Warmth and joy in the coldest winter in half a century

Hello, dear my Friends!  

It’s been a long time since I posted the last post. 

Then again it also feels like only yesterday as I write now. 

Time is a magical thing. 

So belated, but I hope you welcomed in a happy New Year 2018.

In my part of the world, this winter season has been the coldest in a long time.

When the cold loosened its grip a little, I went to Hannyaji Temple, 

where Narcissus were blooming around Stone Buddhist Statues 
clean and fragrant.  

They flower as winter turns into spring.  

As you might know, the disruption in the Polar Jet Stream brought snowfall
even into Florida and to Japanese southern parts.
Outrageous 4 meters high snow was recorded in a region along the coast of the Sea of Japan.

What matters to me is not how cold but how "long" the cold has lasted
with temperatures hovering between -3 to 4 degrees C.

There were many days when my garden was covered with frost in the morning

 since mid-December which is like late autumn usually.

As I have written every year, it rarely snows in Nara no matter how cold it is.
However the city was blanketed in snow a couple of times.

These photos are the first snowfall of the season which soon melted into rain.

February 1st

More wonder of nature due to the unusual cold wave.

Feb. 12th

My fourth grandchild, M, was born in such a record cold winter. 

About one month later her birth, we celebrated her “Omiyamairi” at Kasuga Grand Shrine, 

the first visit to shrine to pray for the baby’s healthy growth and prosperous future.  

We were so fortunate that the day was one of the few warmer days.

Mid-December to late January

As it is nearing to March, temperatures have come to rise over 10 from time to time.

Ume blossoms, the floral harbinger of spring, started blooming one after another.

Happy with the fresh feel of the bracing cold air in sunshine.

Narcissus in the sunshine with the backdrop of early-blooming pink Ume blossoms.

Linked to Mosaic Monday
Our World Tuesday