THINK WINTER

These lines from Nettie Bullis's poem "A Profesy" (see December 31 post) come to mind as we gaze out the Bullis Room's south-facing window: "It comes light as a feather, Or as heavy as lead." In spite of our efforts to "think summer," that white stuff is out there and there's more to come. So we might as well face reality, which is what we did when we looked through the collection to select a book for this week's post. Rather than delving into books with warm-weather themes, we searched for the opposite. And here's what we found:

The Falls of Niagara, 

with supplementary chapters

on the other famous cataracts of the world.

By George W. Holley, 

published in 1883 in New York

by A. C. Armstrong & Son.

Actually this book covers all the seasons as well as the history of Niagara, starting with the French expeditions by Jacques Cartier,  Champlain and LaSalle.  And it contains 30 fabulous drawings of the famous falls at various times of year in a number of locations.

Now here's the "think winter" connection:  Four of these illustrations show the falls at this time of year:

"Luna Fall and Island in Winter" (page 11)

"Great Icicles under the American Fall (60)

"Winter Foliage" (page 66)

"Ice Bridge and frost Freaks" (page 69)

This book reminds its readers of the beauty of this cold, harsh weather. Perhaps it will even warm them up a bit--at least on the inside. You're welcome to stop by and experience George W. Holley's account of The Falls of Niagara.