Happy New Year!
Some may have rang in the new year last night, but church bells that rang today may have been ringing for peace in the new year. Pope Francis spoke of peace today and said, “This brings a responsibility for each to work so that the world becomes a community of brothers who respect each other, accept each other in one’s diversity, and takes care of one another.”
I wish everyone a wonderful, healthy and peaceful new year!
Ringing in the New Year
I don’t think I will be taking a Sunday afternoon drive to the lake to sit on the log and dangle my feet in the water, not when it is below zero this morning with -30 wind chills and floating ice chunks on the lake now.
Warmer Day at the Lake
The sun is finally out since it is not snowing at the moment, but other than patches of blue sky, there isn’t much color to see besides white and even though the tiny Forget-me-not are often overlooked along little creeks as they are so small, they do add some blue, yellow and green to brighten the landscape.
Tiny Forget-Me-Nots
It seems like cows get blamed for a lot of things, like starting the Great Chicago Fire. And Mrs. Jelinek’s herd of cows took the blame for collapsing the 1894 wooden bridge in Bayfield, WI which connected “Swede Hill” with the city’s “Catholic Hill”. After the collapse of the wooden bridge, a 230 foot iron bridge was built over the ravine and was completed on December 26, 1912 although it wasn’t open for use until the following October.
The iron bridge survived the 1942 flood and was in use for vehicles until 1968 and until 1982 for foot traffic. A restoration project in 1988, re-opened the bridge back up to pedestrian use and from the bridge, one can see Chequamegon Bay and under the bridge, the Gil Larson Nature Trail winds along the little creek at the bottom of the big ravine.
Bayfield’s Iconic Iron Bridge
On a windy, snowy day, the sight of a butterfly floating carefree from one flower to another on a warm summer can only exist in the mind since winter has only begun.
Summertime Butterfly
While the bindweed is considered a problematic weed in agricultural fields, I would rather see this white flower than the falling snow outside.
Different White
While not the red and green of Christmas decorations one might be seeing now, the summer time green surrounding the barn with its little bit of red is different than how it looks now with bare trees and white snow covering the ground and roof.
Green and Red
The ground outside is still white covered even if it was above zero finally today but I rather see a field covered with white daisies than with snow!
Field White with Daisies
On a hot day, it would feel nice to sit next to a waterfall, even if it doesn’t have a lot of water rushing down over the rocks. And maybe catch a little mist from the splashing water on the Upper Falls of the Gooseberry River.
Gooseberry Upper Falls
This old dead tree looks like there is a critter head coming out of the top of the tree.
Critter Tree
