Snow Birds and Dark Woods

I have never seen a wild thing feel sorry for itself.  
A little bird will fall dead, frozen from a bough, without ever having felt sorry for itself.  
- D.H. Lawrence


Our Snow Goddess delivered the lovely fluffy icy stuff in buckets last week, and for a few days our local streets were picturesque.   What is it about snow?  When I see images like the bird in the tree, it evokes the lines from old poets - like DH Lawrence and Robert Frost.  A few lines popped into my head last week as I crunched along the icy paths.  And, don't worry - that pigeon was full of life when I left him, -he flapped his wings so sudden and hard, covering moir in snow.  Payback for snapping him with my flash, methinks.   Here are a few Christmas cards from London which I hope you will enjoy! 

Two Roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference. - Robert Frost


Alas, the Postman did not ring twice,
 -he stayed away until Sunday...
An old blue shed, gets a dusting of icing sugar.

The quintessential British icon all iced up



Our snow has melted away for now but I have a sneaky feeling it may be back.  *whispers* Christmas Eve, dear Snow Goddess, please come back then. x

Photo credits Yours truly.




A/N:  How's everyone's WIPs?   My first draft edits are chugging along, despite losing half a chapter - unwittingly swallowed by my netbook a week ago, -I did manage to rewrite another.   I also stumbled upon another book from my TBR pile.  It's fabulous-so far, kept me up all night.  I shall review it later this month.


  Did your Muse have you working over the weekend?







Comments

Love, love, love the pictures! And I love London in the Snow. My family lived there in the early nineties and one year we had a Dickens X-mas. Beautiful! No, no muses this weekend – just a little brainstorming that kept me up.
Melissa Amateis said…
I LOVE the picture of the pigeon!

Still no snow here, and none forecasted for the forseeable future. :-( I know what will happen, though - just when we are getting ready to make the long drive home for Christmas, we'll get hit with a blizzard! Happens almost every year...

I got bunches done on the WIP this weekend! Loved it. :-)
oh yeah i finally got over my saggy middle (my book's I mean) and now my muse is eager to finish, so we can jump on to the next one. Have I told you she keeps on feeding me ideas so that we can skip editing?
Meredith said…
Those pictures are making me so jealous--I want snow! I hope it comes back Christmas Eve for you! I'm starting the new WiP today while I let me last one sit for a bit before I go back and revise it. I'm so excited!
Terry Stonecrop said…
Pretty pictures. Love the bird! Made me shiver a little, though:) Mercifully no snow here but a bad cold snap.

In Florida we call people who only come down for the winter, snow birds.
Golden Eagle said…
Wonderful pictures! It snowed here, too; we have several inches all over the ground, (no more grass! Woo-hoo!) and I'm loving it!

My WiP is going well! I reached another plot point and I'm ready to write some more . . . it's too bad about losing that chapter! That's a lot of writing.
Pat Tillett said…
Fantastic photos Talei!
Okay, maybe I'd like it to snow just a little here...
Ours is melting too, and I'm hoping we get fresh snow for Christmas. Because it is the most wonderful thing to see this time of year. Even tho we all complain about it!
Elissa Graham said…
If it's possible I'm even greener with envy than the last time - all we've had is rain and lots of it which is actually a blessing as we had so little last year and it's kept the heat at bay. One day *she promises herself* when I'm rich and famous (my favourite saying) I'm going to treat myself to a white Christmas.

WIP is going along. 'Well' is such a subjective word *sigh* but it's getting done and that is the goal!
Carol Kilgore said…
Love the photos! No snow here in San Antonio. I'm still plugging away on revisions.
Carolyn V. said…
The pictures are so beautiful Talei! I hope it snows again for Christmas!

Good to hear the first edits are going so well. I'm working on revisions. They are taking forever. =)
Manzanita said…
That top picture with the red berries and the bird is the most gorgeous Christmas card. I just returned home from shopping for a box of Christmas cards, mine having a bird in a tree and it's no way as Christmasy and beautiful as yours.

I wish I could box up snow and send it to everyone who wants it. Already it's yesterday's news. I used to be in heaven when I was still a skier .but no more. Skiing is a big business here so I'll be happy for the merchants.

Sorry you lost a chapter. I'm not writing anything important, just some biographical stuff for my kids and I lost the 1st 3 chapters. Bummer, too. xo xo
Mya said…
Even though the streets can get messy with dirty slush, a moderate snowfall is pretty and is a nice dressing for most things.
We live in the southern part of the states, so we are like little children whenever it snows.
It is interesting to see what large snowmen, southerners can make out of a little dusting of snow. Wishing you that "White Christmas."
Talei said…
Samantha, thank you! Glad you enjoyed them and I love the idea of a Dicken's Christmas. ;) Good luck with the brainstorming, I enjoy that part of writing.

Melissa, good to hear your WIP is coming along nicely. And if it snows there, I hope you get indoors on Christmas eve before the blizzard hits!

Joanna, oh yes, that Muse, she's always wanting to move onto the next project! Hope your edits are going well too.

Meredith, very exciting! Well done on finishing, and good luck with your new WIP. I can't wait to move to the my next project too. ;)

Terry, its sooo cold today -2 degrees, I could happily fly to Florida! Sitting by fire instead. ;)

Golden Eagle, thanks, I wasn't too happy about losing half of the chapter, searched high and low for it but have rewritten another. ;-) Great to hear your WIP is going well! Happy writing.

Pat, haha. Thanks! I'll send some over too you! ;)

Karen, hope you get snow for Christmas too!

Elissa, I've heard about the rain and floods in Aussie recently, hope it stops soon.
Good luck with your WIP too! ;)

Carol, great to hear. Revisions are harder than I had anticipated, I'm learning this daily now.

Carolyn, oh thank you so much and it's so good to hear quite a few of us are on revisions and edits. ;) I feel like I'm not alone on this journey. Happy writing my dear!

Manzanita, I'm going to use that picture as a Christmas this year. There's something very jolly about that bird, he was very content bouncing on the berries before I came along. ;)

I'm okay about the chapter now, its taught me to triple check my files after I save them. You lost 1st 3 chapters? *ouch* Good to hear you're writing for your kids! ;)
Talei said…
Mya, we're exactly the same here. It's been a nice dusting of snow and now most has melted in London. We do make the most of it when it happens as it disappears so soon. ;) Magical winter wonderland for a few days at least.
notesfromnadir said…
Do you really get mail on Sundays?

Gorgeous pictures. Snow is beautiful to look at & I love the contrast of the red berries against it. Wonderful D.H. Lawrence quote.
Talei said…
Hi Sweet,

Ah, the mail on Sundays was very unusual - only due to the postman not being able to do his rounds during the week whilst it snowed! We were surprised to see the postman and their red satchels running through the streets that Sunday.

Glad you loved the pictures! I love that quote too and I also have 'a thing' for Robert Frost.

Happy writing! I shall be reading your book over the holidays! x

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