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| January in our woods |
Warm greetings from the cold Finger Lakes. Actually, today we're beginning a warming trend. In general, we've had a warmer winter with relatively less snow than normal. Cold Time however, decided to go out true to its name.
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| Feb 2 Moondog-harbinger of storms |
From February 2nd through the morning of the 4th, we had cold temperatures and very high, gusty winds. The old house was continually buffeted by the winds. Thankfully, this particular 170+ year old house was built to stand for generations. Short of a tornado, it's not going anywhere.
We hunkered down by the stove, reading and playing cards.
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| Cozy in the storm |
We just enjoyed the time in quiet ways.
Earlier in the month, we finished our threshing chores.
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| Bob helps with his first threshing |
We now have our annual stock of beans (aka protein) all ready for use.
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| Sieving lettuce seeds |
We cleaned the lettuce seeds that we saved.
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| Howling Mob sweet corn |
And cleaned the sweet corn seeds. We like to grow this variety and it is very hard to find. There is only one source that I know of that still sells it. Since no one knows when they may decide to drop it from their listings, it makes a great deal of sense to save our own seeds.
Besides working on our chores, we've been pursuing the Renewal Time part of the month. In addition to reading and resting,
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| A new piece for spring |
I've been working on a new hardanger project and practicing my harp. I'm a SLOW learner, but I am persistent, at any rate.
We've also been busy with medical appointments. Due to the pandemic and Bob's subsequent increased work schedule, we fell behind in our Well Adult checks. Now we're trying to catch up. Gone are the days when this could be done in one, or even two visits. At our age, it involves many tests and each one needs a separate appointment somewhere else. Additionally, scheduling these appointments can literally take months. By the time you finish one round, it's time to start all over again!! All that being said, so far, so good for both of us.
Bob is enjoying his retirement. He likes the change. The first change we made was to move our morning alarm from 4:30 am to 5:00 am. That's very nice. We also can eat supper a little earlier. We like that because we have more time to digest it before bed, and we get a bit more evening to enjoy.
He's been relaxing, reading, and helping me more with the routine household chores.
One of his goals is to become more consistent in his exercise routine. Since I've a longstanding (29 year!) practice of daily (weekday) walking and afternoon yoga, he has decided to latch onto this structure. He joins me on the daily walk. For now he has to walk at a slower pace and for less distance, but hopes to build up on both counts over time. In the afternoon, while I'm doing my yoga practice, he does a tai chi practice, which he prefers. Again, it's a dedicated time and is honored as important.
Other things that he's done, are to finalize the porch plans, prepare the tax returns as much as possible at this time and is planning out new mushrooms that he wants to grow. He's expanding his mushroom garden. Just a fun-guy, after all.
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| Winter tree Identification walk |
Another thing he wants to do is to be better acquainted with our winter trees. He's been reading up on this and his first Cornell Retiree newsletter told about a local Winter Tree ID Walk. So, we went on that at the end of January. It was very basic, but a nice day to get out.
Within the next moon cycle, I'll begin some of my seeds and we will begin turning toward spring.
To prepare for spring, we'll spend some of our time examining our lives to see what needs to be cleared away to allow for new growth. Everything is on the table; possessions, habits, beliefs, and thought patterns. It's an annual "housecleaning" of sorts. Sometimes the "delete" list is long, sometimes short. It's the examining and acting that makes the difference. It helps us live consciously and purposefully. It helps us remain centered and at peace.
It's a very worthwhile discipline that I highly recommend.
Till next time,
Kathleen and Bob
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| Flowers to brighten January |
