According to our thermometer, the temperature outside is a bracing zero degrees fahrenheit right now. It was minus twenty degrees F during the night. Brrrr!
In the Deep Freeze
The good news is that there is not much wind right now so the “feels like” temperature is about the same as the thermometer temperature. I am feeling so blessed that we have a warm house and that I don’t have to go outside unless I want to. Even with a warm home, when it gets this cold outside the chill seems to infiltrate more. I’ve been wearing layers indoors, including long underwear to stay cozy and warm.
The rhythm of my days in the wintertime has become more connected to the weather than it was when I was working. I have the luxury of choosing when to run errands and unless I have an appointment or have agreed to meet a friend my calendar is wide open. So each week I look at the weather forecast and plan my days accordingly.
Tomorrow we’re expecting a warm up to almost 30 degrees. So I am planning to take a good long walk outside tomorrow.
Amaryllis Joy
My first amaryllis flowers have faded and wilted now.
But the other two plants are swiftly growing. There is set of buds ready to burst out soon.
And another bud following along closely.
In the quiet hours of these frozen days I feel like I move more slowly. I enjoy hibernating under a blanket in my favorite chair and reading. A few days ago I took a long nap in the afternoon just because I could. The world looks bright white outside my office window. And a gold finch and chickadee are eating at my bird feeders. Though it looks beautiful I am not fooled by the sunshine. January often brings some of the coldest temperatures of the year along with bright beautiful sunshine.
Even during these frigid days I am filled with wonder and delight as I watch the antics of the squirrels beneath the feeders, see the soft downy feathers of the tiny birds fluffed up until they look like chubby felted wool birds, and see the colors of the sky at sunrise and sunset through my windows.
“And as with prayer, which is a dipping of oneself toward the light, there is a consequence of attentiveness to the grass itself, and the sky itself, and to the floating bird. I too leave the fret and enclosure of my own life. I too dip myself toward the immeasurable.”
― Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems
I hope you too, can enjoy these frigid days and find aspects of life to fill you with wonder and delight.
May you walk in beauty.
A self-portrait I made yesterday for this week’s 52 Frames challenge
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