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Slow Time in Winter

12/7/2015

12 Comments

 
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I look forward to the dark days of winter. Jammies are on by 5pm, work is done, and by 8pm I curl up in  my bed, guilt free, with a book in my hands and my dog, Lily, snuggled up against my feet. It is my time to rebuild and learn and rest. By 5am I am up and writing, watching the sky slowly turn pink and crimson, the birds dive-bombing each other at the feeder, the woodpeckers hanging upside down on the suet. 

Coffee or tea, depending upon how indulgent I feel, an early morning walk with Lily, work on Juan's and my business, then perhaps an outing on skis or snowshoes or - if the days have been cold enough and the snows light - a Hans-Christian-Andersen-like ice skate down a lake under the bright, crisp skies of winter.

Winter is why Juan and I live in Montana - that and the wilderness and lack of people. Winter light is poetic - it's hues of grey, pink, and purple addicting to watch. The air tastes good at minus 20 and moving one's body through deep cold clarifies so many layers of thought. I love snowshoeing over drifts which conceal my favorite huckleberry patches, knowing that in eight months time I'll be in a tank top, hunkered down amongst their interlacing red branches gathering a bounty of tiny blue that tastes like granite and smells like cold alpine nights.

But for now, I rest in winter's enforced calm, happy the garden's asleep and the only required outside chore is hauling in wood from the shed to keep the wood stove going. 

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You can read my past posts at www.ihiketowrite.blogspot.com 
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12 Comments
Michael Imel
12/8/2015 05:38:43 am

What a great start Randi! Now I can enjoy the Montana winter without the cold. Love the the pics, they move the story right along.

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Randi link
12/8/2015 05:44:21 am

Hey Mikey! It works! Thanks for commenting. I think of you guys the last day you were here - pipes frozen, freezing cold, windy. I'll bet you're relieved not to have to deal with all that stuff! Thanks for tuning in. I have a learning curve but am enjoying the climb. Love to you and Lynne!

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Michael Imel
12/8/2015 06:38:33 am

You're doing great, keep em coming.

Suraya lockwood
12/8/2015 06:04:31 am

Love this. Describes beautifully why I love winter in Montana. Glad I'm not the only one with pajamas on by 5. Haha!

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Randi link
12/8/2015 06:45:28 am

Ha is right Suraya! Jammies are such a luxury. Harder to indulge in during the long days of summer. Believe me, you earn the right to wear jammies all day during the winter after working as hard as you do the rest of the year!

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suraya lockwood
12/8/2015 07:07:01 am

Thanks Randy. Same goes to you. Another reason I love Seeley is that I encounter so many strong women, like you. Hope you and Juan have a restful and happy winter.

Candace Palmo link
12/8/2015 08:39:46 am

I just loved this, Randi. I am still in MY jammies as I read it, coffee in hand. Beautiful writing. Beautiful photographs. I feel you are moving beyond death back into life, or possibly, more like integrating death into life. Your prose is poetic and gentle and evokes memories for me of when you lived in the Trinities. I can especially see you tromping in the snow at minus 20 with your powerful strides! Write. Write. Write, girlfriend. I look forward to your next story.

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Randi link
12/8/2015 09:17:36 am

Candy, I plan on doing just that! This winter is so deeply different than last winter. A relief and a sadness. But I have surrounded myself with Mom's plants and nurture them everyday. I swear she has become the nasturtium that keeps sprouting into a vine. It got transplanted in with another plant inadvertently, but it insists on climbing up and out of the pot. Right now a tiny leaf has crawled up Mom's stained glass image of a butterfly that sits on my windowsill.The leaf is peeking out over the top into the garden! That same butterfly sat in the very same place while Mom lived with us - I can't help but feel it's Mom.

And I have incorporated death into life now. It is time to write of creation and wonder and fun. I'll be showing up again.

I hope you are recovering after Renee's passing. You blessed her deeply by being present with her. Thanks for saying hi!

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Shirley Schaden link
12/8/2015 08:59:36 am

Well, Mikey can fix everything, the big geek. Glad he helped you figure out the posting problem.
I love your descriptive writing. I feel and see and smell and taste through your entry about winter. I know that winter holds the most special times for you and Juan, and Lily too!
We woke up to 2 inches of snow on Sunday but it melted away by yesterday. Wish the girls had been here to see it. They went home Sat. after spending Fri night.
Love you. Keep warm and keep writing.

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Randi link
12/8/2015 09:06:23 am

Hey Shirley,

Glad you're at least getting some precip even if it's not sticking. Juan and I just ice skated our way down the road and through the field - had to wear cleats, but that barely worked because we got the cheap kind and they didn't stay on. So now it's time to make some design adjustments to them. A little elastic here, some wire there and we should be good to go. Have fun hunkering down in the rain and, hopefully, snow. Good to hear from you!

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Olga de Santa Anna
8/10/2016 07:25:36 pm

I love your blogs. Now that I have spent six days with you , I am amazed and in love with your every day world. Oh, how lucky you and my brother are to have each other through good and bad times.Keep writing, that way I am still there, somewhere in your thoughts.
Love your Siiiister , Olgs

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Randi de Santa Anna link
8/11/2016 06:52:43 am

Siiister Olgs, How wonderful of you to read my blogs! Thank you for urging me to write again. I had stopped while I grew our new business but's clearly time to start again. It always helps me keep my balance point.

I will feel you feeling me as I put words to paper. I am looking forward to seeing you again so soon! Until then my siiister, warm thoughts and love,
Randi

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    I have been a dirt monkey for as long as I can recall - hiding in the rabbit runs woven throughout dogwood thickets near my childhood home in Western New York, winter camping in a tipi in New Hampshire, living 3/4 of a mile up a trail next to a Northern California wilderness, and now living in Western Montana where my husband, Juan, and I create our art and enjoy the many wild places.   

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