When Winter Winds Blow. . .

When winter winds blow, and the world outside looks a bit like a black and white photograph, strange things take place, magical things.  This morning the clouds raced across the sky, far above the naked tree branches.  It was a perfect morning for a long stroll through the woods.  Last night, coyotes were very close, so close that I saw their noses pointing up to the sky in silhouette form as they yipped just on the other side of our fence..  I wondered if I would see tracks in the damp soil as I wandered around.  I did.  Lots of them, as many as I was sure I heard last night.   The whole morning felt like I might just discover something amazing on this walk and that is exactly what I did.  Under the pine trees out front, there beside the Tomte doorway, where the grandchildren so often find a treat left by the Tomte this time of the year, there was a tiny basket with tiny knitting it it, two carefully sharpened knitting needles made from apricot twigs, complete with a bit of knitting made from a tiny ball of red yarn !  I can't wait for Mei-Ling and Yen to see what I found.  
I thought about the tragedy in CT this morning on my walk and a part of me wants to not enjoy anything special, as if it seems so unfair for me to be having fun when so many hearts are broken, but then I thought about our little grand-blessings and how they need to be sheltered, nurtured, and not feel the weight of any burden to great for their little shoulders to bear, and so magic happened for them today, the Tomte left them a special look into their world.