Blustery Weather

This spring promises a later Easter than we have had in a long time (this coming Sunday), and yet the trees have not opened their little leaves and the weather here in Michigan is very very cold and very blustery. As I type, my fingers are numb from filling the wood box. Yes, we are still using our wood cook stove in the kitchen. I am wearing a wool sweater. And, speaking of wool. I tried to capture a wonderful picture of Charlotte and her first lamb, but the lighting has been so dim that it turned out quite poor. Here, below, is the picture, taken in the barn, of Charlotte and her little lamb. Oh, but look at that little head, so sweet! And, those big big ears.

Lambs, if you have ever held them, make the sweetest 'snuffling' sound when they are just but a few days old. Snuffle snuffle. Oh, I do love him....
And, here is a picture of a Ewe and babe that I found on the Internet (and can't remember where for the life of me). I love it though, and hope one day to provide my readers with such lovely ewe and lamb pictures.

Stay warm if you are anywhere near Michigan. Me,??? I'm so behind on my work I could drown in it, but I am going to burn the midnight oil and also give myself a reward of some reading time afterwards. I received two delicious new books in the mail today...by John O'Donohue, Anam Cara and To Bless The Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings. I can't wait to delve into these. Alas, I have many dear customers awaiting their soaps and candles and artwork that has a deadline and writings to complete, not to mention fun projects I want to accomplish with the children (sewing doll clothes with Amanda and moving around the seedlings under the grow lite with Albert), gardens that need much attention and jars of milk in the cooler awaiting their turn at cheese. sigh. Oh for more hours in the day!

Heading Down Into The Dark of Winter

Yesterday, I made yet another batch of soap in hopes of getting called for the Christmas Greens Market at the Botanical Gardens this week, and then I worked on 'our' little Thanksgiving meal. I made a small organic turkey with dressing, Amanda's favorite jello with cider replacing the water in the recipe, sweet potatoes, mashed Yukon gold potatoes from the garden, gravy, salad from the big family get together, the pumpkin pie made from the pie pumpkins we grew, and pomegranates to put on the salad. Tom, Amanda, Albert and I sat by candlelight in the dining room and ate quietly and enjoyed a thankful meal. We gave the cats little scraps and some whipped cream. Then, I took a very small blue willow tea plate, and filled it with one piece of stuffing, five pomegranate seeds, some sweet potato, and a teeny tiny piece of meat and gave it to Widget, my pet Starling, for Thanksgiving. He ate the sweet potato, some of the meat and all of the stuffing. I think the shiny plate fascinated him more than all the bits of food.

After the dishes, Albert, Amanda and I went out to the orchard to glean Jonathon apples and Golden Delicous apples off the trees. Tom ALWAYS picks up every single apple off the ground and picks every single apple on the trees. This year, it was beyond him as we had such a massive crop of apples and they flowed over into harvest. He left about 10 Jonathon trees and one or two goldens and all the apples under them. We went and picked 4 bushels and brought them back. Albert peeled the golden delicious and we are drying them by the woodstove.

This time of year is so full of possibilities. We learn to thank God for new days and fresh mornings and health. Although things change and people aren't always there when we need them or who we need them to be, at least we are given new days to live and work and think and appreciate what we have, what we have lost, or what we have to look forward to.

Heading into the dark of winter used to be my least favorite time of year, but in the last couple of years I have learned to face it as a journey into myself...a time of year when we are given the dark hours so we can be self-introspective. And now, it seems the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year, passes much too quickly.

There is some Celtic harp and vocal music that seems to echo this time of year perfectly, it is by Aine Minogue http://www.minogue.com/index.php

Enjoy the darkness.