I sit here watching the sky drop cotton balls on bare branches and bending cedars. Birds skitter, feeding on bits of peanuts and sunflower seeds. Hush of snow day fills my mind. (This post was started during an earlier snow event.)

Thankful for SNOW, yes SNOW. When the wind is only a breath, the shoveling not too burdensome, the winter-white twilight peaceful, then my hour clearing the sidewalks and driveway is a sno-cone treat. Especially when my flowered rubber boots peak out from the gentle drifts.

Thankful for birds. All those feathered creatures who visited during the Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend. Those later I glimpsed from train windows: swans; various ducks; seagulls; great blue heron, and most special of all – a young bald eagle who “patiently waited” for my return trip.

Thank for those serendipitous moments: tidying up recyclable cardboard boxes, and out falls a fortune (from a fortune cookie): You are very grateful for the small pleasures of life; an unplanned lunch out once a friend and I discover each other grocery shopping; finding a dollar bill, rather than the usual penny, on the sidewalk; relevant radio and television stories than dovetail; sleeping for a few nights.

Thankful that snowdrop flowers truly live up to their name; blooming during the darkest bleakest winters.

Thankful for increasing length of the daylight hours. Each day sees the minutes of potential sunlight increase.

Thankful for clear skies during the super full snow moon. So often, these events happen behind cloud-shrouded nightscapes.

Nature plays a crucial role in my daily gratitudes; appreciating it’s raw power, eloquent beauty, changing temperaments. The serene miracle of snow drops or the kinetic energy of oranged-taloned dawns.

My things thankful. I hope you have things thankful too.