Good morning, lovers of simple living. Wayne has had a nasty cold for the last week and now I’m coming down with it. I have some good news, sort of, which is that my endocrinology appointment got bumped up to later this week instead of another month from now. That means I’ll be undergoing more tests afterward which always brings up a lot of anxiety for me when I wait for the results. Then I’ll have more information about whether or not I need to consider surgery.
Is that Godzilla punching my roof as I type this post? Kind of, only its name is February. It’s the occasional sound of things expanding and contracting when it’s in the single digits or below. It also means my house is nice and toasty inside. We had an ice storm on Friday, and while they can be extremely destructive, like cutting power for days or weeks, and most recently lifting me in the air before smacking me on my behind (I’m getting PT now, recovery is up and down but happening), it can also be beautiful. I snapped the photo above yesterday afternoon. I love how the sunshine makes the icy branches gleam brightly as if I’m living in an enchanted fairyland.
This morning when I got into my car I noticed that the condensation on my windshield looked like a rising icy sun with warming rays. When I returned home I heard a bird singing and a chipmunk calling as I started walking towards my sunroom doorway. The mysterious chipmunk who made a brief appearance yesterday morning for Groundhog Day must have returned but I couldn’t see it.
“Where are you?” I asked.
It immediately came out from under the deck and jumped on the deck railing.
Just seconds before I took this pic there was a chipmunk on the deck railing, the first sighting since late November! It’s also one year ago that Wayne and I adopted the Degu Sisters. I can’t tell you how much seeing that chipmunk (not sure who it was) raised my spirits this morning. Surely it’s a good omen!
“What other men have thought is valuable, but its chief value is, not to save us from the labor of thinking, but to enable us to think the better for ourselves.”
From “The Golden Way to the Highest Attainments” by Rev J.H Potts D.D, 1889
Some Mainers (aka “snowbirds”) go to Florida to escape February (and the couple of months prior and after) during their down time. I keep it local and go to the couch! February is a time when I do more reading. The cozy simplicity of snuggling under a wool throw with a cup of tea and good book takes the edge off of one of my least favorite months. I’m actually starting to grow fond of this time of year. The more I accept February as it is instead of feeling righteous indignation in response to things like the short daylight, icy public walkways, the lonely glossy white landscape outside my window that’s devoid of friendly furry or feathered visitors, the more agreeable it is/I am! In fact I often think a good test of true inner joy is not needing summery days to have a sunny disposition.
Last Friday morning I looked through my kitchen window to see if the latest snowstorm had yet begun. I was completely shocked to see a chipmunk sitting on the deck! I didn’t think I would see our court jesters until April. My heart sang as I yelled out to Wayne that it appeared that Wishy was outside. He was last seen at the end of November. I put my coat over my pajamas and ran to the deck. He let me get close to him to take his pic but didn’t visit long before he ran across the yard. But was it really him? And if it was, did my other pal, dear little Chippie, survive the winter or would I soon come to realize she had passed away after her autumn attack?
“They” were talking about temps reaching close to 70 degrees today! I had high hopes of a Ferry Beach picnic in February. This morning I made a salad with iceberg (I know it’s the Wonder Bread of lettuces but sometimes I crave it), berries and English Seaside cheddar. I envisioned sitting on a towel on the warm sand enjoying my little picnic in the middle of winter, kooky as it may be. It didn’t come to fruition though, since the temps barely reached fifty degrees by the water with a healthy breeze blowing. However, I still was able to enjoy a lovely walk.
February isn’t always formidable; it can be quite inspiring. I enjoy the stillness, the way a snowfall redecorates the trees depending on the light and lightness of the flakes, shoveling my driveway and observing the birds.
