One month into official winter, it looks more like Christmas than ever. Ice and sleet last weekend and five inches of snow this weekend. The snow makes a beautiful landscape with the soft winter light. The pond pictured above is frozen over once again.

Our first year with an artificial Christmas tree rather than our traditional free-range trees, we’ve enjoyed having it up longer than is typical. Still, with February approaching, it’s time to begin wrapping up Christmas.

The Santas, along with the shiny and red, have been tucked away for the year, yet I’m not ready to give up the cheerful glow of the Christmas tree lights. They feel hopeful when some things in my world just feel sad right now. So we’ll enjoy our tree with just the lights and my Joyful Owl watching over us for a bit longer.

Christmas cards are such a treat to receive in the mail. I always enjoy the notes and like seeing what designs people choose. I held onto old cards for years, thinking I might do something with them. Some time back, I purged and tossed them all. As I studied my fridge decorated with this year’s greetings, I decided to use them to create gift tags for next year. With a large 2.5-inch hole punch, I cut out the prettiest parts of each card and strung them with some baker’s twine. They’re tucked away with the Christmas wrap and ribbon for next season.

Christmas is mostly wrapped up and tucked away. For now, I’ll search for peace in winter’s quiet and beauty.