Dear Anthony,
Last night it was -25c. here. It will be the same tonight. That is quite bitterly cold, even though we have very little wind in our corner of the mountain and valley. In a day or two there will be some little warming and then we expect a lot of snow. When it is cold the sun shines. Sometimes the long and very deep fiord type lake here freezes over completely. That is rare, but it may happen this year. There is presently snow on the ground which will protect roots and bulbs from the cold. Usually it isn't this cold in our valley, but it is not so very unusual in the winter. Our winter will begin to show that it is ending around the end of February or early March. On March 21 is Baha'i New Year and also the first day of spring. It is a very good day! :-)
I sleep well, and get enough sleep, never fear. Furthermore, I take vitamin D, and do go out, but not among people, who can give me the flu. You are the only one who calls me Grandma anywhere in the world, dear Anthony. To my grandchildren I am known as Nana, the same as I called my father's mother. To others here I am simply "Mary", and to a few I am Auntie Mary. If you would like to call me any of them it will be alright. But not Grandma, please. :-)
Right now I spend a lot of time online because the forum is very busy and I try to reply to anyone who speaks to me, or anything that interests me. We all feel quite free to butt in on each others' conversations here, and I hope you will do the same. It makes for a pretty good mixture of talk. I have more time in the winter, but I assure you I have plenty of other things to do if I'm not on the forum, and I am here because I enjoy myself, too. :-) Not just to help.
I'm glad you found your way to Canuck's Comments. Many people have written very interesting articles here. Some who come to mind are Standly, Panpanpan, Charles, Linda, Cobra, Jenny, Flyheart, Baba Soarsky, and many others. You can read anyone's past posts if you go into the search function and find them.
Thank you for your interest in my article. :-) I think Canada is full of romantic stories, too. Here where we live I think of it as a blue and yellow valley. In winter with the snow the conifer forests turn very dark blue/green and with snow on they look dark gray. Everything seems to be in shades of gray and white. In the autumn it is all blue and green and yellow. There are many yellow tamaracks (trees with needles that drop), in the forests on the mountains. They streak through the dark forest like golden bands. In the summer there are all kinds of colours, of course, and the conifers are a cheerful green. We have a Douglas Fir. It has a wonderful fragrance if you rub any of the needles in your fingers and also they taste very fragrant and pleasant. It is told that the native people here saved many of the newcomer European's lives by showing them how to use conifer needles for vitamin C to stop the scurvy that was making their teeth fall out, and would eventually have killed them.
In summer, also it is a green, blue and yellow valley, because there are wild grasses on Black Knight Mountain across the lake, that turn to a golden yellow under the hot sun and look like golden velvet. In fact, anything that isn't irrigated would dry up and turn yellow. The lake is so blue, and the sky, too, is very blue. The ever present conifers are happy trees in summer, especially, but in winter they shelter much wildlife. Quail families live in the great apartment house of our big Douglas Fir. I didn't realize when we planted that forest tree that it could grow to about 25 m. in height.
We also have maples here, but they turn yellow in the autumn, rather than the crimson red and orange I knew in Ontario. It is in Ontario and Quebec and some eastern Maritime provinces that the maples turn red like that. And down through New York State and areas around there in the United States. You are right, when the sun is behind a red maple tree, the leaves are really just like flaming fire. Some people take trips to where the trees are most colourful just in order to see the spectacle.
Here where I live, if there are red trees they have been specially planted and bred to be able to turn red here. Presently I am not able to post any pictures. I don't have a scanner yet. We plan to buy one soon enough. They don't cost very much any more. I think Jenny would probably be glad to find and post a picture of a red maple leaf or the autumn trees, if you ask her nicely. :-)
Yes, I would love to see or hear of some beauty spots in China, Anthony. It would be good for me and others if you would share them with us here. I thinkeveryone would be interested. Isabella posted a fabulous couple of pictures of a very beautiful small and airy waterfall a few days ago. Now it would be good to hear about the waterfall you know the Huangguoshu water fall, the third biggest waterfall on earth. I know how large waterfalls shed rainbows and mist, and make a thundering roar because I know and love Niagara Falls. We used to live in the city where it is, and I never passed it once in my life that I didn't gaze with wonder at it. I am delighted to read your description of Huangguoshu Falls. I would love to see your pictures. I love any kind of waterfall, as long as the water is clean. When rivers are polluted their spray and mist also stink. Alas. :-((
You writing is very good, Anthony. It brought me back to my beloved Niagara Falls again. There is a great cave under the falls there, too. It is called "The Cave of the Winds". People can put on raincoats and hats and go behind the falls, and also water softly drips down. It is just the same as you described, and as I know it very well, I can attest that you described everything perfectly. :-)
Dear Anthony, you are just like Cobra/Dove. She also always used to worry about me and try to make me rest. Don't worry, Uncle Ben makes sure I don't go too far overboardd with my activities. I see you all three know that I can go to extremes and even forget to eat when I really get interested in something. Don't worry, Uncle Ben doesn't allow me to go to far. I have asked him to make sure to remind me, and then more strongly, if I go too far. He does it, and it helps me a lot. :-)
It is a pleasure to write to you. Your writing is excellent, and will soon be almost perfect if you stay around and continue to read and practise. I'm sure of it. Soon everyone will be asking you for your assistance. :-))) It's great to have another person who writes very well here as a good example.
Warmly, from Grandma Mary, now to be called either Nana Mary, or Auntie Mary or or just plain Mary as most do. :-)
