A Weaving

This is the only time of the year, in my little part of the country, where I can see 'inside' the trees that surround us.  Most of the year their bones are hidden inside leaf upon green leaf.  

On a recent walk I decided to record some of them - perhaps for a playback in the summer when I'm feeling closed in by their presence.  Of course they begin at the roots - here covered by delicate moss and protected from the cold by their former leaves.

Looking up, I can actually see a beautiful blue sky.  Cold, yes, but expansive - I feel like I want to fly to the topmost branch where I could look out and see forever.

These branches, which I normally cannot see, now form lovely, intricate weavings. Standing below I realize how small I am in this universe and I like it.

"We sleep, but the loom of life never stops, and the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down is weaving when it comes up in the morning." - Henry Ward Beecher

Winter House

I'm sitting here in my studio awaiting the next cold weather prediction.  Of course I had to 'build' a shelter during this time - a "Winter House".

Its been very cold outside with numbers like of 1 and 3 degrees bantered about. Quite chilly for this usually temperate southern climate.  But there is hope - the smoke from the chimney at Winter House is billowing out - meaning there's a warm fire within and I daresay my warmest sweater and many cups of hot tea.

I wish for all of you warmth and safety during what has been a very challenging winter.

"But it's mind, this poem of the night,

and I just stood there, listening and holding out

my hands to the soft glitter

falling through the air.  I love this world,

but not for its answers."

From - "Snowy NIght by Mary Oliver

Today I'm thankful for...

...words and books.

This old dictionary -- published in 1947 -- was a wonderful discovery made on one of my 'treasure' hunts.  Its heavy, full of so many words, their definitions and even some sketched pictures.  I can imagine the artist laboring over these very small illustrations and I am  grateful that I found this bit of history.

I admit that I'm old-fashioned -- I do all my reading in 'real' books. I love to turn the pages and to put book marks inside so that I can find my way when I come back.  The turning of a page still thrills me and I am so grateful to have the joy of the printed word in my life.

As you can see a tome this heavy sometimes does double duty as a leaf press.

"Every time I have to look up a word in the dictionary, I'm delighted." - Vivienne Westwood

New Year - More Fun

I love the new year -- I see before me 365 brand spanking new days.  I know what some of them will contain (or at least I think I do) but there are so many months, weeks, days, hours ahead that its like looking at a blank slate.

My first stitchery of the new year will be 'comfortable'.  It will speak of home and safety and the lovely softness that can come upon you while drinking hot tea or cocoa on a cold, winter's day. 

"Even in winter an isolated patch of snow has a special quality." - Andy Goldsworthy 

First Month Meditation

I am a rock.  I began with sharp edges, jutting out then over time made round from the constant movement of the water.  I sit quietly in a bed of crushed rock and sand.  The water flows around and over me.  Sometimes it is so strong that I am carried further down the stream.  I hear and feel both the calm of the river and the tumult of the rushing water.

Life is the water, I am the rock.  I sit here while life flows around me, over me, through me.  Eventually I will be worn away and will become part of the floor in which I presently sit. For now, I am the rock.   

"Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again." - Joseph Campbell