Parker J. Palmer says winters will drive you crazy until you learn to get out into them.
As I look ahead at my "spring" calendar, I find myself not ready for spring - even gardening - yet. Winter has not REALLY arrived yet in the north - in the Duluth/Superior area anyway.
The skis are waxed and waiting for enough snow - or travel to snow - to use. The snowshoes got some use early in the year, though we didn't really need them. The entry way into our house is a constant reminder of what is possible in this season of winter. I keep waiting!
So in order to fully "get out into" winter - I invested in the between time! It was a difficult splurge for a frugal gal like me. But Sara was overly supportive (maybe because I was getting cranky?)
I confess that I feel like a kid again! The joy that this bike with 5 inch tires has brought into my life is difficult to describe. Though embarrassed that a "thing" CAN bring me such joy, I remind myself that it is not the bike as much as the way that it facilitates my own "getting out into" this winter.
Also, in the meantime, the chickens have grown into magnificent and beautiful additions to the homestead. No eggs yet, but soon. Both roosters like to practice finding their voice. Sara coaches them daily! So far, they seem to be getting along ok with each other, and the hens. Though roosters were NOT in the plan, they are part of what happened. And Hannah was not using that dogloo anyway!
Like the 1984 book, Chop Wood-Carry Water, implies, the daily tasks of our rural lifestyle can become a ritual that borders on the spiritual. I am struck by how a long weekend alone at home-focused on the routine tasks-can provide such grounding. A walk in the woods to collect twigs to start a fire in the wood stove reveals the magic that occurred the night before; a light dusting of fresh powder on the evergreens, tracks of creatures of all sizes - Hannah knows what was there! The chickens need tending, their water checked and filled, a treat of black sunflowers keeps them occupied as they enter their recess pen outside. We had a close call with a raptor during free range time a couple of weeks ago. Gudrun lost what appeared to be a large amount of down feathers from her back side. But, thanks to Hans Jacob (we can only imagine) she did not loose her life. Since then Sara has created a super dome effect over the recess pen. That will be their "free range" for awhile until the trauma wears off (as much ours as theirs!)
I enjoy re-using things - some might call me beyond frugal. My latest are the fire starters, made from used toilet paper rolls stuffed with shredded paper and dipped in left over candle wax! The idea was NOT mine, but I have all of the ingredients and they work great!
In his book A Hidden Wholeness, Parker J. Palmer says It is not about the absence of other people – it is about being fully present to ourselves, whether or not we are with others. Being home alone with all of these "tasks" that sustain our lifestyle facilitate my being more fully present. Present to the moment of now.
As I find myself waiting for winter, realizing that spring is around the corner, I recall that few around here, including myself, were ready for winter this year. Summer never really came either. It was too short and too cool and too…
Perhaps the lesson for this full year of waiting for each season to arrive - in the meantime finding myself in and waiting for the next - is to learn to be more present with whatever it IS - in the meantime. 50 and still learning! I can't complain.
