Is it really only the 18th of the month? I had to look twice at the calendar to make sure I was using the right date. I feel like I’ve stalled in some sort of time warp and maybe January will go on forever. I tell myself that with each passing day we are drawing closer to spring, that spring will come eventually. Then I think, what about the Ice Ages? I bet those guys thought the same thing and then one year, spring didn’t come. It happens.
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| Pepper boxes forlorn in the snowdrifts. |
This week marks the 15th anniversary or our arrival here in Gold. A lot has happened in those 15 years. We started with a houseful of children and now most of them are gone, out on their own. The house itself hasn’t changed much. We’ve worked on a few rooms, changed some things here and there, but it still seems like the same old house to me. The yard has changed dramatically. I guess I’ve put more time and effort into the yard than the house. We’ve planted an orchard, expanded existing flower beds, dug new gardens, and converted the old garage into “the barn.” When we first moved here we were awed by the beauty of this place. Fifteen years later I’m still in awe that I live in the place I’ve always dreamed of living in.
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| Stacey, baby Geoffrey, and I visiting Potter County in 1985. |
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| May of 2000, the year we moved here. |
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| 2006. |
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| 2014 |
Last week was very cold and snowy, just like it was when we moved here. One of the things that my aunts Esther and Eleanor loved to do was watch the birds that came to their feeders in the winter. I now sit in the same spots they sat in and watch the birds. The birds bring color and energy into a world otherwise frozen solid.
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| Cold afternoon. |
While on his mission, Daniel decided he wanted to pursue working in agriculture. Since he’s been home he’s been trying to figure out how to go about doing that. We have friends and acquaintances here who farm and Daniel is hoping to get some knowledge and experience working for some of them. Last week he worked for our friends the Dunns on their huge dairy farm. They have 1,500 cows and milk 750 of them. They had some workers quit and asked Daniel to help them out for a few days. Their farm is in Jasper, New York, almost an hour away and Daniel needed to be there by 5:00 a.m. That meant he was up at 3:30 and on the road by 4:00. He worked a 12 hour day for them and arrived home at 6:00 p.m. The hours were hard and the work was hard. Daniel discovered something right away – he doesn’t want to be a large-scale dairy farmer. Yesterday was his last day and he is relieved that it is over.
I’ve been reading about comet Lovejoy lately and how it should be visible to the naked eye right now. When Daniel left for work in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I went outside to see if I could see it. The sky was crystal clear, as it often is on sub-zero nights. The comet was supposed to be near the constellation of the Pleiades. I walked around for about ten minutes looking for it, but I was too late, the Pleiades and the comet (if it was actually visible) had already set. I was going to try again this morning, but it was cloudy. I’ll try again on the next clear night, but I think the chances of seeing it are fading quickly now.
Hannah will arrive home this week. She’s been in Tennessee with Rachel and her family since the 1st. We’re excited for her come home. We’ve missed her. Her school starts on the 26th. She’ll be living at home this semester.
The past few days we’ve had some beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Dusk and dawn are my favorite times of the day. I love the drama of the arrival and departure of the light. When the sky starts to glow, I grab my camera and head outdoors. The colors shift constantly and only last a short while. I think their fleetingness makes them seem even more beautiful.
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| Sunset on Saturday. |
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| Sunrise this morning. |
This evening we’ll be going next door to the Shillig’s house for our Sabbath Soiree for the first time in several weeks. They’ve been out of town since before Christmas and we’ve missed them. There’s no school tomorrow because of the federal holiday. I think I’ll spend at least part of the day working with my houseplants. It helps keep me from going crazy to work with plants and soil, even if they are in pots on the windowsills.
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| Plants in the window upstairs. |
