The end of another year....

 I didn't quite make one blog per day for December, but close.  Last year, I posted only 15 in December. So here are today's strongest impressions that I could capture with photos.  The icicles on my house and ...

... a poem by e. e. cummings.  The icicles are a reminder to me, mainly trained in biology, that nature is not just living things but also aspects of the physical environment.  The formation of icicles can be an introduction to all sorts of physical science, not to mention construction tricks to avoid winter damage to one's domicile. 

I wrote out the poem in response to a conversation with a colleague about nature writing.  This poem can be seen as a puzzle, a picture, an impression, and full of meaning.  When John Ciardi titled his excellent book "How Does a Poem Mean" he made the case that what we call meaning can be conveyed in lots of ways besides the literal meanings of words.  This was a fun way for me to end the year - even though, according to my high school English teacher, fun is not an adjective.  Happy New Year.  I probably won't stay up late tonight to celebrate because to me the winter solstice is an event more worthy of celebration.  My next big celebration will be January 27 or the day this blog gets its 50,000th visit, which ever comes first.  As of today, there have been 49,633 visits.  I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.