Sunday, December 21, 2014

a little more light


Ahhhhh.


We made it.
Happy Solstice to you!
~~~


In recent weeks, I have been in what seems like constant - if slow - motion. Each night as I've stumbled through the evening chores in the dark despite my best efforts to be finished before dark, I've thought:

"Tomorrow I really need to rest my bones for a few hours. I will just do the chores, and then relax in the recliner in the parlor for a couple of hours, and rest my back. Meditate.

Ahhhh.

Listen to an audiobook. Possibly do a bit of knitting.
It will be wonderful.

Yes, tomorrow after chores I will just fill the woodbox, stoke the fire, and rest in the recliner. All the aches and kinks can slowly unwind themselves at least a little bit. 
It will be so refreshing.

This is not my woodpile.
It is my friend's woodpile.
I have woodpile envy.

Before I get comfortable, I'll just have to talk with the carpenter about the exterior walls. But before speaking with the carpenter, I have to call the store about the missing handles for the sliding doors, and find someone who knows the whereabouts of the salvage place two towns over. Oh, and the sills! I must call around to see if any of the local sawmills are sawing hardwoods right now.

And pick up another load of insulation 
 and bring it up to the porch.

so the car will be empty and I can pick up a load of hay and use the Hayboggan (seen above) to give each bale a ride to the goat barn. Oh! And when the car is empty again, I must take a couple of hours to drive down to the valley and pick up the goats' minerals which finally came in and which I meant to pick up yesterday and the day before. And I haven't been to the valley for a couple of months, so while I'm there, I need to buy groceries and..."

And that's the way it's gone, every day.
Just one necessary thing after another
and then it's dark again.

Even at my now-slow pace, there have been many small but satisfying accomplishments and lots of very joyful moments. While I was installing the de-icer in the goats' big new water bucket yesterday and thinking about putting a windbreak across the front of a West-facing shelter before we get more snow, I realized something:

LeShodu loves to use this newest platform as a Command Post,
but soon it will just be a nice Snack Bar,
as demonstrated here by Lily and Campion.
Sorry, Shodu.


no matter what isn't done "before winter" this year, I am simply not going to give myself a hard time about it. Because I have been doing my best, pretty continuously, for months, and that's got to be good enough.


But that said, how happy I am to know: there will be a little more light each day now! Soon the shadows won't be quite so long at 2:30 in the afternoon. Soon evening chores won't seem to begin about four hours after morning chores are finished. 
And soon I'll be perusing gorgeous seed catalogs
and making notes for Garden 2015.

Soon!


Good morning.
~~~~~

14 comments:

  1. Even if you don't get everything done that you think you need to do, it's more than enough. You do a heck of a lot each and every day. I for one will be glad when longer daylight hours are back. This 5 o'clock darkness doesn't feel right to me at all.

    By the way, I am still here in Kuwait, but the home I visited yesterday definitely has that Santa Fe adobe kinda feel. The owners are actually in Colorado right now so perhaps they were influenced by the area when they built their house, but my husband says it is actually old Kuwait style. There similarities in everything all around the world, that's for sure.

    Best wishes, Tammy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, that is so true, Tammy! That is one thing (of many amazing things) that travel teaches us :)

      Delete
  2. Hi Quinn! I thought I'd visit after reading your comment on Frugal Queen. I am SO happy it is going to get lighter. Your cows are beautiful. I also have wood pile envy and I don't even have a wood pile (My Dad does- I'm going to his tomorrow for Christmas- I'll check his pile out and see how it fares)
    I love your sentiment- yes, get done what you can but don't beat yourself up about what wasn't done.
    Lovely to 'meet' you.
    Merry Christmas!x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment, Kezzie! I have to clarify that those critters are cashmere goats, but my picture was not from their "best side" by any means, so please come back again and see some better "portraits" - I don't usually take their pictures from behind :)
      I hope you have a lovely Christmas! And your Dad, too :)

      Delete
  3. Quinn,
    Your post makes me smile that somebody can get so much done.
    More light is welcome. Wood pile envy I now have even thought I have no fireplace or wood stove. I have thoughts of making a faux mantel to help me daydream. One pile of scrap wood is out of the closet, and on the floor waiting for me to find the rest.
    Be good to yourself. Keep a stash of treats for when you put your feet up after chores.
    Happy Holidaying!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think a dreaming mantel is a lovely idea! Plus you avoid the whole feed-the-stove, clean-the-stove, try-not-to-burn-the-house-down aspect :)

      Delete
  4. A woman's work is never done. Hope you get to relax soon.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Somehow, your days sound exactly like mine. I've barely finished my "morning" outing with Shyla when the world starts to darken and it's time to take the Duo for their "evening" hike. I feel like I race all day long!!!

    I love winter solstice - it means that there's a light in sight! It's odd though, if you look at the sunrise/set times. The latest sunrise isn't until Jan 2 here but the earliest sunset was Dec 11 - so sunset has already been getting later for 10 days!

    I have woodpile envy too! And I love the photo of the lights shining through the forest.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Quinn, my **favorite** day of the year because it means light begins filling the days tomorrow. Like you, I think I'll do thus and so and get a lot done but not what's on the to-do list. Why is that?? I think it's because there's so much to do! I never leave room for emergencies but, small and large, the seem to command a lot of each day, certainly each week!
    Wood pile envy...oh yes! I can well relate. The wood pile in the barn will run out before winter and I've already asked for a couple more loads to be delivered. I believe there might be 2 more racks full in the barn.
    Merry Christmas, Quinn, God bless you and yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true about the unplanned things throwing everything off...one sick goat, or a couple of nights of poor sleep, and everything is off-kilter for days. Oh well, must keep moving forward!
      I hope you have a lovely, peaceful, joyful Christmas, Sandra!

      Delete
  7. you are a busy gal! I wish you and all your beautiful animals a wonderful holiday time. Try to take some time off to relax!
    best wishes from Kath and Roobarb in England

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post. :) I'm thinking all of us in the northern hemisphere are looking forward to longer days!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment! I enjoy reading each one, and will usually reply either here or on YOUR blog!

Due to spam, Anonymous comments are blocked. I'm hoping to avoid the annoying Word Verification gizmo! If you find you cannot leave a comment, please email me so we can try to sort it out.