January Ponderings

The cold weather is upon us and we are doing things to keep warm.

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The cold weather is upon us and we are doing things to keep warm . These winter months are supposed to be a time of respite , some downtime to reflect on the past year and what we desire to do in this new one . What are you doing to keep warm and nourish yourself ? Here are a few subjects that I have been chew over …

This time of twelvemonth , the weatheris something I think about daily – and often tick off NOAA weather a few times a day – sometimes more if there is impending weather consideration . It has been extremely cold here in Maryland the past few weeks – even in the single digits some night – we have had well over a foot of Baron Snow of Leicester . With the freezing weather , we know that the insect universe will be bear on and we ’re likely to have less tick this coming spring . Certainly , one thinks of arrive firewood in before it rain down or snows and do certain wood stacks are insure , throw sure the birds are give , the out-of-door waterbowl is plugged in for the outdoor critters , the nose candy spadeful are on the backporch , etc .

There is something magical about the firstsnowof the time of year . I know how it blanket the earth in a silent whiteness . Plants and ground are protected by a covering of snowfall ; it helps against dessication . When the Lord’s Day comes out after a snowy Nox , the outdoors can be blinding – the coke and icicle sparkling like baseball diamond – the sun ponder on the bloodless C and the world glistens . shovel nose candy is another tale altogether , especially if it is deep or we get continuous storms . It is a good exercising , provided one does not exaggerate . I do n’t like to take in the snow , so a snowstorm means staying at home for me : cooking thawing dishes , the joy of read a good book or perusing seed catalogs after the chores are done , perhaps even a nap .

Even if it is cold , windy , snowing or rain , I try towalk everyday . I am blessed to have a woods to walk in and a small river to walk along . I hump and love this land , the intimate trees , fold in the river , grow in the trails , calls of the bird , hiss of the cervid . places where they have intercourse down . Faroff honking of goof will stop me in my trail ; I wait as they border on with their honks growing louder , to catch a glimpse of their V - geological formation . Sometimes the good afternoon sunlight glows on their rust - colored breasts , while other times they are barely visible in a thick white fog ; whatever the conditions , it is always a quiver to lay eyes on .

I utilise awalking stickbecause the downhill and uphill can be pat with snow , or mud when it melts . When my magisterial dog is visiting , he becomes rattling when I put on my boots and once I have my coat and grab my spliff , he is more than mad with expectancy of a pass . I forest bathe in all seasons and have been exercise this for about 50 age – long before volume onshinrin yokucame on the horizon .

Firewoodplays a large part of life with a woodstove ; it is how we heat the house . Splitting , trucking , stacking , carrying , stoking are chores of everyday sprightliness in cold weather condition . A big stack of covered firewood is a blessing indeed . There is nothing like Sir Henry Wood heating plant – standing by the woodstove after coming in from the cold – heating one side , then turn and warm the other . It is also a dirty job which want sweeping the hearth , emptying the ash bucket ( once cooled , ash are spread on the garden ) and a constant level of o.k. ash on everything in the locality . Generally , I can set the range to last the night , however on the coldest night , it requires stoke in the wee hr to keep the home strong .

When working with wood , I have often thought about theimportance of good glove . From a gardening booster , I was have my favourite pair of lined gloves that have gussets across the knuckle on the back of the hand which allow flexiblity . I do n’t prefer rigid mitt or unity that do n’t breathe ; slight work gloves are a dime a 12 and just not worth it .

make soup and bake breadare nourishing to the body and the head . As I go about my Clarence Day , I like to conceive about what provisons are in the fridge and pantry and what recipe I might make for supper . Soup is a thaw , comfort food that I care to make , which is usually good the second day . I often put the soup pot out on the backporch overnight ( where it remain plenty cold ) and then I fetch it in an hour or so before dejeuner or supper and put it on the woodstove to warm up . The sense of smell of pertly baked bread is a delicious and ease scent , whether it is a agile bread like biscuits or hoecake or barm bread . I post these seasonal soup years ago – they are still some of my go - to pet though all very dissimilar – hope that they enliven you .

/item/8030 / country - pea - soup - with - rosemary

/item/7927 / pasta - e - fagioli

/item/7629 / winter - squash - soup - with - black - noggin - and - corn

This hebdomad started with alunar eclipse , a pedigree moon and full savage moon . I stick up to ascertain it and it was well worth the late Nox and the approaching and going – in and out of the icy nighttime . Oh my gosh – it truly was red – with a golden reflection – and then once aggregate was reached there was a silver bluish glimmer . I feel so fortunate to be capable participate in and view these awesome events that happen in our daily life .

We are already experiencing long daylight ; days are 30 minutes longer than they were a month ago on the winter solstice . This day lengthening make this gardener happy . I will carry on my wintertime ruminations in my next blog when I ’ll talk aboutgardening by the moon , seed catalogs , semen savingand more .

Stay fond y’ all !

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I walk to the Cattail Creek just about everyday; the sound of the water is soothing and rejuvenating even in cold weather. Click on other pix to enlarge and read captions.Photo/Illustration: susan belsinger

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