The whole world was glazed with frost this morning. It was so ridiculously beautiful that even though I was still groggy from the 'awake at night with the sick kids hangover' I still managed to pull on some boots and a coat, abandon Hubs to deal with the little people's breakfast on his own, and stumble outside to take some pictures.
And I'm so glad that I did. I know these are not the most amazing pictures of frost in the world. A quick google search will surely turn up better, but there is so much pleasure for me in taking the pictures, that the final image almost doesn't matter.
Just the action of looking through the lens, the way it focuses you down on one tiny object, or single leaf is such a great process. Especially for a Type A freak like me, who is just so busy hurrying and accomplishing her way through life that she sometimes forgets to stop and be amazed by something as simple as frost.
Note the poor little fly, frozen so beautifully to this cattail.
Frost turns the whole world into jewelry.
I could take pictures of these things all day.
Its hard to believe that they are not from another planet sometimes.
It was such a gorgeous time, just before the sun came up over the valley to melt it all away. I finally went inside when my hands were too cold to press the shutter button. And it was lovely to step back into the warmth of a room filled with the smell of oatmeal and messy bed head and wriggly little bodies all finished their breakfast and in a hurry to get on with their day too. (I don't think I'm the only Type A person who lives here)
And now on to axes. The Little Dude has requested one for his hallowe'en costume (more on that tomorrow of course) so that he can go "CHOP!" as he puts it. So during nap, Hubs went out to the garage and performed his magic with wood and saws and made the most beautiful little axe. Which he made the crucial mistake of presenting to the Little Dude the moment he woke up from the aforementioned nap. Somedays L.D. hops out of bed with a smile and somedays he does not. And today was a NOT day. He was surly. And cranky. And constantly on the verge of tears. And severely in need of a cuddle and a snack. And not at all impressed with the axe. The axe got completely rejected, and it is very unlikely that he will carry it tomorrow night as part of his costume. (We should have just left it laying around, so that L.D. could discover it on his own, and think it was his idea. Then we might have had a chance.) Ah, toddlers.
Luckily, we now have two children, and one's loss is the other's gain. The Baby could not have been more pleased with the axe had he whittled it out of a block of wood with his own three teeth. One of the cutest things about his current state of baby physicality is his tendency to brandish things.
If he is excited or pleased about anything, from asparagus to socks, it gets hoisted aloft and waved around with glee.
Which is particularly cute when that thing is a small axe. Oh the trees he will fell!
One of the particularly funny aspects of this photo is the sea of plastic crap he is surrounded by. I do hate the plastic, and yet, it encroaches upon us like vermin.
A terribly blurry picture, but it still has such a great sense to it, you can just feel his joy in the axe. At least someone likes it.
Oh, and I'm making the Baby a hat to wear when we go trick or treating tomorrow. Ten bucks says that it will suffer the same fate as the axe, in that I'll bet he won't wear it. Who knows, maybe L.D. will take a shine to it. Though I'm probably not that lucky.
Happy Hallowe'en preparations to all of you.