Lichenwood Rambles

Winter is a No Show

Winter Solstice has come and gone.  It's not that unusual for Lichenwood to have a snow free December, but what is unusual are the warm temperatures that have been accompanying this lack of white landscape.  Today as I refilled the birdfeeders, I spotted my daffodils coming up through the bark mulch.

I have new boots that will keep the toes warm down to 25 below, and a lovely new warm hat with matching gloves.  It doesn't look like they will get any use at all in the near future.  It may be time to bring out more objects for some sympathetic snow magick. 

Just because the grass is still green, doesn't mean the plants are happy.  Many plants need cold and even snow cover to properly time their period of rest and renewal.  Personally, I feel the same way.  A winter without snow might sound attractive to many New England natives, but I love snow, snowstorms, and snowflakes.  I always have.

                     

I never lost my childhood fascination with the lacy magick of snowflakes.  I still like to catch them on my sleeve as they fall and admire their intricate detail before they melt away.  Kenneth Libbrecht has written a very readable, and beautiful book to answer all our questions about snowflakes and how they form.  Its also a history of the study of the snowflake through the centuries.  Photos of the many forms of snow crystals are by Patricia Rasmussen.

Observing snowflakes has much in common with observing flower forms.  This is a perfect winter read!  However, if current weather trends continue, we may see flowers before we see flakes!

November Rain

November rain is falling.  It's wet, murky, and dark.  I can still enjoy nature as I sit in comfortable warmth on the sunroom couch.  The birds have been quite active at the feeder and I will need to refill it before the afternoon is over.

I placed Rosemary out in the rain this morning.  I know she'll appreciate a drink of natural rain water far more even than well water.  The cool moisture against her leaves will be one of the last outdoor treats of late fall.  Unseasonably warm weather cannot continue much longer.  Rosemary has shown some signs of distress since making the transition from Mother Earth to indoor pot.  She has dropped a few leaves.  I plan to give her a gentle haircut and a misting of Crisis Care flower essence before I bring her back in this afternoon.

 

Meanwhile the Peace Lily that spent the Summer months on the shadiest part of the deck, has had a happier transition to indoor life.  She's bursting into bloom in the dark lower level TV room.  She is also performing an important role in cleaning the air and bringing life to the space.

I've been alternating my time between reading a wonderful new book and accomplishing chores.  It's tit for tat.  Unload the dishwasher, read a chapter.  Vacuum, read a chapter.  Throw in a load of wash, read a chapter. 

Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier is my kind of book.  The man definitely has a way with words and is a skillful story teller.  He also wrote Cold Mountain.  A book I will likely read sometime this winter.  Not only have I not read his earlier work, I never saw the recent movie either.  I think I'd much rather read than see the movie rendition of anything that Charles Frazier wrote.  I'm about one third through the novel which takes place across the vast span of time from the first part of the nineteenth century to the first years of the early twentieth.  Voiced as the first person narrative of one Will Cooper, this is a tale of an orphaned bound boy who is set the task of operating a frontier trading post deep in the Cherokee lands.  So far in my reading I've experienced all manner of adventure, intrigue, and romance, all set in richly described natural settings where time is measured by season, moon, and sun.  And all the while, I'm sitting cozy on the couch with a cup of tea.