Nordic Forest in Frost

~ Nordic Forest in Frost ~

~*~

With the addition of a few twinkling stars, a frosted winter window can become a whole new world!

~ Wishing you an amazingly wonderful day, and the happiest and healthiest of New Years! ~
~~~*~~~

The Best Gift

~ Catch A Star ~

THE BEST GIFT

by

 Betty Werth

On Christmas Eve, a young boy with light in his eyes
Looked deep into Santa’s, to Santa’s surprise
And said as he sat on Santa’s broad knee,
"I want your secret. Tell it to me."

He leaned up and whispered in Santa’s good ear
"How do you do it, year after year?"
"I want to know how, as you travel about,
Giving gifts here and there, you never run out.

How is it, dear Santa, that in your pack of toys
You have plenty for all of the world’s girls and boys?
Stays so full, never empties, as you make your way
From rooftop to rooftop, to homes large and small,
From nation to nation, reaching them all?"

And Santa smiled kindly and said to the boy,
"Don’t ask me hard questions. Don’t you want a toy?"
But the child shook his head, and Santa could see
That he needed the answer. "Now listen to me,"

He told that small boy with the light in his eyes,
"My secret will make you sadder and wise.
"The truth is that my sack is magic inside
It holds millions of toys for my Christmas Eve ride.

But although I do visit each girl and each boy
I don’t always leave them a gaily wrapped toy.
Some homes are hungry, some homes are sad,
Some homes are desperate, some homes are bad.

Some homes are broken, and the children there grieve.
Those homes I visit, but what should I leave?
"My sleigh is filled with the happiest stuff,
But for homes where despair lives toys aren’t enough.

So I tiptoe in, kiss each girl and boy,
And I pray with them that they’ll be given the joy
Of the spirit of Christmas, the spirit that lives
In the heart of the dear child who gets not, but gives.

"If only God hears me and answers my prayer,
When I visit next year, what I will find there
Are homes filled with peace, and with giving, and love
And boys and girls gifted with light from above.

It’s a very hard task, my smart little brother,
To give toys to some, and to give prayers to others.
But the prayers are the best gifts, the best gifts indeed,
For God has a way of meeting each person’s need.

"That’s part of the answer. The rest, my dear youth,
Is that my sack is magic. And that is the truth.
In my sack I carry on Christmas Eve day
More love than a Santa could ever give away.

The sack never empties of love, or of joys
`Cause inside it are prayers, and hope. Not just toys.
The more that I give, the fuller it seems,
Because giving is my way of fulfilling dreams.

"And do you know something? You’ve got a sack, too.
It’s as magic as mine, and it’s inside of you.
It never gets empty, it’s full from the start.
It’s the center of light, and love. It’s your heart.

And if on this Christmas you want to help me,
Don’t be so concerned with the gifts `neath your tree.
Open that sack called your heart, and share
Your joy, your friendship, your wealth, your care."

The light in the small boy’s eyes was glowing.
"Thanks for your secret. I’ve got to be going."
"Wait, little boy," said Santa, "don’t go.
Will you share? Will you help? Will you use what you know?"

And just for a moment the small boy stood still,
Touched his heart with his small hand and whispered, "I will."

~ Winter Fantasy ~

~ Wishing you all the love and joy of the Christmas Season, and a most wondrous New Year! ~



~ 'THE CHRISTMAS ARAB' ~

~ 'THE CHRISTMAS ARAB II' ~

"Children's Wishes"

~~~~~***~~~~~

With Christmas not far away, I thought it would be wonderful to add a Christmas card to my shop for those who dreamt, still dream, or know someone who's wishing to find that special pony/or horse with a beautiful red bow in it's mane waiting for them on Christmas morning.

The illustration for 'THE CHRISTMAS ARAB II' created in 1991 is of a little snow white Arabian, carefully clinging onto a pajama topped teddy bear, for someone who's dreams are filled with wishes.

Each beautiful card was professionally printed with my black and white illustration on creamy white textured medium weight card stock. I then hand color and remark, enhance with 18kt. gold, edge with punched flourishes, add beautiful light blue parchment to the inside, and embelish each card with a small crystal.

Each creamy white 5"x7" hand colored and embelished card is accompanied with a medium weight, snowy white, gold foil lined envelope. Merry Christmas is printed on the front of the card, and blank on the inside for you to write your own special holiday message.

~* Wishing you a safe and magically wonderful Holiday season ! *~



Morning Has Broken ~

~ Morning Has Broken ~

Beautiful rays of yesterday's morning sun stream through storm clouds. This was one of the most breathtaking sunrises I have yet seen!

New ACEO Print

~ Baby Kisses ~

What Man in the Moon could resist a tickly whiskered goodnight kiss from little baby Pegasus!

This new little print is now available here in my shop!

Wishing everyone a beautiful day! :0) 

 

Need Some Ice?

With all of the scorching heat many are experiencing here in the US, I thought it might be a bit refreshing to post a few pictures of Lake Superior in its frozen form. Thankfully this is not what the great lake looks like today...these images were taken at the beginning of March (2011).

~ Frozen Lake Superior in March ~

~ Hubby and the Ice Pack ~

~ Beached Ice Slabs ~

~ Wishing all who need it much cooler and more comfortable temperatures soon! ~

If Tree Toads Could Talk

Oh my goodness...how time does fly! It has been quite some time since my last post of roses at Gardens Keep...and I had promised to post next on the irises!

This year the gardens have been bursting with blooms, keeping me quite busy capturing their images. Nearly ever day something catches my eye, sending me dashing for the Canon camera.

A few mornings ago an unusually heavy fog blanketed the earth, creating a beautiful site with shimmering dew drops hanging heavy on spider webs and rays of sun cast through the moist air as it broke between pine branches.

In between the camera clicking I would stop to pull a few weeds here, and a few weeds there. Something prompted me to look up from one such weed pulling session...and there I spied a wonderful green tree toad clinging to a brown tree branch inches above my head.  

Ah hah! Another perfect subject! Out came the camera once again...click...click...click...

74 clicks later this patient little toad finally leaped to the nearby weathered fence, then slowly turned to look at me with it's shiny black eyes as if to say "Could you please find something else to do. I really must catch some breakfast." :0)

~ Iris images will be coming! Truly! And how about some baby goats, a new bunny, Duluth's premier garden, and... ~

Wishing everyone a wonderful summer!