Grateful for our winter wonderland

Picture perfect!  It snowed last night, a dusting of fluffy, perfectly formed snowflakes.  The sun was out this morning, and the snow sparkled and made me squint from the brightness. We live in a winter wonderland right now, and it's breathtaking.

The fir trees are loaded down with snow, looking like three-dimensional sugar cookies with way too much icing on them.  Long driveways through woods look magical, with the trees full of snow and everything looks clean and fresh, blanketed in pure white.

When you look at tree branches with the sun at a certain angle, they look like they've been strung with crystals; jeweled up and ready for the next big party.  Almost everywhere I look up here in the northern suburbs, I see beautiful scenery.

I've been trying to scramble around when I have an hour or two and take some pictures, but the pictures never seem as magnificent on that lcd screen as they do right in front of my eyes.  The real thing in real-time 3D can't be beat.

The camera has trouble capturing the brilliance of the snow, so pictures in shade often have more nuance and softness.  And snow looks blue when it's in deep shade.  That's always amazed me... it must reflect the sky on clear days, just like water does.

As I open my eyes to the beauty around me, I am thankful for the eyes to see them, the health to drive in my vehicle, the roads that are plowed regularly, the camera with which I take the pictures, and most of all, the ability to be grateful to the God of the universe, to whom I can give thanks.

Near Dalen's elementary school, there's a Methodist church.  I've been amused by their signage lately... it says, "Get rich quick.  Count your blessings."  And when I think of the many, many blessings in my life, I do count myself rich.