Remember December: Baby, It's Cold Outside

I have often written about the beauty I find in living with four seasons. There are rituals attached to each of the seasons, especially if you live in the country. Even though winter, according to the calendar, isn't upon us yet, it looks and feels like winter. Tonight it is supposed to be down to below ten degrees. By Friday down to minus temperatures. I am blessed to have a warm house, warm clothes, and a warm car that gets me to school each day.

 I know growing up in Kellogg it got really cold also, but I never remember feeling really cold. We had a warm house  (well... maybe a chilly bedroom upstairs, but we had electric blankets) and good winter clothing. After sleigh riding on Chestnut Hill I do remember coming home cold, only because I was wet. Mom believed in wearing layers before L.L. Bean made it a business and what I do remember are times I could hardly walk because of socks, leotards, pants, and snow pants I had piled on. We never left the house without a hat and mittens.

I warned my students yesterday the shorts may have to go by the end of the week. I also suggested that some may need to wear a coat instead of the usual sweatshirt. I know these students have lots of heavy clothes as they hunt and snowmobile the cold land of the reservation. They just leave them home on school days. "We never get cold!" they exclaim.

Today the faucets got covered, the hoses wrapped up, the hydrants got insulated, and the leaves remain on the ground to protect all our plants. The cats are moving in, the firewood is stacked, and the heaters are ready in the greenhouse. Winter is a time to be prepared also.

December is also a time of beauty. Some of my best photos have been taken in the cold months.

Remember December: White Christmas

This month I hope to share a post each day that brings to light memories of the Christmas season. So many parts of the celebration of Christmas hold dear memories: family gatherings, foods, music, traditions, gifts, and friends. December is always a time to remember for me. The images seem more vivid, the smells more fragrant, the sounds more full and harmonious.

There are so many songs that conjure up memories of Christmas. In our house it was Bing Crosby and his rendition of "White Christmas". I don't know why. I am sure Dad loved him because he was local to Spokane. He was Dad's kind of guy. I have never seen "Holiday Inn", but  I know there were so many times we saw the second film "White Christmas" when Bing performed this song. I grew up believing that Christmas just couldn't be right without snow. How would Santa pull his sleigh?

Thanks

My way of ending a very special Thanksgiving day is to share this favorite poem.

Thanks

by W. S. Merwin

Listen 

with the night falling we are saying thank you 

we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings 

we are running out of the glass rooms 

with our mouths full of food to look at the sky 

and say thank you 

we are standing by the water thanking it 

smiling by the windows looking out 

in our directions 

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging 

after funerals we are saying thank you 

after the news of the dead 

whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you 

over telephones we are saying thank you 

in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators

remembering wars and the police at the door 

and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you 

in the banks we are saying thank you 

in the faces of the officials and the rich 

and of all who will never change 

we go on saying thank you thank you 

with the animals dying around us 

our lost feelings we are saying thank you 

with the forests falling faster than the minutes 

of our lives we are saying thank you 

with the words going out like cells of a brain 

with the cities growing over us 

we are saying thank you faster and faster 

with nobody listening we are saying thank you 

we are saying thank you and waving 

dark though it is

  

From Migration: New & Selected Poems (Copper Canyon Press, 2005). Copyright © 1988 by W. S. Merwin. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

Being Thankful: Annie, Shelby and the Cat Kingdom

Yes... every day I am thankful for our dog and cat kingdom at Martin Creek Gardens . Most of the time all of them live in harmony. They provide companionship, devotion, and entertainment. All the cats were rescued or adopted. Shelby came from a famous litter on Summit Valley Rd. in Stevens County and Annie is our only registered pet.... from a great set of parents in Garfield, WA.

 Here is Lily, sister to Sweet William. She had been adopted at the feed store by our friends, but when Sherry died, we adopted the two of them.

 Annie, our springer spaniel. She loves solitude.

 Shelby, our Australian Cattle Dog ( red heeler) that loves to "be with."

 Junebug is sister to Grayson. She came from a lovely litter in Inchelium.

 Here is Grayson. When my student Victoria told me she had a litter, I had to go look. The rest is history.

 Isabelle is a loner now that she lost her brother Lucas. The litter was left out in the Colville National Forest, but a couple found them and adopted them out. We brought two home.  She is the one that loves to sneak up on our bed.

 Then there are the kittens, adopted in June. they also were left out in the Colville National Forest, but brought to an adoption group in Newport, WA. I found them online.  Meet Gracie and Winnie.

 Sweet William is a brother to Lily.
We have quite a collection of animals that each have a story. We are blessed with them every day.

Being Thankful: Updike, Poetry, Loveliness

There are so many poems that express the process of late fall. 

Even though we are not quite at this part of fall,

 I love this poem because if does display a certain loveliness. 

November

by John Updike

The stripped and shapely
Maple grieves
The ghosts of her
Departed leaves.
The ground is hard,
As hard as stone.
The year is old,
The birds are flown.
And yet the world,

In its distress,

Displays a certain Loveliness---

Being Thankful: The Beauty of Apples

 While exploring  the Methow Valley last week-end we discovered apples everywhere.

They were still remaining on trees where we were staying.

Others hung on trees along the road like Christmas ornaments.

Some appeared ripe while others seemed to be left on the tree after an early frost.

We know the deer will find much to feast on until the snow piles up.