On a recent early morning, the fog called me powerfully to come outside and feel it, experience its enveloping chill, and see the transformed world it created. Feeling a rush of excited anticipation, I bundled up quickly and grabbed my little camera and notebook.
The distant jagged Olympic Mountain range had vanished. Towering Douglas fir, hemlock and cedar appeared insubstantial as spectral wraiths. Mist swirled enticing tendrils around chimneys and rooftops. Soft and dreamy, icy cold, it drifted along the ridge top where I walked.
In the pre-dawn half-light while I slept, Nature transformed gardens into mystical Tiffany’s diamond displays. With a wave of the frost fairy’s wand, the smoke tree’s fluffy summer puffs became crystalline threads set against velvet burgundy, silver-edged leaves.
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| Cotinus, Smoke Tree |
Heart-breakingly sweet, partially opened pink rosebuds offered petals dipped in sugar crystals. Ephemeral whiteness edged each bloom and leaf. Violet coral bell leaves looked to have been bedding for sugar plum fairies.
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| Heuchera, Coral Bells |
This world will vanish soon, an early morning dream, an enchantment that will vaporize as daily human endeavors resume. But I will carry the memory, a blessing.
