Yesterday morning we had more snow. The sun came out and drove it away, but this morning we had more snow again. Is there no end to it? Apparently not. But never mind. Even in the depth of despair there is healing for the frozen spirit. Yesterday was a case in point.
Babs invited me to breakfast at TLC – a/k/a the Torch Lake Cafe. We had excellent eggs and bacon and then spent some time plotting to build an astonishingly beautiful arts and culture complex. (We are full of ideas. When they come to fruition you will be among the first to know. The very first will be whoever is eating breakfast at TLC. Some things never change.)
The very first Tourist People of the season arrived as we finished, and inquired as to the best way to get to the quilt shop in Charlevoix. Babs drew a map for them on the back of a placemat.
Yes, Babs was drinking iced tea for breakfast. No, that is not a good likeness of Babs. The sun was in the little camera’s eyes.
The sun came out during Second Breakfast, so I went back home and harnessed up the team for a walk in the woods. I was looking for a secret green place we found on Saturday when it was too misty for the camera. We followed the trail through hemlock and birch.
We wound through stands of maple and beech.
We arrived at the Three Season Stump – last autumn’s leaves, this winter’s endless snow, and a bit of spring green moss. It was a promising start.
I knew there was a whole carpet of moss up on one of the ridges, but which ridge? We went up and down the drumlins searching and reached a point of decision. Should we slide down to the lane at risk of life and paw?
Or should we climb higher at risk of breath and heart?
Right. Up we went, where we were rewarded with quantities of lovely moss. I took pictures, Miss Sadie climbed up to the next ridge and played lookout, and the Cowboy rolled in wet smelly earthiness.
Miss Sadie stands watch on the ridge
No photo of the Cowboy at his worst. At any rate, by the time we got home we were all feeling much better. Nothing is so good at driving out despair as a little TLC, a pinch of sunshine, and some nice moss.
Torch Lake Views 
uphilldowndale
April 16, 2014
Glorious green moss, balm for the soul.
Gerry
April 16, 2014
Thank you. I liked it. I was thinking of nestling a fairy house in the roots of that tree . . .
Martha
April 16, 2014
Cowboy seems to have a wee bit o’ the Pit in him. Will I be taken to task for that? He’s adorable in that photo.
Heaven may be carpeted with clouds, but heaven on earth is carpeted with moss.
Gerry
April 16, 2014
You will be taken to task severely for confusing Miss Sadie with the Cowboy. Miss Sadie is the tidy terrier who may indeed be of pit bull heritage. The Cowboy is the fluffy, filthy, stubborn spaniel with a gift for cute. It is all that saves him.
tootlepedal
April 16, 2014
They work in any order too.
Gerry
April 16, 2014
They may work in any combination, or even singly, too – but why take chances? (I am relying on magical thinking and ritual to get through the rest of the week.)
Martha
April 16, 2014
Oh bugger. :#^[
Martha
April 16, 2014
My “Oh bugger” comment belongs up a couple…
Gerry
April 16, 2014
We will take it as a given that you are abashed that you mistook a respectable terrier for a completely disreputable spaniel. 😉
Dawn
April 16, 2014
Could use a little green moss around here. Perhaps Katie and I will go wandering this weekend.
Gerry
April 17, 2014
Of course you will. How can you resist? The Princess requires adventures.
P.j. grath
April 17, 2014
The brilliant green of that moss is indeed spirit-lifting, Gerry. Moss and leeks — and a few little green leaves I couldn’t identify at the base of a tree. It’s a start. And a good time of year to anticipate exciting projects ahead, too.
Gerry
April 17, 2014
I’m going leek-hunting this weekend, no matter what.
There are some exciting projects ahead. I am full of plans.
shoreacres
April 17, 2014
We do have plenty of green now, but some of the best isn’t on the trees. It’s the duckweed in the swamps and sloughs. It’s a brilliant, almost artificial green that is particularly attractive as decoration – say, on the back of a turtle that’s just surfaced to go rest on a sunny log.
I can fully understand the urge to go in search of wild green patches. One of these days the trees will begin leafing out, and I fully expect to hear a whoop all the way down here.
Gerry
April 17, 2014
I should run pools on when the last ice will go off the Bay, when the last snowpiles will disappear from Eden Shores, when the maples and beeches leaf out . . .
You will hear a whoop. Until then, there’s only moaning.
WOL
April 17, 2014
Green is well known to be an effective antidote to an overdose of white.
Gerry
April 18, 2014
I did not know that, but have no trouble at all believing it!
flandrumhill
April 18, 2014
So glad to learn that you belong to the tribe of second breakfast eaters too 😉
What lovely woods. Birch and hemlock are a lovely combination. They’d be incredible in the mist.
Gerry
April 18, 2014
They are incredible. I’m going to rummage through the archive for a misty walk in that same woods. I know there’s one around here somewhere.
Karma
April 18, 2014
Love the 3 season stump! Glad you are getting bits of spring your way – it sure seems to be taking its time in coming this year.
Gerry
April 18, 2014
Thank you Karma. I take some comfort from 2009. It was a rough winter with a late spring too, and we survived that.
I am at the library today, and have some time to go visiting. See you in a bit.
Joss
April 19, 2014
Oh, those first few photos! How beautiful, with that lovely curving composition, the shimmering trunks in the distance and the birch leaning in on the right. I like the idea of the three-season picture but not the reality of more snow. Here, we are mowing the lawn for the third time and the daffodils are nearly over. I’ve read that with further global warming the Atlantic Conveyor could ‘shut down’ leaving us with a climate like yours. I pray that never happens as we’re far too sappy to cope with such long winters. Hold on in there!
Gerry
April 19, 2014
I’m so glad you liked those particular photos. Composition all Mama Nature’s, but at least for once I managed to capture it.
I think all predictions of exactly what might happen are speculation. It is clear that global weather patterns are at the very least in flux. But not to worry. We will all get to work on the problems we can solve, and learn to adapt ourselves to the problems we can’t. Just as creatures have always done. Sappy my hind foot.
isathreadsoflife
April 19, 2014
Love all the ups and downs of your forest. Nino and me would have a great time there too. And those lovely green patches of moss ! Spring is on its way, Gerry.
Talking about patches… if there is any chance that you visit Charlevoix some day, don’t forget your camera please 😉 Thanks.
Gerry
April 19, 2014
I gather you would like pictures of the quilt shop – or more precisely, it’s interior. I will keep it in mind.