but that was why he got it for her. How do you hide a package full of starlight? Why, you hang it among the stars, of course! Fly, Pik-pik! But don't drop it!