Cold, cold and colder: A tribute to January

The snow crunched sharply underneath my feet this morning as I hauled food and water to our animals, a testament to the bitter cold.

My breath curled and froze around me, as my warmth slowly escaped, my fingers were already frozen, my eyelashes gently stuck together and my jacket crackled with cold.

It was -21 degrees, with a wind chill of -48.

Huckleberry (our goat) butts his head against my leg as I greet him, the chickens cluck, and the ducks huddle together as their heat lamp glows softly. I give them encouraging words, "just a few more days", "The cold is almost over", It is not almost over, the cold that is, the forecast shows another week at least, cold days and colder nights.

I return to my home, and the warmth of a wood stove fire, I am grateful for the shelter I have.

It is truly winter, after a few weeks of warm weather and sun, it has plummeted to proper north woods January weather.

The holiday rush of HoldOn is officially over, and with the cold it’s a perfect time to replenish our supply, reach out to new gyms, and rest.

With this new year, new joy has been brought to our household! a KITTEN!!

✨Autumn✨ She is precious and wonderful, and cuddles every night, and the new kitten energy has been a really amazing re-set for the slow months! she’s such a gift :)

The cold has brought many blessings, ice skating on Lake Superior! (photos below) many winter adventures, and cold clear starry nights (with northern lights!).

It has also brought the gift of rest, these hibernation months are meant for healing, resting, rejuvenating and re-connecting.

And with that the days have slowly grown longer, as the sun has crept back from dormancy. The nights feel less oppressive and the sun is finally up to greet me in the mornings. It has been five weeks since the winter Solstice, marking the end of the ten darkest weeks of the year.

I say this because the world seems anything but light right now, and its important to feel a bit of hope. A hope that the light will return, as it always has, to our world, our earth, our streets.

With this new year I hope nothing but joy and light for you all, may it bring an abundance of happiness and prosperity, light and love.

And with that, I will leave you with a poem that is special to me from a special time in my life.

Blessings all

Happy new years!!🌞

~ savi

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

~ Wendell Berry