It's February in Canada, folks. It was over 15 degrees here today. I put out my Banana plants, Papyrus and Passion flowers. They had a good dose of end-of-winter sun.

I can't believe that my lawn is full of violets (our kids enjoyed picking them) and ladybugs. Some crocuses are up already.

When I was a child, February would be a month of snowstorms that we battled through as we walked 2 miles to learn Latin in Kindergarten.

Wow!

Tomorrow it's supposed to snow. There's a blizzard warning for this area. They've warned us before but nothing happened. Lemonade anyone?

LOL Pastor A.

Here in Oregon I had to walk uphill going and coming from school in addition to hunting our own lunch food.

My crocus have come and gone. The jonquils are up and the daffys about to pop. The daphne is in full aroma and the camillia is almost done. Spring always arrives and leaves so quickly that you really need to pay attention, or you wont see the beauty God gives us at these different times of the year.

Oh and for us it wont be snow, but rain. Torrents of rain. Misty rain. Big splatty rain. Drizzle, drips, drops and spit.

Amelia

It's the last 2 weeks of summer here, finally we are getting to see the sun.
We have never had such a summer ever! Camp was a washout and looked like a pigsty by the time camp had closed. First time they were not able to pull down the big tent on sunday morning.
The poplar trees are turning already, 4 weeks ahead of time.
Maybe we will have a nice long Autumn season.
Autumn crocus are out in bloom for the last 2 weeks.
I have not been able to post a lot lately as my broken wrist is going to be a long recovery.
I appreciate those who have been posting, keeping the room 'alive'!

My early morning trip took me to Mt Vernon, which is a hill covered in tussock grass, and no trees.

From the high vantage point you can look out to the Southern Alps, almost to the tip of the south Island,and in the early morning the mountains are pink at sunrise. Indeed a breathtaking sight.
Pegasus Bay looks very inviting as it sweeps around and up the coastline.
At sunrise, the sun was glinting on the tall buildings in town, making the morning trip extra special.
Sheep quietly grazing as we climb, the odd rabbit disturbed from it's morning breakfast, scampers away to it burrow of safety. Yes, I have my 2 dogs with me, and they are loving the exercise, the excitement, the smells.

Heading back down hill, I take the track off to the left which drops down into a valley, over rocks, and down into the bushline.

There sitting on a log, I take time to read a morning devotion and meditate on the wonders of a new day. The dogs sitting quietly, patiently waiting for 'mum' to move off.

In the stillness of the morning there is peace.

Today our family took a 2 hour car ride into the mountains where the hot pools are.
This is a wonderful place to relax in the natural hot water pools which have recently been done up.
there are varing degrees of hot pools, some shallow, others deep. The rocks have been artifically made, and are wonderful 'seats' to sit on in the pools.
Sitting in the pools, the backdrop is one of majesty and splendor. Tall fir trees surround the pool complex while the mountains make a wonderful backdrop.
In the winter the mountains are covered in snow, so are even more spectacular.

The clear blue of the sky and the warmth of the sunshine made the day just perfect.

Driving home in the evening as the sun was setting gave a wonderful sense of peace and an evening blessing on our memorial family day.

Zita, I loved your description of the hot pools. The natural landscaping sounds wonderful. As children we especially loved the hot streams in the bush that my father would find for us to swim in. He explored before we swam to make sure that the source of the stream was well away from anything that might polute the waters. There's nothing quite so nice as a as a hot stream in the bush! There was even one that had a little water fall where you could stand and get a good solid back massage, then float off down-stream to a quieter part of the water to rest on the bank. It was very seldom that we even had other people in the same stream. Dad had the ability to find the most out-of-the-way spots for his kids to enjoy all by themselves! I imagine its a bit different today!