The Coming of the Winter

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

The coming of winter--our second in the mountains--reminds me of a little poem:

"When winter first begins to bite














And stones crack in the frosty night,















When pools are black and trees are bare,


















'Tis evil in the Wild to fare."

JRR Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Ring

Doesn't that picture above remind you of the snowstorm coming across "Cruel Caradhas?"

Of course, we have a cozy house, complete with a fireplace and pellet stove to keep us warm.

We "fare" in the wilds only by choice.

And so it is beautiful, rather than evil, for us.

But I recite the poem at the coming of every winter.