Winter Wonderland

I am not well know for loving winter. Our summers are spectacular, but I generally see winter as something to be endured. While our friends on the east coast have been getting all of the snow, Anchorage has had an unusual week of ice fog. Now I have something to celebrate.

There are trees all over Anchorage and now they are all coated with the most amazing looking hoar frost. The whole world looks like one big Ansel Adams photo. The bike path to the nearby lake reminds me of a faery land and some Narnia jokes were made. I know it will just be a matter of days before wind or snow changes it all so I am savoring every drive and walk of every day while it is here.

These photos were taken with my phone and they don't do the scenery justice, but I wanted to share some of this beauty with you. They were all taken in color by the way. I am grateful to have something to appreciate about winter since one of my goals is to find the good in what I have instead of wishing for something else. I reserve the right to change my mind by February, but right now I am loving winter in Anchorage.

My New and Beloved Apple Tree

I bought an apple tree this weekend. It sounds pretty trivial, but I am more excited than I can tell you. Apples aren't native to Alaska, but I have wanted one for years and years. We finally bought a house last summer and I knew this spring I would be planting my very own apple tree.

Apples caught my imagination through their connection to magic and, specifically goddesses. Loving apples and apple trees was a way to covertly nourish my connection to the divine feminine and to the power of myth. I still remember as an adolescent reading a description of Gwynhwyvar on her wedding day with her hair in braids and each braid ended in a tiny golden apple.

Currently, this much anticipated little sapling is sitting in front of my living room window since there is still about a month before I can plant it in the backyard. It is already budding there and I am happy every time I look at it. The store only had one tree left of the type I wanted, so I still need to get another for pollination. Right now, I can't think of a better way to celebrate spring's renewal right now than to watch the buds grow on my very own little apple tree.