Brad Sondahl's blog

Brad's Blog

photo by Forrest Stonedahl 2021

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We had a great sunset this evening, and temps in the 50's today... Weird start for December...

Dec. 8

Blustery melting day today at Farragut Park. Lots of eagles have congregated for the kokanee salmon die off after mating, the photos above were of juveniles that are attractive but less striking than their white ended elders... The sunset was great also...

Dec. 19th
The snow is back--about 6 inches deep in the open fields. These are from Lamb Creek up by our church.

This hunched over tree is a hemlock, which you can usually tell by their tops, as they always droop a bit (but more with heavy snow)... Hemlock and fir are equally valued as strong lumber, so are often referred to as hem-fir by lumberyards...

Dec. 20
Before the snow there were some more good freezing puddles:

Dec. 22
I had a few minutes to photograph birds at our feeder today:

house finches

chestnut backed chickadee...

Dec. 26
Christina Rosetti (Dante Gabriel's wife) wrote a charming Christmas song (in spite of an obvious lack of snow in the middle east):
In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron Water like a stone
Snow had fallen Snow on snow on snow
In the bleak midwinter Long, long ago
Angels and Arc Angels May have traveled there
Cherubim and Seraphim Thronged the air
But only his Mother In her maiden bliss
Worshiped the beloved With a kiss
What can I give him? Poor as I am
If I were a shepherd I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man I would do my part
But what I can I give him
Give him my heart
Give him my heart

It certainly hits home when we got a 3 day snowstorm with over a foot of snow, ongoing as I write.

This is a glass globe ornament. The topknot of snow is kept on by the strand of nylon line which holds the interlocked snowflakes from slipping off even in the strong winds that accompany this storm.

This is the view at night of a round picnic table which had some snow on it, then we added some ice disks removed from rain barrels, and some candles to make a display outside while eating our formal Christmas dinners.

Here's the pottery shop. The pile of snow is from the neighboring church parking lot... There would be more snow on the kiosk roof but for the frequent winds, I think...

Dec. 28
As the snow slowly sheds off our church roof, the icicles adapt...

The building seems to magically repel them... We're up to around 20 inches of snow, by my checking with a yardstick... Cold nights are flirting with sub zero temps...

Dec. 30
Another view of our candle snow sculpture:

books read

The Contingency War Boxed Set: The Complete Four Book Series

G J Ogden, S L Ogden. Interesting Sci Fi with human androids more human than some humans. Amazon Prime

DETECTIVE MICHAEL ANGEL BOOKS 1–7 seven gripping crime mysteries box set (Brilliant crime mystery box sets Book 1)

ROGER SILVERWOOD. Also Amazon Prime. The series starts fairly awkwardly, with the protagonist "pulling a face" and listing insignificant descriptions a few too many times for comfort... The later books have interesting plots and characters.

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