The Silence of Sycamores in Winter

You can almost hear the absence of sound...

it speaks of winter sleep,

and waiting;

the in-drawn breath of precious life force

 the close-held silence

 of nothing wasted.

The Sycamore
~ Wendell Berry

In the place that is my own place, whose earth
I am shaped in and must bear, there is an old tree growing,
a great sycamore that is a wondrous healer of itself.
Fences have been tied to it, nails driven into it,
hacks and whittles cut in it, the lightning has burned it.
There is no year it has flourished in
that has not harmed it. There is a hollow in it
that is its death, though its living brims whitely
at the lip of the darkness and flows outward.
Over all its scars has come the seamless white
of the bark. It bears the gnarls of its history
healed over. It has risen to a strange perfection
in the warp and bending of its long growth.
It has gathered all accidents into its purpose.
It has become the intention and radiance of its dark fate.
It is a fact, sublime, mystical and unassailable.
In all the country there is no other like it.
I recognize in it a principle, an indwelling
the same as itself, and greater, that I would be ruled by.
I see that it stands in its place and feeds upon it,
and is fed upon, and is native, and maker.

I hope you all had a blessed and joyful holiday, my dear friends, wherever you are.

Study in Brown and Gray

 If winter in Kentucky were a painting,

 

we'd title it "Study in Brown and Gray"

 

 

 

(or gray and brown, if you prefer).

 

 

Etched with a graphite web of lines,

shaded in soft tones of charcoal and raw umber,

cinnamon and sienna,

we'd know not to dream of colors;

Spring is still too far away.

White

pure morning light is

captured and held by the snow

for just a moment

 

 

 

 

winter's spell so cold

holds us in  freeze-frame magic

still pause between breaths

Good Things About Winter

 I have to admit it- I'm not really a big fan of winter. Where I live, winter is made of gray skies, ugly brown hills, and mud (if it's not below freezing).  Snow is pretty, and sometimes gets me a day off from work (yay!), but we don't get much of that.  I don't do well without adequate light, and cold weather just makes me want to curl up and hibernate.

So, I'm trying to learn to go with the flow, because, obviously, I can't fight it.   I probably won't exactly fall in LOVE with it, but my goal is to at least accept winter with a modicum of grace.  Or, if that proves impossible, to stop whining about it quite so much.  To that end, I decided to make a list of the good things about winter.

1.  You don't have to mow the lawn.  (Okay, that one's really lame, I agree.)

 

 

2.  Snow is pretty amazing; it makes the world look fresh and clean, like a brand new sheet of paper.

  
3.  It gives the trees and other plants a chance to rest.

4.  Bare branches look lovely against the sky.

5.  It makes Spring seem so magical when it finally arrives.

6.   A cozy fire in the fireplace is deliciously  enjoyable.

7.  With not as much to do outside, I have more time, when I'm home, to make art. 

8.  It gives me this great opportunity to become more open and to grow as a person.   Hahaha!  Well, I'm making an effort, anyway.  I'm sure I'll think of more good things about winter, and when I do, I'll let you know! 

I the meantime, don't forget to stop by The Altered Page for more of Seth's

 

First Big Snow of the Winter

This past week was our first week back after winter break, and, as luck would have it, our first real snow of the winter.  Consequently, we actually had only two days of school, which is a nice way to ease back into it, in my opinion!  

It's so cold, Arlo is willing to cuddle up with Sophie, despite the risk of getting his nose scratched!

Now, granted, what qualifies as real snow in Kentucky might seem laughable to some of you; we had four to five inches.  Okay, I can hear you laughing.  However, like much of the country, we've had record-breaking cold temperatures, so the snow on the side streets that weren't cleared just froze.  School buses don't skate well.

One of my favorite gifts this Christmas was this fantastic bird feeder, from my sister-in-law, Donna.  It had not been in use very long when the snow hit, so naturally I was out on the back porch taking photos like mad until my finger was too frozen to push the shutter button. 

The birds had white beaks from digging down into the snow to find seeds...

The cadmium red cardinals were so unbelievably bright against the white of the snow; they were almost orange. 

 

This little guy was adorable!   I'll have to look this up, but I think he's a titmouse?

I'll have to look this one up as well...

A female red-head woodpecker- apparently she lets her mate wear the pretty red hat, but he refused to pose for me.

Another cardinal waits in the tree for his turn at the food...

while his mate says, "Come on, hurry up!"  or maybe, "Back off, it's all mine!"

The dogs get all revved up when it's cold outside, just like kids playing in the snow.

Arlo runs through the snow like a little maniac! 

It's too cold to stay out for long, though.  Sunny stands on his hind legs and peeks in the back door window when they want in... 

Bye for now!