Thursday, February 09, 2017

a sea of ice-gilded snow








 

We woke to a sea of ice-gilded snow and watched as the warm air began to thaw the crust of ice in the trees which then clattered to the ground with the sound of many marbles being thrown suddenly across a wooden floor.

The tender patience of two big sisters was displayed while they tried to teach their littlest sister how to write words and letters with her own "copywork" to match their own.  Later, we all spread out at the table for our beginning drawing lessons, and I got to see incredible skill of observation and imitation in all three.

A traipse around the yard revealed areas of snow at least two feet deep, sinking in to above my knees as I looked at our new trees and tried to decipher what they all are.  It seems like we might have a big maple tree, which I would love (but the jury is still out), along with our sycamores, pines and firs, birches, ash...  I am in love with the fact that we have trees!

The television stays off all day in our house unless we are specifically watching something, usually in the evening or late afternoon if at all.  Today we were all feeling so housebound, so after I sent everyone outside to crunch around in the ice and snow, I called them in for a special tv lunch, which just meant we all brought our lunches into the living room and watched an episode of Curious George while we ate!  It did the trick and the grumpies seemed to fade away.

After cleaning carpets for a couple hours, I stole away to the porch alone before making dinner to listen to the symphony of birds in the trees and felt life seeping back into my heart again.  I am practicing identifying bird calls, but so far today only recognized a raven and a red-winged blackbird amidst the cacophony.  A little personal goal for me because I always have several of those...

Tonight the wind roars around the house, our first real wind since moving here.  The gusts thunder through the trees and blow the remaining few cardboard boxes around the porch.  In our other house we hardly heard the wind in the living area, only in the bedrooms, so it is new to me to hear it all evening.  It's quite a beautiful and powerful noise and I am hoping it brings a bit of spring with it.  Time alone will tell.

2 comments:

  1. beautiful post and your house is beautiful! love that outside shot. I keep the tv off all day as well. I think it makes me more productive.

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    1. Thank you! I agree about the tv!

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