210224 Snowshoes and a Breaking Stone.

 Feb. 24

What do you make of this sky? It is 0 degrees this morning and the sun shines between the passing clouds. 

The snow is melting ahead of the icicles.

Last year the snowdrops were blooming on March 15, and here is Indre at the beach on March 14, three years ago. She takes after her grandmother; must get in the water. 

 

We are over the hill of winter and melting quickly into spring. The tree branches are starting to show colour. This has been the loveliest winter I have spent since I was a child, it seems too soon to see it go. Soon the snow will start to thaw and rivulets will trickle and then rush down the mountain, patches of sleeping weeds will appear and before long wildflowers in the woods. The birds will begin to return and bird dating apps will be the rage. K is having breakfast on the porch in the sun. Last year the Cooper's hawk was calling for a mate by March 2nd, and the first vultures come north each year by the beginning of March. 

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I have had a wonderful busy few days. 

 

This was the kitchen window and the east porch, peaceful and wintry on Saturday night. 

Sunday morning two young mountain men arrived in a red pick-up with ladders and shovels to clear the roof! Roof clearing was happening all around the village, there must be a note on the calendar that it is time! The snow began to cascade outside the windows like waterfalls. We spent the morning watching the progress.

By mid-day we had our own little mountain range around the house.

 

A fierce snow monster lurked outside the window that night and my kitchen window view has lost its serenity.

 

Sunday afternoon we sat on the porch, it was about zero degrees. Rain and Tal came to sled in the afternoon. We had a visitor Saturday night, I suspect a lynx or bobcat looking at the paw prints, You can see where he sniffed about probably sensing Blackie and Fig. In the picture below you can see his prints across the lawn from the chicken house!

 

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*UPDATE!*: This morning I was sitting on the porch and suddenly there was a rumble of avalanche proportions and I jumped up to see snow falling from the west roof. On the left is the woodshed before 10 minutes ago, where K had cleared the space for fetching and chopping wood. Here it is now! All day the roof has been dripping with melting snow. The village calendar was spot-on!

 

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Monday was a 5 star day. I set myself a goal of starting my mosaic bowl and was very pleased to end the day with all the pieces broken and coming together. It is exciting to see it working because it is mostly fortuitous brokens all Quebec-found and random breaking. At home I have a room full of dishes, figurines and knick-knacks to pick and choose from. The witches left me a "breaking stone" by the front door on which to place a dish for smashing. Probably the only stone to be found under all this snow, I remembered seeing it and kicked it free. I worked in the mud room.

 

Is there something happening here? Energy sparking! One of the reasons I love this art form is its "found" aspect - it creates itself out of the fragments of still-beautiful but unwanted objects whose beauty is then recycled: transformed and preserved.

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I cooked three pounds of chicken and 4 sweet potatoes, for us and for Fig. I want to start feeding him home-prepared meals along with his crunchies. I never tried it before because my other dogs weighed 110 and 135 pounds: that's a lot of "people food". But I realized that for little Fig it wouldn't be too much. I don't yet know what I will do with our half of the sweets and chicken, but it's nice to have them cooked  and ready to go.

Fig was very pleased with his sweet potato chicken dinner!

Other Monday accomplishments: did the dishes, made lunch and dinner, brought in wood, walked down to the barn with Fig, and did some laundry. I love how the clothes come out so clean, soft and natural-feeling. I may give up washing machines for good (until perhaps I have one again)! And dryers for sure. 

 

I also sorted out my container stash - when we came here I resolved to stop buying rolls of saran, foil and paper towels, and use plastic bags and containers from purchased food instead - but they were in a jumble and the lids had gotten mixed around. It felt like a very full day, but looking at this recap it doesn't seem like much. Like caring for children, you spend the day doing small chores and running after the kids, keeping them happy and fed, and then, falling into bed, you wonder what you did all day though you never stopped to rest.

Of course I took Fig out a dozen times to see the day, and Blackie, and to sniff around. He has been enjoying the warmer days, exploring the apron in front of the door and trotting down the drive in search interesting smells. He is getting better at avoiding faceplants and head-bonks; he may be learning to sense the air flow or feel the touch of barricades on his whiskers and fur. I am sure that he is learning to make better use of his sense of smell. 

Music was my companion for the day, I ran a random shuffle on my iphone with my headphones on, or, when I was in one place long enough, through little speakers. The playlist was stellar, some of my favorite songs from several artists, and songs I'd not heard before that became instant favorites. (I sometimes download an album on spec.) A new favorite from Dylan: I Contain Multitudes,  https://youtu.be/pgEP8teNXwY ,  [I will list the song links at the end of the post.] If you like Dylan you will like this, somewhat autobiographical; if you don't like him you will roll your eyes! Even Jet, by Paul McCartney, played, which song has been on my lips for weeks. Don't ask why. Also discovered the very best version of Making Plans, by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. https://youtu.be/HC2ihsIAAdI.

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Tuesday was a lovely day to be outside though it was cloudy off and on. Tal has leant me some snowshoes. I figured out how to work them - they are fancy ones - and then I went out for a hike! It wasn't difficult, though I sank perhaps 3 to 5 inches down, sometimes a lot farther! I thought to keep the toes up, which helped. These are quite fancy snowshoes, their harness is adjustable to fit your boot and the straps go around your ankles. I couldn't find this model on google; they might be quite old. I must look for a pair of poles at Reilly House next time I go. If I had fallen over it might have been a challenge to get back up! What a delight to be able to go and see the witches and the west meadow - I haven't been there in weeks. The creek along the ridge was still running under the snow and ice. It was all so beautiful and dreamlike.

       

     (My dress hem got a bit snowy.)                       The way back.

          

I visited the witches.               Looking up the west meadow - I haven't been here since the snow fell. This is where the snow blows down from, past us into the valley.

         

This is the stream where I washed my face on Christmas day when it was 13 degrees.     

And a snow macaron!

The house from the west meadow.

 

                     The vineyard sister.                                      Late afternoon in the trees.

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Today has been lovely, writing at the window and sitting on the porch listening to the dripping from the roof, watching the clouds across the valley. It is raining now but that may turn to snow overnight. We'll see what the morning brings. Be well. Thank you for visiting.

Mumma Yaga

The east witch, Sunday night.

I Contain Multitudes: https://youtu.be/pgEP8teNXwY

Making Plans: https://youtu.be/HC2ihsIAAdI