Maple Mountain

Have I mentioned that this is my favorite time of year? Yeah, I guess I have.

But this is why!

How could you NOT love this?

346- A Beautiful Day to Be Glad In

This morning dawned grey and drab but by the time we came out of church at noon it was a beautiful day to be glad in (my Mama used to say that!)

By 2pm, when I was leaving choir, it just begged you to bask in that stolen, golden sun.

At 4:45pm, with the sun fixin' to go down, it was still a golden day!

I'm so grateful for days like this... days when the sun is shining, there is no snow on the ground and the high was 50 degrees. We don't get so many days like this in December that it can be taken for granted.

324- Maple Mountain Sunset

Last evening I'd just stepped out of the theatre from seeing the latest Harry Potter movie, the clouds in the western sky look almost Apocryphal... fittingly, very Harry Potter Voldemort! As I was digging my mpc out of my purse I glance east and there was Maple Mountain glowing in her evening beauty. I literally ran jogged over to the edge of the parking lot to capture this shot. I knew if I didn't it would be gone.



As I was driving home I was treated to a glorious sunset ALL IN THE EASTERN SKY (I just love how that happens here so much, all reflected light)! Timpanogos looked just like a painting: snow covered, clouds behind, pink sky, almost glowing! I wanted to stop right on the freeway and get another photo! (But seeing as how the I-15 corridor is under construction in Utah County that wouldn't be a wise move!!)

329- Maple Mountain *Sunrise*

You all know, by now, that I live in the wonderful Wasatch front of the Rocky Mountains. I'm tucked back in a little area called Spring Cove. I have a beautiful view of Maple Mountain out my bedroom window. I've mentioned before that it is *my* mountain. I grew up in the High Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California and mountains are just in my blood.

When I was out at Camille's school I noticed that across the lake to the SE was *MY* mountain... looking beautiful, as usual. I pulled out my trusty dSLR and snapped away but when I got home I was disappointed with what my camera had captured... it wasn't what my eyes saw!

This is why I love PhotoShop! It allows me artistic license with my photos. And today, once I got started... well, I'll just show you what my heart saw!


FRAME- SP_ShabbyBorders1_StraightShabbyBorder, FONT- Georg, Freebooters Script JOURNALING PATH- JSprague_4-squareTemplate BRUSHES- RhonnaFarrer_2ps_SnapShotFrameKit, ACTION- DPMoms Perfect Workflow, OVERLAY- Sun Shower (left), Sunrise

Here is the untouched photo... I like what my heart saw better!

273-(6864) First Snow on Maple Mountain

Our storm arrived right on schedule... "Fritz said it would be like this!". The snow line is hanging about 1000' above the valley floor looking very much like someone VERY large had fun with the powdered sugar.

Isn't it interesting how we become very possessive of things? This is *my* Maple Mountain! In the few short years we've lived here I've come to love her deeply. I heard sisters talking at the Temple today about how they knew they would be able to see snow on *my* mountain... I suppose I will let them look!

I am so grateful for this connectedness that I feel here in Springville. In so many ways it has been like moving back to Greenville. The weather is so similar. I know that some people get aggravated with the sudden changes in weather that we experience here... but it is so familiar that I could dance with glee!



Another of the Lord's tender mercies.

** So are you still wondering about my title? Who can tell me about the additional numbers? I'll tell you tomorrow if you haven't figured it out!

048- March of the Ents

As many of you know I love to read; but perhaps even more, I love to be read to (well, maybe it's a toss up). I love the classics or what I will refer to as the new classics (Harry Potter is one, but sorry, no classic rating for the Twilight series). I have the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Harry Potter books on CD and have listened to them numerous times. These volumes are comfortable old friends that keep me company when I am busy with my hands, but my mind isn't occupied.

One of the first times I was driving my friend DeLoris I noticed that we have Ents marching up Maple Mountain. They aren't so noticeable in the summer, but in the winter they stand out clearly.


FONTS- Problem Secretary, CK Cursive, BRUSH- KPertiet_LedgerGrids-9, (A2D)_Lomo Action, CoffeeShop Sweet Bakery Glazes Action, Vanilla

The last time I listened to the Lord of the Rings one passage jumped out at me. It is Treebeard, the Ent, speaking of the evil wizard Saruman.

"... his face, as I remember it-- I have not seen it for many a day-- became like windows in a stone wall: windows with shutters inside." [The Two Towers; Book III, p. 76]

I've reflected on that quote since I jotted it down last fall. I've reflected on how our countenance displays who we are and who we represent. Do we see His image in our countenance? Does the Light of Christ shine in our eyes?

I am reminded of a story I heard that is attributed to Abraham Lincoln (who we all know was not a good looking man). Someone was encouraging him to choose a man for his staff and Mr. Lincoln said, "I don't like his face." The other man questioned him on that; how can you not like a man for the way their face looks? The answer was simple; by the time you get to be the age of the man in question you are responsible for how your face looks.

Again, windows in a stone wall: windows with shutters inside or the Light of Christ in our eyes... always our choice.