Christmas Poems and Wishes ~

~ Christmas Star ~

~ Christmas Trees ~

~ The Joy You Give ~

John Greenleaf Whittier

"Somehow, not only for Christmas
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you.
And the more you spend in blessing
The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing
Returns to you glad."

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~ Gift of Wonder ~

Alfred McBride

...As children we had a sense of wonder. Our eyes were wide open and drinking in the fascinating gifts we beheld…Our thirsty souls could not have enough of the wonders of creation.

Then somehow, we grew too old to dream. We tired of the abundance of the world, or at least grew weary of keeping up with the feast of life, and stepped away from the banquet of life.

The natural gift of wonder God gave us as children was meant to be kept alive...Instead we let wonder go to sleep. We entered the typical dream state of most humans.

...Stay awake!...Wake up and realize the gifts of love you have received...

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~ Some Special Gifts ~

author unknown

~ a firm handshake to a shaky soul,

~ a kind word to a lonely person,

~ a warm smile to the disheartened,

~ a sincere concern for someone troubled,

~ a feeling of compassion for the neglected,

~ a comforting thought for the bereaved,

~ a respect for the dignity of others,

~ a defense of the rights of individuals,

~ a word of witness to help a seeking soul,

~ a Merry Christmas to all

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~ Merry Christmas to all, and to all a beautiful New Year! ~



Forest Ablaze...With Color!

~ Forest Ablaze ~

~ Majestic Maple ~

~ Forest Ablaze II ~

Realizing that many of the area trees were nearing their peak of Fall color, we decided to spend this past Saturday traveling the northern Minnesota countryside in search of Nature's most spectacular colors. Here and there we found reds and some golds...but late Sunday afternoon, as our family was preparing our Faire site for winter, we discovered a small hillside ablaze with an amazing display of orange, peach, yellows, gold, and reds. The beautiful deep blue sky that peeked between the stunning leaves of maple, birch, and aspen allowed rays of golden sunshine to set the hillside on fire with color. This hillside was beautiful, bright, and truly glowing!

~ And...such a short distance from home. ~

:0)

Nature Glows

Under the Forest Canopy

Glowing Rose Bud

I love how leaves and flower petals seem to glow when illuminated from the sun's rays!

~ Wishing you a beautiful weekend. ~

Cats and I

Yesterday it snowed.

So today the cats and I took a walk in the woods,
Bumble and Prince,

Carbon,

Bert,

no not the Cheshire Cat, but really close,
it's Fuzzy,

to look at the beautiful trees,

and visit the grand old Birch. This tree is special to me. I dreamt of it sitting on this hill when I was very young, and saw it for the first time ten years later growing on property we had just purchased.