The Latest In Winter "Apparel" and Such

The longer I live at Elk Lake, the more I see. Take my recent hikes. Add a combination of fresh snow followed by cold temperatures and a slightly skewed imagination and you have all the ingredients for a fun winter excursion.

Lately I've been looking at 'details' a bit more. Things which are small - 'normal' yet not - part of every day life in snow country. Just for fun I let my imagination run a bit wild and stumbled across the 'Snow-Line in Winter Apparal and Face Enhancement'. Enjoy!

Take the newest line of snow hats. You can choose from the Snow Flower Hat, the Snow Beanie Cap, the Snow Top Hat, or the Snow Ball Cap!

I see the Gossips prefer Snow Flower Hats!

Of course, all the well-dressed winter ladies know they must have a purse to compliment their hat. The Snow-Line Winter Gear offers a few options. Match your Snow Flower Hat with a Snow Flower purse. Or, go for the more rugged style and chose the Aspen Bark Purse. Of course, being one you prefers something on the smaller side, I would surely choose the dainty Aspen Leaf Purse.

Of course the Snow Line Winter Gear offers more than just hats and purses. You can add Snow Lace - or Snow Feathers - or Snow Buttons to the perfect winter outfit!

While rings aren't really in this winter, Snow-Crusted gloves seem to be all the rage!

Get your hair into Winter-Style with Snow Enhanced Brushes and Snow Bows!

And, for the real snow purist, Snow-Line Winter Gear is proud to offer Full Snow-Camo outfits!

But why stop with clothing? Why not add a few facial enhancements to completely the perfact winter look? How about Snow Dimples or Snow Beauty Marks?

Take it a step farther and add Snow Enhanced Eyelashes or a Snow Specialty Nose Job!

Or, maybe you'd prefer the Snow Enhanced Tongue?

Personally I think the Snow Enhanced Smile, nature's answer to the all-popular teeth whitening system, adds quite a distinctive look.

For those of you who won't settle for anything but the best, Snow-Line Winter Gear is offering a special on the full face Snow Enhancement!

Just goes to show, either cabin fever has warped my mind or there is a LOT more to see out there than what first meets the eye!

Lady of the Lake

Early Winter's Garden

I am perpetually amazed at those who cannot see. A walk which results in 'nothing' is beyond my comprehension. In our amazing world, where a square inch of ground teams with life, how can we NOT see? Why are we so blind?

Yet, for all my good intentions, sometimes I, too, find myself growing lax. I've walked this trail a million times. I've seen nine winters in this draw. Can it really show me a new face?

So I look! Dare I grow complacent in the face of such diverse beauty? Always, my search is rewarded. This winter, I have been captured by the winter garden - weeds some would call them, dead yet strikingly beautiful - at my feet. Out came the camera (another 'tool' to help me see). While I cannot identify many of these, I am convinced no dried flower arrangement ever carried more lovely detail! I hope you enjoy them, too.

Perhaps you recognize this one as that awful plant with the sticky little burrs. Have you ever looked at the detail?

How about a winter flower? This dried up remnant of a beloved summer wildflower retains much beauty in its dying moments!

Then there are my winter favorites. Winter daisies, I call them. So tiny. So delicate (that is the striking thing about all of these - they are all TINY). They were the first to call my attention to the glories, ignored and dying at my feet.

Or how about a minature Bonsai tree? Sage sunk low under snow's weight takes on a new image.

Many-fingered hands, reaching. Long, hairy fingernails. White cow parsnip blooms once grasped have fallen, but the fingers remain, delicate and childlike, waiting to be filled.

Minature purses filled with treasure unmatched by any king, these tiny seed buds (not as big as a pencil eraser) wait to spill upon the sun-warmed spring earth.

Barely topping their white shroud, these tiny red 'flowers' are all that remain of Sulpher Buckwheat blooming proudly a few weeks ago.

Dressed in lacy winter finery, standing stark and alone in a frigid landscape, or grouped together like aged gossips on winter holiday, these remnants of seasons past reflect a 'new' beauty not seen in their glory days.

Yet no garden is truly complete without the backdrop - those larger arrangements which give foundation to their smaller counterparts. The winter tree grows large from snowy fields. A closer look. A hobbit hole? Perhaps fantasy hides in this miniature world of winter beauty.

Certainly little imagination is needed to see hoary-haired gnome faces and lichen beards growing large on stony dwarves squatted low under alabaster capes!

Whether in minature or larger than life, whether dying fantasy or living real, winter gardens offer detail most overlook. Nine years is not too long. A million trips up the same path - it still offers more. IF we but see!

Lady of the Lake

Lessons From My Dogs

From my earliest memories dogs have played a part. The German Shepherd which bit my little brother. The little terrier mix who shadowed my steps as I wandered the 'vast wilds' in my backyard. These 'friends' (for my pets have always felt more like close friends than mere animals) have played key roles on the stage of my life.

During a recent hike with my ever present companions, I began to reminisce about the positive characteristics they have displayed over the years. This brought to mind those quaint little sayings so popular nowdays.

You know. The ones which give us:

• Lessons From a Moose: So, how well did the author really know that moose?
• Lessons From a Tree: I've spent a lot of time in the woods, but maybe I missed that class!
• Lessons From a Bear: They're admittedly cute and cuddly, but I have no desire to have one whispering life lessons in my ear!

And so on. Don't get me wrong, I actually like the idea - and I've seen some cute and practical suggestions. However, I think we can learn 'real' lessons from those companions with which we spend many delightful hours! So here is my take on "Lessons From A Dog".

Always welcome a hand out and don’t bite the hand which feeds you.

Every day is a new day. Life’s too short to carry yesterday’s hurts forward.

Give your heart, 100%, to ‘the’ people in your life.

Protect those you love, no matter the cost.

Smile and 'your' world will smile with you!

Enjoy your friends - they make life fun.

Don't worry about the mirror. Loyalty outweighs looks any day of the year.

Follow all the interesting trails, but never forget your way home.

Begging is okay, but never pout when you don’t get your way.

A good back scratch is worth even a cold hand!

Stand your ground when attacked, but don’t be ashamed to use the escape hatch when outnumbered.

When you are loved, you always have a place to completely relax and be yourself!

Here's hoping you have learned something special from the 'friends' in your life, too. They are gifts - some of the most loyal and forgiving companions any of us will ever have! Certainly these two have enriched my life at Elk Lake.

Lady of the Lake