Saturday, February 13, 2016

The Time for Comfort

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:
it is the time for home. ~ Edith Sitwell


Winter's icy fingers have gripped southern Ontario by the snowballs rather suddenly and aggressively the past couple of days. Up until this week, the weather hasn't strayed too far below the freezing mark for very long, and many daytime highs have climbed well above seasonal norms. That came to an abrupt end on Friday when temperatures dropped from a near-balmy -5C (23F) to a painfully cold windchill factor of -40C (which is also -40F) expected for tonight.

Hopefully, this blog post finds you toasty warm and in the mood for a few winter photos.

drive by farm
The wagon rests in winter, the sleigh in summer, the horse never. ~ Yiddish Proverb
There are no shortages of barns, once you get north of Peterborough. This one was snapped from the car last year when my son and I were headed south to our old haunts. We've had much less snow than that. this year.





frosted gold
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
~ J.R.R. Tolkien
Frost on my window catches the morning sun, rising to greet the town.





all decked out
I read about a guy in Michigan this winter who was cruising along on his snow mobile. "Whoo hoo!" Didn't see a barbed wire fence. FOOM - cut his head right off. And I'll be honest with you, my first thought was... That's how I want to go. Having the time of your life, "Whoo hoo!" FOOM. I want the last thought in my head to be, "Hey, check out that headless snow mobile driver. He's got a jacket just like mine. ~ David Crowe
Another one from last year. As soon as the lake was frozen, snowmobiles zipped by semi-regularly.





frost2
Frost grows on the window glass, forming whorl patterns of lovely translucent geometry. Breathe on the glass, and you give frost more ammunition. Now it can build castles and cities and whole ice continents with your breath's vapor. In a few blinks you can almost see the winter fairies moving in ... but first, you hear the crackle of their wings. ~ Vera Nazarian
A recent frosty window. I played with the exposure settings a bit for this one.





bonus pink cloudy streak
See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. … How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of Nature!
~ Arthur Conan Doyle
This was captured back in April of last year. The lake outside my door was still frozen but that didn't deter the dusk from accessorizing the sky with a cheerful, springlike pink feather.





frost1
One winter morning I awoke to see magnificent lines of frost stretching across my window panes. They seemed to rise with the sunshine and the bitter cold outside. They looked like little miracles that had been formed in the dark of the night. I watched them in sheer amazement and marveled that such beautiful forms could be born during such a winter-cold night. Yet, as I pondered them I thought of how life is so like that. We live our long, worn days in the shadows, in what often feels like barren, cold winter, so unaware of the miracles that are being created in our spirits. It takes the sudden daylight, some unexpected surprise of life, to cause our gaze to look upon a simple, stunning growth that has happened quietly inside us. Like frost designs on a winter window, they bring us beyond life's fragmentation and remind us that we are not nearly as lost as we thought we were, that all the time we thought we were dead inside, beautiful things were being born in us. ~ Joyce Rupp
You had to know that with me, if there's one frosty windowpane image, there's going to be several. This kind of looks like a night sky behind it but it was taken mid-afternoon.





perogie dough
Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven. ~ Yiddish Proverb
During the long, cold months of winter, we often have a tendency to turn toward comfort foods. In December, I had the honour of being included among a wonderful group of women friends for the making of Christmas pierogies. Experienced hands readied the dough on a breadboard which has seen a few generations of food preparation.





perogies roll
She rolled up and down, back and forth.
A sprinkling of flour dusted on a sticking place,
and the dough stretched and gave.
~Julia Meylor Simpson
Each ball of dough yielded quite a bit of rolled out real estate.





perogies cut
Never, never rest contented with any circle of ideas, but always be certain that a wider one is still possible. ~ Pearl Bailey
We used a simple glass to cut the circles from the dough.






perogies filler
Preparing food is one of life's great joys, but a lot of times, parents ask their kids if they want to cook with them and then tell them to go peel a bag of potatoes. That's not cooking - that's working! ~ Guy Fieri
The potato and cheese mixture was ready and waiting for helpers to grab those spoons to start filling these scrumptious treats.





perogies raw
Pierogi
noun, plural pierogi, pierogies. Eastern European Cookery.
1. a small dough envelope filled with mashed potato, meat, cheese, or vegetables, crimped to seal the edge and then boiled or fried, typically served with sour cream or onions.
And fill them, we did – several dozens of them. There were also some previously-made pierogies which we had as part of our lunch. All in all a lovely day with lovely people.





fan of frost
It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.
~ John Burroughs 
I'll leave you with one final frosty window shot from this very morning (Saturday).

More photos coming up before too long.

49 comments:

Cloudia said...

Oh Honey! What a feast of frost! May you be safe, comfortable, and shooting more gems. <3

DJan said...

Well, this post just gobsmacked me. I enjoyed everything, the Tolkien quote got me thinking, and the frost pictures are just plain beautiful. And then... that last wonderful picture with the fan... oh Hilary, you are such a treasure. Thank you again and again. :-)

Marie Smith said...

I too loved the fan in the last photo. The cold came through with the frost and ice. Not as cold here but almost...

Ruth Hiebert said...

I love all the frosty window scenes.The details are so intricate.

Red said...

It looks like you're going to have more frosty windows to photograph. Keep warm. Stay safe. Minus 40 C is hard to take.

William Kendall said...

Some beautiful shots! The deep freeze has hit here too.

Unknown said...

Your photos, Hilary, make us feel the cold--no matter where we reside. Hope you stay safe and warm. Spring is coming...

ADRIAN said...

You have captured winter. I love it.

Out on the prairie said...

I wore a sweater to bed, it felt too cold. I was just talking about perogis with a friend and he felt I should make some.Made a large amount of sweet dough to use for cinnamon rolls today.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

HOMemade pierogies, oh boy!

Theresa said...

Oh brrrrrrr! You guys sure did get into the deep freeze. Beautiful frost pics and happily taken from the inside! I haven't had a good home made pierogi in a long time. But I did have poutine for dinner Friday night out with a girlfriend served at a newly opened eatery.

Anvilcloud said...

Nicely done as per usual. Yes, dang cold around here. We lost power for an hour or two last night. Glad it wasn't longer and glad I wasn't outside trying to fix it.

Linda said...

It has been so-o-o-o cold this weekend. We are enjoying the views through the windows. Thanks goodness we had new windows last year else they would be frozen to the top. I enjoy winter photos as long as I don't have to be out in it.

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

Very nice shots. Enjoyed

Jenn Jilks said...

What a wonderful thing to do! I have so few friends! sigh.
I like the Fwoom idea!!!

Catherine said...

Proper winter scenes - we just have grey and cold at the moment and longing for some snow here in Suffolk!

Rita said...

I just loved this post! I am a big fan of frost, for one thing--LOL! And I do enjoy winter so much. Fantastic photos and quotes to go with them. You always find the best quotes to accompany your photos!
I have never had pierogies but they look delicious. Lovely post! *hugs from Fargo*

Karen said...

Brrrrrrr. You folks must find it crazy to be this cold and no snow! My sister thinks the winds are stronger???????????
I *might* be down to the Patch this week. We've had a death in the family. No news on the arrangements yet, but if the weather holds I hope to make it. Maybe we can FINALLY do coffee??

sage said...

There are times I miss the cold-and pierogies, I love 'em!

Rick Watson said...

Dang your pictures are good with a camera.
R

Jinksy said...

You've given me a whole new perspective on the 5°C outside here today - I thought that was chilly?!
Your lace-frost window and lace edged fan are stunning in juxtaposition...

messymimi said...

Frost is beautiful, and your comfort food looks delicious.

stephen Hayes said...

This group of photos beautifully captures the essence of Winter.

Marie Smith said...

I nominated you for the beautiful blogger award.

TexWisGirl said...

lovely frosty shots. like the barn, horses and fence, too.

here we are turning to thoughts of spring. spring beauties, hen bit and small bluet coming up in the yard. heard my first spring peeper this evening.

Jackie said...

When I see that you have posted, I can't wait to get here. I love the quotations that you choose to go with your beautiful photographs. It is such a pleasure to be here, Hilary. What a lovely way to relax with a friend...(I've never met.) Thank you for sharing your photographic talents with us. I love to be here....
Always,
Jackie

Barb said...

Brrrr - all that frost. Hope you're keeping warm. Love the last photo of the frilly fan and frilly frost.

christopher said...

Looking good. Stay warm.

And careful of the barb wire.

Kaye Waller said...

The first and only time I've ever seen "Jack Frost" on windows was when I lived in England for a while. I thought it was magical. Your photos brought that back to me. Lovely!

Linda said...

I bet those pierogies were delicious. Bread, cheese and potatoes, what's not to love. Hope you had a nice weekend. We have a dusting of snow on the ground and temps in the 20s(F).

Shammickite said...

You definitely didn't need to use the pretty fan to cool down on Saturday! Lovely frost pictures. Mother Nature can be quite an accomplished artist.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous, wintry shots! But brrr - minus 40 C is COLD!

Mandy said...

I love all these frosty, snowy photos! It's remaining between 0c and 8c here in the south east of England. Lots of frost in the morning but that is it. I'd love to try out that pierogi recipes. I love pierogies!!

yaya said...

No matter the season I never tire of your photos. So beautiful but especially in Winter when we think it's such a dreary time. Look how you captured all the fun! I love the quotes and I must admit I did laugh at the headless one...bad! I also love pierogies and those look like they must have been delish! Our temps were very cold this past weekend but thankfully they're back in normal range although 4in of snow last night made it a typical Ohio Winter day!

Daryl said...

weather here before this weekend was mild .. then on Sunday we broke a record by dropping below ZERO ..... horrific .... and today its in the 50s and raining ... wacky wacky

ellen abbott said...

well, the frost is pretty but all I can say is I'm glad it's not me.

Tabor said...

Your very cold winters come across as warm and beautiful and cozy!!

photowannabe said...

Oh Yum! Those goodies look delicious.
The frosty windowpanes are magnificent.

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

Gorgeous pictures, the pink feather cloud wins the day in my humble opinion. The board under the dough brought me right back to my Grandma's kitchen and the millions of quarts she canned and thousands of loaves she kneaded.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Such a beautiful set of photos, Hilary. The first two and the last are my favorites. The golden sunlight on the frosty window made an amazing picture. So glad you captured that. Love that barn and horses in the snow, too.

Phyllis E said...

Love looking at frosty windows while sitting warm and toasty in Central California. Thanks for the reminder of what I'm missing, Cuzzie. Makes me appreciate my present location all the more.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Such beautiful images captured from the frost and light, Hilary! You really could make a coffee table book of images that many of us would happily buy.
That old barn and the horses is a fantastic shot, too.

Haddock said...

Lovely pictures, especially the first one.
Like that Yiddish proverb - Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven.

Linda said...

B-r-r-r! That is way too cold! Love your frosty pics though.

Friko said...

I particularly loved the last shot. I like a bit of artistry.

Betty Manousos said...

hi hilary,

wow, the frosty window pictures are absolutely gorgeous! and your food looks delicious too.

thanks for sharing. wish you a wonderful week ahead. stay warm!

big hugs~

Mage said...

Here I am again, last. Filled with appreciation tho. I shouldn't tell you that our temps are 22 to 27 from the coast inland. It was 13 when I headed for the pool this morning. The pool was gloriously warm tho.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Hi Hilary, I love your frosted windows...the patterns are so pretty. Not long til spring here, but rain is abundant today and I am sick of that. I want to see the sunshine!

Rambling Woods said...

I live outside of Buffalo NY and this has been a strange winter. Much easier to deal with than the last two.. great photos..Michelle