Everyday Miracles

Lately, I've been thinking about miracles. Not the big ones, like a building collapsing around someone, but a beam falls in such a way that they're somehow protected. Not even the medium ones, like the odds of my future husband's college roommate happening to be a friend of my college roommate. I've been thinking about the ordinary miracles we see everyday, if we take the time to notice.

Like the beautiful berries on the mountain ash trees in Anchorage this year. A warm summer coupled with lots of rain in August mean lots of berries for the cedar waxwings to feast on this winter.

Or there's this view of the Little Su during a sunny break on an August day. Every year, salmon hatch here, and eventually make their way to the ocean. They'll spend their lives there, but eventually something sends them home, where they'll fight their way up this river in order to lay and fertilize eggs, and the cycle starts again. Isn't that amazing?

On the flight from Anchorage to Phoenix, I snapped this photo of a glacier. Just like salmon, the snow falls and accumulates on the mountains and compressing into rivers of ice, which ever so slowly run down the mountains to the sea. And like the salmon, the water in the ocean evaporates, forms clouds, and eventually drops in the form of snow to start the process again.

Zucchini are another miracle. If you've ever grown a healthy zucchini, you know it produces more fruit than anyone could eat. Of course, if you neglect it, the zucchini grow big, and eventually get woody. In this case, woody enough to create a zucchini sculpture. I'm calling it a swan, although my husband says it's a penguin. What do you think?

And of course when we talk of miracles, there's my favorite little miracle of all. Hummingbirds. I love the sound they make as they buzz past on their way to the feeder. How can any bird move their wings fast enough to hover? And those tiny little wings are strong enough to migrate, too.

What everyday miracles are happening in your life right now? I'd love to hear about them.

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September Giveaway

It seems the November Giveaway link in the newsletter is sometimes landing people here. Click on the BLOG link on top and the November post will be on top. So sorry for the confusion. -Beth This month, I'm giving away a copy of AN ALASKAN HOMECOMING and a string of hearts bracelet to one lucky reader. (US only, if someone without a US mailing address wins, the prize will be two ebooks). You must be a newsletter subscriber to win. If you're not already subscribed, you can sign up HERE . You must be 18 or older. Void where prohibited. a Rafflecopter giveaway

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This month, I've giving away a copy of AN ALASKAN FAMILY FOUND and a deck of Alaska-themed playing cards in a matching tin to one newsletter subscriber. (US only. If winner has no US mailing address, the prize will be two ebooks.) You must be a newsletter subscriber to win. If you're not already subscribed, you can sign up HERE . Must be 18 or older. Void where prohibited. a Rafflecopter giveaway AN ALASKAN FAMILY FOUND A temporary summer arrangement… Or their new forever? Alaskan peony farmer Caleb DeBoer can barely keep up with the weeds—let alone his willful teen daughter and being short-staffed at the start of wedding season. Luckily, sunny counselor Gen Rockford could really use a summer job and a place for her girls to live. Now what began as the perfect solution for Gen and Caleb is transforming into one unforgettable summer. But will one little secret ruin it all?

Snow Sculptures at Fur Rondy

Photo by Bill Roth / Anchorage Daily News Fur Rondy (short for rendezvous) is the annual winter festival in Anchorage, where residents fight cabin fever with activities like the snowshow softball, the running of the reindeer, and outhouse races. There are other activities too, like hockey, sled dog races, and a poker tournament. My favorite event in Fur Rondy as always been the snow sculptures . The frozen equivalent of sand castles, snow sculptures are, by their very nature, temporary. Beautiful, whimsical, or just funny, they’re created solely for the enjoyment of the artists and passersby. To bring a smile. Like the bloom of a daylily or a rainbow, their short life is part of their charm. It's easy to put off going to the Grand Canyon or the Statue of Liberty. They'll always be there, after all. But come spring, that snow sculpture will be gone forever, so we'd better enjoy while we can. They encourage us to live for today. What temporary pleasures have ...

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