Holiday season

I ate too much Turkey for my first American traditional Thanksgiving, it was good! and so this weekend is quieter. It is also stormy tonight. The fire place is working well, I prepared the candles and emergency lights in case I loose power, and I am eating the rest of the turkey-soup. A cosy evening, accompanied by Chopin on the radio.

That transports me back in my infancy, the rainy humid evenings at home in winter, trying to convince my parents to play a board game, or listening to LPs and dancing in front of the fire. Not to mention the smell of the oranges’ skins burning on the charcoal stove…

I would have liked to enjoy the art fair of the neighborhood, the pajama sale and the festive lights of the season in the small town, but it is COVID-time and we need to be patient. So we will enjoy and share differently … I hope that the weather tomorrow will be good enough to hike and that I will be able to spend some time with few people from my non-social-distancing-bubble. The good things is that we are back to living in a slower world, and so I have plenty of time to craft things: I made a wreath this year. Hopefully the postman will like it!

  • All natural wreath from the garden…

Guardians

I begin to develop a very special relationship with those guardians.

They are stoically defending the trails, protecting the paths and showing the way. If you pay attention they will reveal their identity: some are shy, others dominant and proud, while most are just part of it. I can feel wise individuals, some adopting a zen-like attitude while others are less spiritual and would rather be part of the snowmen community. Symbolic, enigmatic, or metaphoric, thin, big, rounded or squared, these robots, E.T. or Buddhas are part of my morning routine and I’m thankful they are here to protect me from the ghosts in the forest!

Cairns or human stacked stones along the trail to show the right direction

Anniversary

This post is the 147th one. It has been exactly one year that I begun this blog – Nov 17, 2019. I can’t believe I am so able to write down my thoughts regularly, and the most surprising is that I am able to post them!

We are all writing posts, letters, complains and thank-you notes in our heads, things that you will never publish, a style that nobody knows apart from you and words that you would never imagine writing yourself. So it is quite surprising when you can actually show off a part that is hidden in yourself. Amazing!

An apology here though, as I know these posts are mainly descriptive… but you may be able to read in between the lines and feel my mood or priorities of the moment. And if not, enjoy the pictures!

I thank you all, who have read, liked, commented and followed me on this journey till today. I will continue posting, maybe a bit more culture, maybe a bit more engagement, maybe not… I’d like to think that we are free, but I can’t help it being conservative on the web… lets continue to act in the real world though, independently, with honesty, integrity and love.

Reconnected

Reconnected to nature. I saw deers, birds – coming back from the cold – I heard owls, squirrels, and other little rodents, and I even had to stop to let go a group of turkeys…

Thanksgiving is arriving. Halloween already passed, and Christmas almost there… time flies!

And this year the house will also be disguised accordingly. Pumpkins must go – they were anyways beginning to be eaten by strangers (!), so it is time to grill the seeds in the oven and leave the place for the Christmas pine and berry wreath – that I still need to decorate! Exciting!

Champagne!

Do you remember this feeling of warm air coming in your face when spring arrives? This warmth that suddenly reaches the depth of your body and regenerates your soul? I promise I was sober this morning, I didn’t hallucinate : it came 3 times during my walk. Aren’t we supposed to get snow at that time of the year?

The day seems to be exceptional today. Sun, sun, sun, and warmth. As sure as it is that I will enjoy this day, it is seriously time to consider actively climate change.

And I am glad to see that the United States will come back on track and be part of it in the next 4 years!

Champagne!

Morning sun

Expedition

It snowed last week.

Then it became ice. But I needed to walk outside, to hike. So I went out, with my special spiky shoes, climbing the peak, slowly but surely…. I could hear the “crisp” of the layer of ice when I walked, the “shush” of the snow below the ice, and the “fffffuff” of the white cotton snow flakes on the soft parts of the trail. The landscape was completely changed, and I needed to play safe if I wanted to come back home without a broken leg. But again, this morning walk was magical:

I had already witnessed the sun rise from home, but when I arrived on the top, I got a second one far away: two sunrises in a day!

  • 6:35 AM
    6:35 AM
  • 8:45 AM
    8:45 AM

First snow!

I was surprised to see the flies flying on the window and being so weak. I never got so many at once! Yes, that was the cold weather coming!

The first flakes came down a couple of days ago but literally melt on the ground. But yesterday morning we woke up with 10 cm of snow all over the garden! It was still a grey and windy day but the sun was breaking through the heavy clouds sometimes. The wind has now removed most of the snow from the trees, but the view is still amazing today, as the snow is still standing on the roofs and fields.

The weather should come back to reasonable fall temperatures in a day or two, so I am taking all what I can from this wildness black and white pictures for now…

Where are they?

It has been about 3 weeks that I didn’t see any.

As I mentioned in my last email – where the wonderful pictures were not uploaded- the wood is tidy and organized, I made some fire to keep me warm, enjoyed the 6 am sunrise, climbed on top of the closest mountains again, run few kilometers too, had one shot of Q-cardio workout with loud music, and during that time, I was constantly surprised by the colors of fall in Maine… But despite my extensive outdoor activity I couldn’t see any.

Are they feeling the winter coming? Afraid by the carved pumpkins spread around the island to celebrate Halloween? Do they search for the best spot for their winter retreat? Or were they chased by some other unwanted animals in the area? – I heard there is a coyote in the neighbourhood…

I am wondering if they will come back to see Mr. Jo soon, it has snowed a little bit today – Mr. Jo in on his way for sure.

Hey Little Dears, I’d like to see you again… Where are you?

Et voilà!

Et voilà! Almost a week gone since my last post!

Since then, the wood is tidy and organized, I made some fire to keep me warm, enjoyed the 6 am sunrise, ate plenty of salads, sandwiches and soups, chard, sweet potatoes, and beet roots, and coriander, climbed on top of the closest mountains again, run few kilometers too, had one shot of Q-cardio workout with loud music, and during that time, I was constantly surprised by the colors of fall in Maine…