Thaw

10°f, -12°C, warming to 41°f. Clearing skies.

Morning sparkles

Finally, a mostly sunny day that actually warmed up to let some thawing begin! Snow left the roof of the log room with a great whoosh, and took all the lovely icicles with it. Ah well. 

The icicles I have watching grow the past couple days, all gone with the whoosh. I took this photo this morning; you can just barely make them out.

I shoveled part of the deck and salted the porch steps, and Larry salted the walks and tried to shovel, but alas this ice us still quite thick under the snow. He did get the tractor out again and worked on the driveway, so perhaps one day we can drive the van back down again.

Across the hill, we could heat the laughter and shouts of our neighbor's grandchildren as he hitched a large piece of metal roofing to his four-wheeler and was pulling them around in the snow. Other children down the road were sledding, I see, according to their Facebook pictures. It was a good day to be outdoors.

The cellarhouse. The top is storage, the bottom is where I store apples and all the food we can.

I was in and out all afternoon, after the air warmed up, but spent the morning canning pasta sauce. We still have several gallon cans of sauce given to us last summer; it is pretty bland so I added seasonings and canned it in quart jars, which will be much more suitable for us.

This evening we watched Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, an older movie that we watched several years ago. I could not remember the story line, but I knew I liked it. Such a touching movie! 

I did step outside during the movie to see the beautiful full moon though. What a sight! 

I guess that's all the non-news for today. I hope you all had a great weekend!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Night Lights, and Being Thankful

The moon on Tuesday night lit the snowy world around us with a pale blue light.

Last night the fireplace crackled with heat,

while in the living room the little trees (my Christmas forest, I call it) glowed with color. The small red one was a gift from a dear friend, and changes colors from red to purple to blue to green.

More night lights in the living room.

Looking at these photos this morning makes me thankful for:

*living in such a beautiful place, difficult as it can sometimes be;
*having a husband who not only cuts the wood but builds good fires;
*having good friends from many walks of my life;
*being warm and comfortable when the temperature keeps dipping below zero;
*having a well-stocked larder at this time of the Cherokee Cold Moon;
*being able to share my thoughts and stories here.

Linking to Michelle's Thankful Thursday today.

It's a Small Town Life

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Rose Moon, Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon, Birthday Moon

Native Americans had names for each full moon, instead of names for each month. Sometimes the moon of a particular time had more than one name, like June. I added one: Birthday Moon, because the full moon came on my birthday this year, the Summer Solstice.

Whatever you call her, she was beautiful as she rose over the high Alleghenies. We drove up to the Scenic Highway, hoping for a glimpse even though the forecast was for rain showers. We got lucky.

We walked back a trail to an overlook with a breathtaking view. As we waited and talked, we noticed clouds rolling in. But then, there she was, pink with the rays of the setting sun:

A little hide-and seek, but finally, 

 then back to being shy,

and ahhhh...

It was getting too dark for me to take photos. I am not very good at night photography, but I did like this one,

but this, I think, was my favorite all evening. The transition of the moon from pink to gold to silver was heart-stopping. I could have stayed all night.

We stayed a long time though, just talking, sharing moon legends and a song or two. 

Kirk, our instructor, recites a poem

Checking out the softness of a spruce tree's new growth.

It was a night to remember, the night of beauty before the rains came.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.