Here’s our deck with charcoal fire for grilling, a picture taken on Sunday. As you can see… showing conditions much better for snowshoeing than what is depicted in the post below. An entry from about 12 years ago in my journal.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Deep snow sculpted in beauty. A winter breeze. Blue-gold sky with stems going.

Earliest writing ever. Balder done by 7:41 a.m.!

Language is thinking and writing for us. —Victor Klemperer, paraphrased. Still reading his book on language of the Third Reich. In a chapter entitled “I Believe in Him,” the author shows its remarkable similarity to the language of Christianity, especially as expressed in scriptures. He shows what he saw in Germans, both the intellectual, and the unreflective, who were captured by this language in rapturous ways.

Most in the Western world have seen footage of shining rapture on the faces of those who listen to such speeches. Their antichrist was greeted with fanatical ecstatic worship. But many intellectuals were not moved emotively. They reasoned, instead, the way the wind was blowing. Christ, in contrast, will be greeted with deep mourning . . . . Or so it is prophesied.

Considering the problem of how to staunch cabin fever. More hitchhiking fantasy—to get to Bethel this time. I picture sitting cozy in the Mouse & Bean. First, stop a neighbor on their way out: “Going to Bethel?” Next stop a driver on the way out of the M&B parking lot: “Going through Greenwood at all?”

Just checked the pack underfoot. Snow looks snowy, but is ice.