Well, winter came back… again. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take. I know, I know, I don’t have many choices, do I? I would just like to be able to go for a walk without being thigh deep in crunchy snow. It’s the worst kind - granular and crusted over. It seems like you’d be able to walk on it and then you fall through. J thought we should have left with our snowshoes on but I wasn’t (and am still not) convinced. It’s one of those days where you’d hit a spot easily on them and still slide through so you have to pull out your snowshoe too. And, we have tonnes of little trees etc for a snowshoe to get caught in. Extra fun! The hardest for me is that so much of what usually helps just didn’t. I cleaned out the goats, which was ok because I got to it early enough. The chickens and ducks though! Sheesh. The manure was frozen so solid there was no way I was getting it out. I have been procrastinating adding bedding because I know what it’s going to mean if I just add more on top (a much bigger job when it thaws). But, it was so manky in there, I just couldn’t leave it any longer. So, I covered up the frozen, gross mess with new bedding and left, feeling resigned to a tougher job in the thaw.
After that, I definitely still needed to recharge so I thought to take the dogs on a walk which is usually an easy recharge for me. But not this time, not even a bit. Because the snow is so tough to manage right now, I often opt for the logging road. People have been up and down it to get firewood, to dump garbage (sad but true), and for snowmobiling. The snowmobiling, however, is so off putting. I’m sorry if you’re a snowmobiler and you love it. For the people who have chosen to live in the middle of nowhere, the sound of your wailing two stroke engine is far from soothing. After that I had no choice, I threw myself into baking. That helped some but I just feel so stuck right now -and yes, I do understand that might be a metaphor for other things :) . It’s just one of those times where you put a bunch of irons in the fire and see what materializes. It’s just tough to juggle all of them. The good side of that is that I’ve been creating. I have seeds started (though brutally leggy thanks to the low light), I’m getting caught up on spinning (very important given that I have a huge amount of Icelandic likely to arrive here next month), and painting/mixed media art making (here’s a piece in progress:) So all in all, I can’t really complain. I do have good things going on and if the worst is that winter appears to be never ending well… I can manage. Where ever you are, I'm suspecting the weather is playing tricks on you.
Here, it's been melting and warm and sunny. We were tentatively talking about spring. And then 24 hours of snow - the biggest flakes you can imagine. A friend of mine in California was making plans to deal with the drought this summer. Will there be one? Who knows really but it stands to reason given California's history. And for the last week, she's been dealing with torrential rain and yesterday, put out a call for help to deal with flooding. And ironically, she will likely still have drought. So where ever you are, whatever you're facing, just do what you realistically can and accept the rest. It's really all you can do. Alright guys, I am so sorry about the big, long gap in posting. There are a few very good reasons for it and I'll 'fess up to them now.
First is that I'm having some struggles with the site. Once again I went to my page and it couldn't be found. And then I had log in problems. Again. I almost bailed in favour of one of the many other things on my list but persisted and here I am (thank goodness!). Now I know all of you know that time is limited so when you're having those sorts of problems, it makes you reconsider your host. So far I've been really happy but it's starting to feel like a bit like the old wordpress problems. I'm not going to switch yet but believe me, I'm noticing it and doing research. Second (which is really the biggest so I probably should have started there).: I quit my job. Yes, I left the place I'd worked for almost 15 years. I feel totally liberated and a bit nervous about what's on the horizon (more about that in a sec)! Third: I'm working on my doctorate. It's way more work than I would have thought but so much fun. I am and always will be a school nerd. Learning is my happy place! Fourth:Because a doctorate isn't enough, I've been taking some online classes. Mostly art-making ones. I have always said "I can't" to the world of visual arts but not this year! I'll be posting work as I make it :) And I just did a floor loom class too. I'll write about that soon. It was an interesting experience. You know the kind Experience. I'm still processing it a bit, if I'm honest. Fifth (and biggest): My co-conspirators and I are working on the first issue of Flannelberry magazine. Like the site, it will be a blend of wholehearted and simple living with creativity. And of course, the puppy is still in puppyhood which is a pretty time and energy consuming thing when you're in the depth of winter and can't take him on a big run or hike to get that puppy energy out! And there's your update peeps. I hope 2017 has kicked off well for you. XO |
AuthorI'm a 40-something writer and smallholder living in the wilds of BC with my family, our small herd of Nigerian Dwarf Goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, and cats. Archives
August 2017
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