~Lisa
It’s dark outside at five p.m. these days. The sunsets are orange, the
sunrises weak over Lake Michigan. I got my winter coat out for the first time
last Sunday, and even wore gloves. I swept the garage, sucked up the spider
webs in the basement. We dug up the last beets in the garden and covered the
carrots.
My neighbor’s chickens have come to visit our bare garden
plot, kicking up the leaves over the carrots in search of bugs and scratching
in the cold dirt of the hole my husband dig for the compost in winter. There
are huge Buff Orpingtons, black fancy chickens with silky feathers, leghorns
and something that could be part Barred Rock. They root around like little pigs
and my husband and I enjoy watching them.
I tried to save a begonia that leafed and budded after the
summer drought. I brought it inside, watered it and set it near a register in
the bathroom where it got warmth and light. It dried up. Thankfully hubby never
said anything, just work around it. I cut down and put away the amaryllis
bulbs, hoping they’ll get the rest they need before we try to force them in a
few months.
Isifted through my cookie recipes, think about the holidays
coming up, shopping, gifts, a couple of book fairs, deer hunting. Cranberry white chocolate walnut cookies are pretty good.
I picked up a calendar for 2013, ready to fill it, but I’ve
also been reading Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s Gift From the Sea for book club. It’s
about living more simply and taking an hour of alone time. I am alone all day,
but I realize I don’t take “alone” time and feel guilty if I do. I have to get
over that, and I know I have to give up some of the things I’ve been
frantically doing over the last few years of full-time writing.
The darkness, quiet, sunsets, and empty garden, but for the
chickens, is a good time in the Midwest to take a breath, think about things,
put other things into perspective.
When do you take the time to stop, settle back,
take some time that’s just for you and your daydreams?
Posts
What a cozy post--nice to read on a Sunday morning.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liz!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it is a good time to take a breath and think about the seasons past & coming soon. But I have to admit that about 5:00 this evening I was going on a rant about daylight savings and how frustrated I was by it. This was a great read though. I miss my chickens being loose, scratching around! I have to keep them penned for eggs (and their own safety). Happy November, Lisa!
ReplyDelete