“Come, ye cold winds, at January’s call,
On whistling wings, and with white flakes bestrew
The earth.”
–  John Ruskin

 

January!

One of my beloved months.  For its stillness, thick blankets of snow, snow storms, crystal clear night skies and lengthening days.  January exists in my memory as a dream, shrouded in a haze once it has passed.  What did I do during that seemingly eternal stretch of cold, short days?  The sun embracing each day a little longer. It anchors our subconscious and allows us to delve into those inner depths.  I love this time of year. When your an introvert and relish reading, knitting, starting fires, drinking hot drinks, drawing, journaling and holding onto the hope of spring (i.e. planning a garden), this is truly a sacred time.

In addition to all of these reasons – there is this gleaming hope for a new start.  New ideas, new and revived you!  I believe this energy significantly shapes why I love this month.  I wonder if you do too?

Today was the type of day that I live for.  If I could choose my favourite types of days throughout the year the first, would be a good snow storm (followed by warm spring days and crisp fall days).  Some years I feel cheated by winter.  How dare you not give us more snow! But, to be content all I need is a day like today with the flakes falling consistently leaving us stranded in our homes, trees heavily weighed by the wet snow.   It was wonderful!  I packed a thermos of green tea, my knits for the shop, a camera and headed out to see a transformed world.  One where magic undoubtedly underlines every living and inanimate being.

I get so excited during snow storms that I can hardly decide what I want to do.  Staying inside is often not an option (unless it’s a blizzard…), the problem of course being that we can’t go that far.  So this morning, Merlin, Henry and I walked out to the lake.  We then set out for the spruce woods.  I stopped at the house leaving my phone behind so not to be distracted by how many photographs I take when I use it!  I find that when I bring my phone, I don’t engage with the environment as much as when I just use my camera.  Jamie gifted me with a new lens this Christmas so I’ve really been enjoying taking photographs.   You don’t take anywhere near as many and put more thought into what you engage with through your lens.  Not only that but not having that constant link to the outside world is so therapeutic.

After walking through the woods, we stopped in a clearing.  In this clearing we have some handmade benches and a fire pit.  I didn’t attempted to start a fire today but rather just stood in the clearing, drinking the entire thermos of tea (so grateful for it at that moment – it was pretty cold!) and watching the snow drift slowly from the tops of the spruce.  It was so beautiful.  I could have stayed there all day if I had a bottomless thermos.  I took a few photographs for Etsy using the woodpiles and some fallen spruce trees from Hurricane Dorian.  But alas, it was really cold and my Mom actually managed to meet up with me in the clearing to go for a walk.  So off we went!

Along spruce woods, alder thickets, still berry bushes down to the river.  Once back inside, I actually sat down to get all of the listings together.  We just have a couple of items going up that were knit by Meaghan and Mom.  We have nothing in stock after this so I am excited to look toward finishing many, many projects.  They are beginning to pile and my ideas are just flowing.  In a lot of ways, it’s a very exciting time 🙂

Thanks for joining me on my walks throughout this very snowy day!  I really feel so incredibly grateful when I’m walking through the woods, disconnected from everything.  Watching the chickadees and crows flying lopsided in the wind.  Pure contentment can be found from just getting outside and embracing the environment that you find yourself in.

I’m off before the power goes out!  The lights are flickering and the wind is fierce!

Very Blessed New Year and all the best for your revival ❤

“In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.”
–  Christina Rossetti