Rollercoaster Winter

They said it's a warm winter this year. "Warm" here means a little below zero to 5 plus degrees celsius. One day, the snow would fall heavily. Then another day, rain would trickle continuously and thaw away the fresh snow that has piled up. Snowy, snowless, and so on and so forth. Sort of climatic roller coaster.

It's the first winter in my life that I'm not wearing my gloves or mittens for some days, and I can walk around without putting my jacket's hood up, and no bonnet either. About minus 3 degrees C is no longer so cold for me. I often find myself wishing to re-experience something below 10 or 20 minus, which I queerly enjoy. Okay, I'm a cold-blooded extra-terrestrial creature trapped on this planet, which explains my insane fondness of cold weather. Take note though: I'm that kind of alien who has a warm heart that brims with love, joy and peace.

So, winter wonderland is going crumbly. The news that there  may not be a white Christmas this year disheartens many, but this doesn't matter to me since I don't celebrate Christmas anyway. It's a common knowledge that Jesus wasn't born in December, so there's no reason to celebrate this day. For me, everyday is special, festive and an occasion to be peaceable, loving, helpful and generous. Vit jul eller mörk jul, splelar ingen roll, as I say it in Swedish.

But a winter without snow? Or a rainy one? Unthinkable! Ridiculous as it may seem, there's nothing to do but accept it and enjoy the many other things that the season offers, as I have presented in my previous entry.  Here are more fantastic things I gathered this month.

Jupiter still hanging around with Castor and Pollux, Dec. 13

Full moon, Dec. 17, also called Oak Moon or Long Night's Moon, the only night in the month when the moon is in the sky all night long.

night after the full moon

Jupiter was getting closer to the moon (the bright dot left of the moon is Jupiter)

the meeting of the two prominent celestial luminaries in December

 moon's cosmic brilliant companion, Jupiter (upper left) in Dec. 18 

*****

Today is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, a day that marks our shortest daylight period and longest night of the year. The sun halts its annual southward migration, pauses briefly and then starts to travel back north and restore light to this bedarkened region of the earth. The beginning of hope for sunlight/sunshine lovers. This is also the official start of winter. Morning came with clear sky and tangerine clouds in the horizon escorting the rising sun. At -6 degrees C, the snowless ground is nonetheless coated with frost. Right now, however, the clouds have gathered again. Snow clouds?

Okay, so... while the season runs in a roller coaster mode, it's best to ride along with it and have fun in its up-and-down swing. What a thrill!

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Snowless December?

Strange. This is not the kind of winter that I've known since I came here. Not a snow on the ground in December! Hard to believe. Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

This is how this season usually looks like here:

Okay, we did have a blanket of snow last week that remained intact, making me believe that it was here to stay. And then, only this Monday, thick clusters of snowflakes came falling for several hours. The white blanket thickened and transformed into an immaculately soft wool, which is the yearly costume of our city in this season.

And then, last Wednesday, a winter storm spilled liquid all over the place, thawed away the snow and left the ground  with clear ice coating. Aww...so slippery!

Today, the whiteness is gone, along with the ice. The green grass has reemerged and coated with frost. The streets and walkways have dried up. So is the air, which went back below zero. The sun was out the whole day and the sky was clear, though not deep blue, just pale blue.

So this is December this year. Devoid of snow. What was it I said again regarding the absence of the rowan berries in my post HERE ? I think that portended this present condition. I know there will come more snow later. This month though? I hope so too, sooner or later.

This is a bit disappointing, but I'm not complaining at all. True, I'm enamoured with lots of snow but the absence of it doesn't turn me off. There are still lovely things around to immerse myself into. Little things that the untrained eyes cannot see nor a closed heart and mind can embrace. They're literally everywhere, from under our feet to the sky over our head. It's just a matter of seeing through an aesthetic eye.

Who cannot be awed by such beauty found in these "simple" things that are present even in "unpleasant places"?

"Look! These are the fringes of his ways,

And what a whisper of a matter has been heard of him!

But of his mighty thunder who can show an understanding?”

- Job 26:14

So...with or without snow in December, I know that I will keep floating in cheerfulness among the snowflakes that fall within the scope of my imagination. This in itself  is a gift from a loving Creator.

Bye, Comet ISON

"Tragically, on Nov. 28, 2013, ISON's tenacious ambition outweighed its ability, and our shining green candle in the solar wind began to burn out."

So goes an obituary written by Karl Battam, an astrophysicist who had been chronicling ISON's journey toward the sun for NASA. (Source: Comet ISON is see-through, and that's not good)

In short, the comet is dead! It didn't survive its brush with the sun, according to the article HERE. We can also watch a video of it skimming past the sun in this same site.

My hopes of seeing this "Comet of the Century" have melted away. Not any more chance to see the dazzling light show when its orbital path would be closest to earth later this month. And to think that I believed I spotted it this morning over the eastern horizon while riding in the bus, and I was so excited.! Aww... not even close! Somebody also posted in our local news website a picture of  the comet that he had taken yesterday. And then, a scientist commented that it was neither a comet nor a debris. Poor guy. 

Now, I'm  reechoing Battam's concluding words: "Survived by approximately several trillion siblings, Comet ISON leaves behind an unprecedented legacy for astronomers, and the eternal gratitude of an enthralled global audience."

So, bye-bye, comet ISON. It's been fascinating and sensational to have you in our solar system even for a short while.

 C/2012 S1 as captured by TRAPPIST on 15 November 2013

Snow Finally!

Alas, November was coming to its close and yet, not a patch of snow lay on the ground of this place called snow wonderland! October gave us a few days of little snow which had melted away as soon as they fell. But those were  autumn snowfall. 

Since then, frosts covered the land. Every blade of grass had been coated with ice crystals. Beautiful nevertheless.

Then just as November's last day began to fade away, voila!, the snow came. The very first winter snow, which lasted through the night. 

The first of December arrived wearing an immaculately white cloak. The light from the snow slightly conquered the dominating murkiness of hibernal days. The snowy landscapes and rooftops have prevailed thereafter while snow falls some few hours in a day. 

Many are overjoyed that snow came finally. Kids begin to take out their "pulka" to glide around. Soon, we'll be able to ski again. And I'll be feasting my eyes on the snowy landscapes and sparkling snowflakes.

Hopefully, the snow is here to stay for good this winter and a lot more will be falling.

For now, I say goodbye to frosty grasses and fallen leaves, though I know that they're always there resting under the blanket of snow.

More inspirations and amazing things are coming my way! 

Jewels of November Night Sky

According to several astronomy websites, November's sky is bejewelled with amazing celestial shows. It showcases an ever-changing display of  objects like stars and constellations, visible planets, moon phases and the highlighted attractions, which are the Leonid meteor shower and the comet ISON, though this comet will keep its course until December 26 when it gets closest to earth.

Many of these events would take place in broad daylight and the wee hours of the morning. I have missed all of these since I don't see anything with naked eye in daylight and I'm not an early bird.

At night, though, I'd love to go sky-watching in our backyard despite the piercing winter frost. But I can't stay out long, just enough to make out the outlines of the prominent constellations, identify some bright planets and take a few photos.

I've missed the Leonid peaks but I caught sight of the remnants of its shower a few days later while traveling in the night. I could not see the comet ISON with my naked eye when it was supposed to be close to Orion. But I'm counting on seeing it this December.

Despite all these misses, I did see other jaw-dropping (for me, that is) late night sky objects. Click on the photos for enlarged viewing.

*** the planet Jupiter shining brightly beside Castor and Pollux. The clouds parted to reveal the trio.

*** Orion ascending

*** winter halo around the moon

*** juxtaposition of the moon, Jupiter, Orion and Gemini

*** moon ring (sorry, the glaring moon conceals its own face)

*** phases of the moon

*** Auriga constellation

*** waning crescent in the morning

*** vertical translucent pillar of tangerine light at sunset, which is actually a common sight here

*** morning sky in pastel glow

These are the only images that I was able to capture out of all those jewels in the sky. There were more up there, but this is not about photography, right? It's about seeing the marvels that the sky holds, witnessing the million-year old lights from distant stars, soaking oneself in the endless flow of dynamic energy, and being at one with the elements of the universe.

During those nights of sky-watching, my extra-terrestrial alter ego shot out to space and did a star-hopping to hobnob with her fellow spatial creatures. She came back to earth bearing the memories of her brief interstellar holiday. 

And my spirits soared in bliss. And I was replenished once more ... to live on ... with a heart full of joy, appreciation and gratitude for all the endless blessings, whether great or simple, from the Almighty Maker of such celestial jewels and all other good things.

"When I see your heavens, the works of your fingers,

The moon and the stars that you have prepared,

What is mortal man that you keep him in mind,

And the son of earthling man that you take care of him?"

- Psalm 8:3,4

And yet...

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life."

- John 3:16