i haven't been doing much for the past couple of days
other than sleep,
steep and drink ginger tea,
cancel appointments,
sleep,
cough,
take xtra vitamins and herbs,
sleep some more.
today...i feel better...and ventured outside!
the temp has gotten down into the low 30's, high 20's at night.
besides the hooting owls...and wandering foxes...
during the day you can see lizards
slowly peeking out from their hiding places
for some much needed warmth...sunshine...
and the squirrels, still frantically collecting, eating & burying acorns.
i've been noticing all the little things CURLING...
slowly...giving in to the colder weather...
losing their color...and turning to a winter brown...
You can't stay in your corner of the forest,
waiting for others to come to you;
you have to go to them sometimes.
~ A. A. Milne Piglet, Pooh's Little Instruction Book
...an air fern hanging in there...
looking like a nest of spiders...
OH, and speaking of spiders...
a daddy long legs (on front porch) trying to figure out which way to go...to stay warm...
hopefully OUTSIDE, and not in!
o~o~o~o~o~o
last weekend we pulled the christmas boxes out of the closet.
and instead of going to get a live tree...or a cut one...
like we do every year...
we finally did it...we gave in...folded...
we bought an artificial tree.
telling ourselves, in the long run, it's better for the environment...
no senseless cutting of trees...no more contributing to christmas tree farm pesticides.
and we'll save the $$ we spend each year.
we down-sized.
putting our new, compact, 4 1/2 footer
on the table in the front window...
conserving what little floor space we have!
the LIVE trees we've had for past christmases...never seem to make it after we plant them.
the only one that ever did was a small 'charlie brown tree'
that the guy at the lot gave us one year as a freebie with the tree we bought!
so...with that spirit of the season in the air...
the shelves and mantle filled with little santa & snowman figurines...
scented candles...twinkling lights and garland...
i'm ready for it to be over!
well, kind of.
i'm not a scrooge.
it's just that it's all gotten so commercial. so out of hand.
i don't DO christmas for religious reasons.
i do it for the 'feeling'.
but nowadays the stores are jam packed with christmas trees and decorations
before halloween is even here.
gifts for HER. gifts for HIM. everything packaged...oh so nicely...
in plastic wrap with big ribbons. (can you hear the sarcasm?)
the packages are yelling "ME! ME! BUY ME!"
but i block them out. all the ads. the commercials.
subliminal messages...they try to worm their way in...
all the people rushing around. pushing & shoving.
no thanks. i'll just relax by the fire...have some hot apple cider...
or how about a nice hot brandy toddy...
and wait for the holiday panic to end...
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold,
it would be a merrier world.
~ J. R. R. Tolkien
o~o~o~o~o~o
earlier today, sam surprised me
with something he picked up along the side of the road...
on his way home.
NO, it wasn't a lost dog...a puppy...or a kitten...
or even a hurt turtle...or bird...
it was a deer skull!
i know what you're thinking...
that's pretty scary, eh?
scary, that sam knows me so well...
or scary that a dead animal would be an acceptable gift?
ha!!
it's still a little 'furry'...BUT...
i can see another decorated skull in the near future!
and here are the cleaned bones from the last couple of owl pellets i've found:
they too, will be part of some future creation...
well, my congestion is subsiding...
achiness almost gone completely...
my ginger tea is well steeped.
i have much catching up to do...with all the terrific blogs i follow.
and i will...i promise. i'll wake up early sunday morn. before dawn.
and sit down with my coffee...and read away...and journey...all over the world...
'til next time...be safe.
stay cool.
laura :]
If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient.
It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.
~ A. A. Milne
