Brief Thaw

It  warmed up enough this weekend for the snow that had lingered in patches for the past week to finally melt away.  With the warmth came rain that fell gently all day today.  In the late afternoon the rain stopped and the sun peeked out, so we threw on our coats and hats and headed out for some air and exercise before the light vanished.

There was that golden light that strikes just the tops of the trees facing west as the sun drops below the cloud bank and shines warm against the eastern horizon.  Down along the creek the blue sky and orange trees were reflected in the clear water flowing below, all the moss and fern were lit a special electric leprecaun green, and by the time we circumnavigated the land the last of the pink was gone from the clouds, the sun had set and only dark branches stood out stark in the twilight.

The sky had opened up, almost all the clouds had blown away, and high above was the nearly half moon kept company by Jupiter.  The wind was picking up and the temperature was falling rapidly, bringing in the next cold snap that will settle on us over the next three days. 

Glad we got the doorside wood racked filled back up yesterday in anticipation of those chilly days to come.  Also glad not to be in Missouri where brother Jon had single digits last night or Minnesota where niece Jess got 2 feet of snow yesterday!  Thinking of you all in your colder realms!  Keep toasty any way you can.

Some Thoughts on the Season

I've been pondering the whole holiday madness as I had to go out to look for a present for a friend whose birthday is Dec 14th.  The Christmas music is blaring in the mall and people are already starting to hustle and scurry to buy those gifts that say merry, merry.

Since I'm a Pantheist not a Christian I don't celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense and I stopped buying gifts to give years ago so it gets harder each year to get excited about Dec 25th.  If you've read this blog long you know I am more connected to the Solstice, December 21st when we celebrate the longest night and the beginning of the return to the light.  This year there will be a full moon and an eclipse of that full moon occuring on the morning of the Solstice which seems fairly cosmic indeed.

Just now reading the holiday calendar from Triangle Yoga where I've been taking classes lately, they had this poem which I thought was of good sentiment and inclusive too:

Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Jew,

May joy and peace expand in you,

And light the world so all can see,

The simple truth which sets us free,

The song the angels sing above,

That we are One,

And One is love.

We are one. Hard to believe when you look around the world at all the greed, war and hatred that is inflicted daily, but I do believe its true and if everyone would consider that harm they do to others is harming themselves too, maybe some of it would cease.  In the meanwhile, I'll just wish that all the holiday good wishes and warm fuzzies that folks are extending during this time will stretch across more of the year and be recognized as a good way to be all the time.  That people will allow those feelings and thoughts to become a regular part of their lives, not just something we put on for a few weeks each December in the name of Jesus Christ. 

Scenes From a Frigid Afternoon

I was getting a bit of cabin fever after lunch so despite the thermometer refusing to rise above 35 degrees, off I went to see what I might find in the world besides rosy cheeks and chilly thighs.

First was a holly tree near the pond decorated with berries and snow.

Then the swirl of ice patterns across the surface of the water.

Further along I revisited this tree of oyster mushrooms that we discovered a couple of days ago and documented the waterfall of caps cascading down the trunk.  This is the largest outgrowth of oysters I think I've ever seen.

Last but not least I was taken by this fringe of christmas fern hanging along the edge of a stream bank.

I was glad I braved the cold.  At the top of the hill I stopped and leaned against a big tree to feel the sun on my face and catch my breath.  I recited to myself the Gayatri:

You who are the source of all power

Whose rays illuminate the earth

Illuminate also my heart

So that it too may do your work 

Then I walked back to the house. 

The glow of the woodstove is that much more dear when you've been out in the chill air.

And Then...

It snowed all afternoon and into the evening and this was the scene when we woke up this morning.  A nice layer of heavy snow hanging on everything.  The silvery light through the trees was magical and every single branch had a layer of white icing running its length.  The birds were busy and David saw a small hawk, we think a Merlin, though it was a fleeting glance, we have had them here before.  A little while later we spotted a red-tail eating a small bird or rodent for its breakfast in a tree out beyond the garden shed.  Puffy tufts at the top of the pine trees were all golden against a brilliant blue sky.

I'm just in from leading a kids hike out at Triangle Land Conservancy's Johnston Mill Nature Preserve.  6 hardy parents and 9 kids ventured forth, even though the temperature never climbed above 40 today.  We had a fine time strolling the trails, looking for signs of wildlife and the kids throwing lots of snowballs.  A big time was had by all and I was very happy to return to the warm house and a cup of hot tea.

The cold weather is slated to continue right on through the week with a low of 19 predicted for Wednesday night- Brrrrrr.

Snow?!

The scene out my window right now

Like I said the other day, we are not having normal weather for central North Carolina at all.  In the 30 years I've lived here I don't ever remember it snowing in early December and even snow in late December is quite unusual.  I doubt it will stick, but the temperature has dropped to 38 from 42 since it started.  The light in David's studio window looks so warm doesn't it?  I hope he is, I know he's got his little woodstove burning away.

The oyster stew was a big hit last night- so yummy I'm going to share the recipe right now.

Start with a half pint of oysters, strain the oysters and catch the juice,  check the oysters for any bits of shell. Then:

• 1 T butter
• 1 leek, sliced and washed (I slice and soak in water to make sure to get all the dirt out, then lift into strainer to drain)
• 1 stalk celery sliced thin
• 2 large shitake mushrooms sliced (you could use white or cremini mushrooms here)
• 1-2 large oyster mushrooms sliced (same as above but don't recommend portobello)

Saute above in the butter in a saucepan with some salt and pepper

when the veggies are soft add:

• 2t of flour and stir for a minute

Add:

• liquid from half a pint of oysters
• 1 cup cream (could use milk but then would need more flour I think)

Simmer for 5-10 minutes, adjust seasoning with a pinch of white and cayenne peppers, more salt as needed

Add:

• half pint of oysters
• 1T each chopped fresh parsley and dill

Cook just till oysters begin to firm 2-3 minutes.  Serve in warm bowls with toasted bread or crackers.

Makes 2 servings.

Yum.

As I've been writing the snow is actually sticking and piling up a bit, it's still coming down very hard....

Orchids and Oysters

We've been waiting I don't know how many years for this orchid to bloom.  I've been threatening to toss it on the compost heap every season when it refused to put up a scape.  But I didn't, (because the orchids really are David's project, not mine) and finally, here it is.  Check out the little drops of nectar at the tips of the lower petals. This photo makes it look like some kind of bat coming in for a landing.  And probably wherever it grows naturally there are bats or something else that zip right into that magenta landing strip to drink some nectar and in turn pollinate the flower.  There are in fact, three scapes in bloom on this one plant as I write! 

I also offer this brilliant yellow calendula that by some amazing powers or fortitude has managed to survive several nights below freezing and generate these astonishing flowers.  It reminds me of some story about a weed that grows up in the crack of an urban sidewalk and blooms against all odds.  Maybe its the color that gets me so- it just says July, not December.

And the weather here now is saying January or February, not December.  Once again we face some of the strangest weather I've ever seen.  We have highs in the 40's and nights in the 20's forecast for the next 7 days, this is not normal for December in North Carolina, not normal at all. 

The good news is that the sun continues to shine and there is a very large stack of fire wood ready for burning, some of which is just outside the door.

Tonight we'll be enjoying oysters from our last delivery of the season from our community supported fishery Core Sound Seafood.  Last night we fried some and had them with slaw made with cabbage, carrot, red bell pepper and fennel; they were sublime.  Tonight I'm planning a soup.  I was just out in the garden bundled up and sporting a headlamp to harvest a leek, some dill and parsley, I'll add those and some mushrooms to some fresh cream from the dairy and I think we'll be very happy indeed.  So I bid you adieu and head for the kitchen and the warm deliciousness that awaits.

A Constellation

Small sweet gums are some of the last trees to lose their leaves, growing in scruffy lines along the edges of the roads, short and weedy they are protected more from the cold so don't drop their leaves till late.  As I take my daily walk the juncos flash their white tail feathers as they dart in and out of the hedge row of young gums, blackberry briar and pines. The Latin name for sweet gum is liquidambar, how magical is that.  I think of syrup, of amber holding insects from ancient times frozen in its fossilized resin. 

The spectacular leaf colors can range from yellow to orange to red to an almost black purple.  Speckled or solid, glossy or flat.  Add to their starry shape the fact that the seed balls are also prickly and pointy and you'll undertstand my astronomical reference.  I learn from wikipedia that the seed pods, which I've always just called gum balls are also know as "space bugs", "monkey ball", "bommyknocker", "bir ball", "conkleberry", "cukoo-bir" or "sticky ball". 

We've finally had a seriously hard freeze with two nights in the upper 20's and so everything tender has at last shriveled and died.  Sadly that includes the camellias, what were lovely flowers last week have all gone brown as of today.  It is almost December after all.  In anticipation of the cold, I broke down on Saturday and picked a peck of bell peppers, but did not pickle them,  they are sitting in a closed brown paper bag in hopes they might ripen up since I don't care much for green bells, much preferring the ripe sweet reds.

And so we head now into the last days of autumn with the winter solstice just three weeks away, the days are seriously short, but happily sunny.