It was my job to do this year's Christmas cards and for all of November I wracked my brain to find something that didn't show a fat guy dressed in red or a reindeer with an alkie's nose or something dripping religious treacle. Yeah, yeah, I know what Christmas celebrates, but given the state of the world and all the intolerance and hatred spawned by religion, I'm not in a particularly religion-friendly mood.
Anyway the card features a painting partly inspired by a midnight walk I took in my forest on Gelot (Ringdahl) Hill in New Sweden. The air was bitterly cold, but still and every star was visible. It was so bright in the woods that I could read by starlight. The only sound I could hear was the snow compressing under my snowshoes, and my labored breathing. Now that was peaceful. God was there-I know, because nothing else could have made a night so beautiful.
Peace to you all!
