First Snow Magic

The first snow of winter is always magical. This year, the snow fell during the time of a fat full moon and soft pink sunrises. It cheered Squirrelboy even though he was kept indoors with a nasty cough. Faerygirl collected some in a bowl. Some years, November comes on gray and grumpy, but this winter has arrived gently and full of sweet promise. We are enjoying cocoa, the warmth of our woodburning stove, and the playfulness of our new kitten, Honey. She is a wee black furball full of fierceness. She intimidates our old one-eyed dog, Tabby and climbs up on my shoulders to take a nap. Faerygirl decided that the Lord of Dragonwood needed a kitten for his birthday, and so little Honey is now a part of our family. Squirrelboy was fit enough to return to school this morning, and he delighted in finding thin ice covering the driveway puddles. This morning's snow cover looked like a thin coating of powdered sugar over the florest floor, dry and granular. I'm happy for Squirrelboy, headed back to school. Yesterday he missed his teacher and his friends so much! He said, "school is the awesomest place on the planet, even better than McDonald's." Today the Lord of Dragonwood is taking a day off and I have not been called in to substitute teach, so I look forward to an enchanting day of welcoming the beautiful season of winter.

On the Second Day of School

In the still morning, as I silently practice my orisons, I hear the unexpected trilling of tree frogs calling to each other in the forest. Slowly, as the mist rises, single crickets and katydids add to the morning song. Eventually there is a chorus, and I must strain to hear the frogs, still singing.

Squirrelboy and Faerygirl are off to their second day of school. Yesterday went well, with much excitement. This morning, though, Squirrelboy cried and tried to stay with me. Our bus driver is the best...she reassured me all would be well, and when the bus passed by again on its route, flashed me a thumbs-up.

These early autumn mornings always stir my soul, with their golden soft light, the coolness of the air, and the slowly depreciating chorus of singers. It will not last much longer, a few months more. Ah, but it will be beautiful. It IS beautiful. These days encourage us to enjoy each and every moment as it lasts, and to give thanks for it. And so I do.

End of Summer Harvest

The kids are sitting on the back porch snapping beans. The chickens amble about the woods, scratching for food and clucking softly. It's late summer, with only a week until school starts up again. These are the days of long golden sunsets, overabundance in the garden, and the nagging feeling that this isn't going to last. Summer is ending, so there are tomatoes and pickles being canned, corn and beans frozen, herbs drying. It's time to do an assessment of what we have learned this year, about planting and growing and seeing what dreams came true. It's time to wrap up the projects, bring in the money, see this year's plans through. Soon this last effort will ebb, and there will be plenty of time to put everything away, and dream new dreams. For now, may you enjoy a blessed harvest.

Friday Nights with the Family

Outside my kitchen window, my neighbor flits in for her daily drink from a pokeweed plant. She's swift and beautiful in her shiny green feathers. Everything here is green. Crickets, cicadas, and katydids sing us to sleep at night. The field/yard is full of clover and bees. We harvest honey on Fridays, so that it will be fresh for the Saturday morning farm market. Our family's Friday night entertainment consists of moving slowly through the hoop house with plastic bags and a knife, harvesting produce. It is a peaceful way to spend a weekend. I am grateful for the singing insects, the starry clear nights, and my beloved family working together on the land.

Catching a Fairy

The warm spring weather brings out all sorts of lovely beings. We celebrated the Spring Equinox with a spring treasure hunt. Some friends and their children helped us look for green shoots, flowers, singing birds, and other early signs of the season. One little girl brought glitter to "magic" my garden. Now the crocuses and tulips twinkle! We even found a large owl pellet, with the intact but fragile bones of its former dinners. I could see a tiny ball joint sticking out of the mat of hair and bones. The guests also enjoyed kite-flying, stories, playing, and a tour of the Manor.

Yesterday, Faerygirl and Squirrelboy enjoyed a vernal pool that was created when the Lord of Dragonwood experimented with building a pond. We often find tracks around the pool. This year, the children found it brimming with life. Squirrelboy came running into the house for a jar, which he delivered to his sister. The girl was calf-deep in the pool, squealing with delight about the "fish" she was trying to catch. Not long after, my muddy-footed offspring proudly presented me with a jar of pondwater, algae, and many small creatures. I immediately identified several tiny leeches, only a few millimeters long, and a beetle that uses a bubble of air to dive. There was also an incredible pinkish-orange creature fluttering through the water. It was absolutely fascinating. Upon further investigation, we found out it was truly a fairy. Here's a link to a picture of some of its kind:

http://cfb.unh.edu/CFBkey/html/Organisms/otherarthropods/GEubranchipus/geubranchipus.html

These little fairies are quick and colorful. They live for a brief period in vernal pools. The rest of the year, they exist as eggs that withstand drying out, freezing, and all sorts of weather. Only in the spring do they hatch and live out their brief lives. They are truly magical creatures. I am delighted that Faerygirl was able to catch one so that we could see it up close. Also, now we have real evidence that fairies live in Dragonwood!

If I find a picture that I am legally able to share, I'll try to put one up. Or we'll have to try some underwater macrophotography that I'm not sure our little digital camera can handle.

First Flower of Spring

Squirrelboy brought me the first flower of Spring - a pretty yellow crocus. The bees from our three surviving hives are out visiting. I think the maple blossoms may be feeding them. I planted some early spring herbs - fenugreek, chervil, cilantro, amaranth, fennel, and cumin. The warmth today makes me want to plant and weed everything! Unfortunately, I don't have the time to do that today. The dog and cats are playful. We have seen the cranes, geese, and redwinged blackbirds returning. The blackbirds sing from the weeds, staking out their territories with music. Last week, all four of us went out in the cool wet mud and planted about 120 linear feet on the north and west side of the house in ferns and wildflowers. Inside, the rooms grow more beautiful as we hang pictures and move in furniture. There are still many details that need arranging, but we are happy to be living in such a beautiful place.

Looking Forward

Although it is still snowy here in Dragonwood, we are looking forward to the warmer temperatures predicted. A thaw is coming! The sap will start rising in the trees, opening buds high in the canopy. Our bees will venture out and find something to eat. This winter has been beautiful and fierce, but not even winter can last forever. In the Manor, the Lord has brought two loops of heating pipe into operation. Today, he plans to add two more. Soon our upstairs will be warm. We have scheduled carpet to be installed on Valentine's Day! In a few days or weeks, we will need to plant the woodland wildflower roots we purchased in the dead of winter. Your Lady is looking forward to cold mud on her hands and the knees of her jeans, for cold mud means farewell to frozen fingers, and the white blossoms of wildflowers will replace the white blanket of snow.

Robins

A little troop of robins, red breast feathers fluffed out against the cold, just flew merrily past the kitchen window. After three snow days in a row, these fellows remind us that winter must pass. Warmth and sunlight and green WILL return! Before the storm came, Squirrelboy and I discovered a bunny home at the base of a tree by following their tracks. Faerygirl enjoys pulling out the sled and slipping on the icy mounds heaped up by the winter storm. The Lord and Lady keep busy feeding the woodburners, looking forward to the days when our dragons aren't so hungry. At this time, we have lost 2 hives to starvation, but 5 are still pulling through.

Misty Moisty Morning

Snow on the ground.
Rain comes down.
Fog rises.
Misty, moisty morning with steam in the air.

Squirrelboy and Faerygirl squelched through the slush on this mysterious, creepy morning. Faerygirl remembered a Stephen King story she'd read about an evil fog. I forbade her to speak of it, since it was truly dark and foggy, and I could imagine my own shadowy horrors lurking in the mist. At one point, I saw electric blue sparks somewhere in the woods (could it have been static electricity from the hair falling over my eyes?). Instead, I recalled a charming story I'd read as a girl about a village that only appeared in the fog. Faerygirl thought that was a nice idea. Squirrelboy enjoyed kicking the slush, and Faerygirl remembered how she used to enjoy doing the same. Too soon, the bus loomed up out of the fog, blinking and twinkling its safety lights, to take my daughter away. Squirrelboy's mitten found my hand and we went to fill the woodburner for the day's heat.