25 Comments

Thank you Karen for sharing your images. I enjoy them immensely every time. Happy Christmas.

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That little junco is my fav. Such a cutie.

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The shortest day of the year reminds us of the soon coming joy of springtime.

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Nooooo! We haven't had winter yet!

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I’m still working out the insulation value of a fluffed up vs non-fluffed up quail.

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Wonderful pics Karen! Happy just-about Winter Solstice! Wishing you all the delights of a week away from work. Let rest and refresh be your guiding star. :-)

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Thank you Sandy!

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Always such glorious beauty. And that poem! Thank you.

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Thank you Julie!

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Awesome photos Karen. I really like the leaf with the frost. Great image.

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Thank you Neil!

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I've come to appreciate Solstice more and more as the years pass to where it has become my most favored celebration day; holding the darkest dark while foreshadowing the coming of renewal and regeneration, the reemergence of the light. The perfect time for embracing the quiet hours, the deepening of slow hours, the gathering around the lamp light under star lite skies. And a perfect time to have 'time' off!

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Yes! Thank you Jan.

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Enjoy your week off work!!! Love these pictures!!! We hear a lot of Robins this time of year👍❤️. We’ve had a few cold mornings this week but they actually felt good…clean air and not so many people out walking… we actually saw a hawk catch its breakfast in the green space by a little creek❤️👍

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Thank you! Hope you are feeling better soon!

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All your gorgeous photos remind me of the verses in Psalms about the heavens (and all nature) declaring the "Glory of God." Colors, textures, shadows, reflections, sparkle and furry! Wow. They're all AWEsome.

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Thank you Jacqueline!

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Solstice blessing to you dear Karen with deep gratitude for all the beauty you share with the world. And let's hear it for the dark- did you know that apparently scientists estimate that 95% of the matter in the universe is Dark Matter (matter that does not reflect light so we cannot see it but we can perceive its gravitational pull.) So, all that we see (and we see a lot- the Hubble telescope showed us 100 billion other galaxies) is only 5%. A reminder of just how small and brief we are- and yet how connected we are to the hugeness. Maria Popova writes that if we take in even some of the reality it will make us "wonder smitten." I love that term and am grateful for your photos which contribute to that wonder.

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Thank you Oriah! Yes, dark matter is where all the energy is! I love that term too, "wonder smitten"!

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Wishing you a wonderful restful week! 🎄

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Thank you Sue!

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Zapped by beauty, I might say. Your inclusion of the Wendell Berry quote? So dynamic! And the images that followed the quote serve as examples of your photographer skills, in which I take delight. Enjoy the upcoming break!

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Thank you Gary!

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Love seeing your blue bird and Juno pics. Just beautiful!

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Thank you Karen!

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