I'm so glad it's February.....

.....January was so long & hard.

Lots of snow, frigid cold, barrenness...depression. 

But today is known in Ireland (& around the world, really) as St. Brigid's Day, sometimes called Imbolc.  There are Celtic festivals usually with lots of music, fire burnings, and much merriment....celebrating the return of light with spring approaching.  The time of purification of the earth is almost over, making way for renewal & awakening.

 

In private homes, some folks light candles and make St. Brigid crosses.  They also have been traditionally known to clean their houses & also start to plan out their gardens for the spring.  I myself lit a few candles and also some incense, in my front picture window (before I realized it was St. Brigid's Day!!)  After I fed the outside critters, about 11am, the sun was so bright that I got out my lawn chair & sat on the stoop.  I turned my face towards the sun & closed my eyes...so grateful that January 2026 is past.  As I watched the critters come & go, I was amazed at how many there were...all at one time, all together, running here & there (this too before I realized what day it was!!).  I'm convinced now they were celebrating St. Brigid's Day as well.

The desire in me to light candles & burn incense came from deep inside.  My lightened heart was so glad it was February 1st., not realizing it was St. Brigid's Day too.  Just goes to show our spirit...our heart...our intuition...know things that our conscious mind does not...or it takes our conscious mind awhile to catch up anyway!

It's a full moon too, by the way.  This one is known as the Snow Moon...a time for purification, patience, introspection, a pause to reflect before spring, and a quiet honoring of the powerful energy of winter. 

I hope the sun is shining where you are.  If  not, just know it's coming.  It won't be long now.

Always with much love,  Andrea xoxo 

 

It was an absolutely gorgeous day yesterday!

The sun was shining bright, the snow was long gone after all the above-freezing temps we've had, and the current temperature at the time was 47*F.  If you pretended & didn't look at the bare trees too closely, you'd almost have thought it was spring.

I had to go to the lab about 30 miles away, for a blood test & urinalysis.  We looked at the weather forecast and saw that yesterday was going to be a good day for traveling so about 11am we took off for the open road.  Hubby & I talked about the gorgeous weather all the way there & back...the lab technician, office girls, & I talked about how absolutely lovely it was outside.  The Montessori children & teachers, who share a parking lot with the lab, were all smiling as they were discharging the children to the waiting cars of their parent or guardian, who were also smiling as well.

Amidst the world's strife, upheaval, & despair, it was a day you wanted to bottle up & keep close...to open & spread all around you at will, whenever you wished.

On days like today....

We're under a winter storm warning that is so typical for my corner of the world in winter: blowing & drifting lake-effect snow, 6-12 inches possible (with oldest daughter in southwest Michigan forecast to get the most!), visibility near zero, white out conditions.  You know, the usual junk.  Up until this time in my life, I haven't usually complained about the weather.  My mother taught me that it does no good, as the weather's going to do what it wants to do regardless.  Winter used to be my favorite season, believe it or not.  I loved the quiet and the fact that most people were indoors & out of sight.  I loved the crunch of the snow under my boots and the cozy feeling of layers of clothes & blankets.

But now that my bones hurt with the cold, winter is my least favorite season.  Just like that *snap*, I changed.  It doesn't do any good (as was my mother's point), as the earth's revolution continues despite my feelings about it all, but I still bemoan winter now all the same.

Sorry mom....I can't help it!  

Soft hugs & much love, Andrea xoxo

Thank you soooo much to everyone who held a kind thought for me after reading my last blog post...and extra blessings to those who put those kind thoughts into words in the comment section.  I feel your thoughts, prayers and love across the miles to this humble homestead in northernmost Indiana.  xoxo

The wind has been howling all night here, as was forecast, and still is.  It was 58*F when I went to bed last night & thunderstorming.  Right now, as I type at 5:40am, it's 56*F.  Very strange weather for January 9th indeed!  We have both gale & wind advisories until 3pm this afternoon.

I've been taking my vitamins & supplements "religiously" for the last several months & a couple weeks ago I added a Vitamin C and also a Vitamin D.  Back in the day when Covid first came on the scene, research was showing that folks low on Vitamin D (which is most people, unfortunately) were having a harder time kicking the virus than those who had normal or slightly elevated Vitamin D levels.  When I heard through the grapevine that this flu, that's so prevalent now, is spreading like wildfire and even mutating into a stronger virus, I started taking my Vitamin D again.  In fact, Dr. John Campbell on YouTube said a mistake was found a few years ago & the RDA of Vitamin D is actually in error & it should be much higher!  If you wish, watch his video here.  Our son Austin (38yo) got this flu virus right after our family celebrated our Christmas on December 20th.  That following Monday morning he woke up sick & was in bed for 4 days, finally taking a shower & eating a decent meal on the 5th day.  He's still got a slight cough but is feeling much much better.  Have any of you been stricken?

I received my copy of The Old Farmers Almanac for 2026 in the mail a couple days ago, from Amazon.  How I love that little publication!  It's been published every year since 1792, believe it or not.  The first article in this year's publication is about the weather....of course.  That subject seemingly is the bedrock of The Old Farmers Almanac.  There was a quote towards the end of the article that I'd like to share with all of you:

"Whether weathering foul weather, personal challenges, or a public crisis, time is the only fix we can count on.  With time, everything changes...including the weather."

I thought that quote seemed apropos on many levels, both in my personal life and in the world in general.

Thank you once again for everything, my dear friends.  I am truly unworthy.

Much love, Andrea xoxo

My goodness, it's been a long time.  Nearly 4 months to be exact!  The last time we visited, the weather was warm...the leaves were just thinking about turning colors...and "the holidays" were months away.  Little did I know that a depression was soon coming...deeper than I had ever remembered having before.  Plus worsening health despite my best efforts to head it off at the pass.  My computer sat quiet since I last signed-off here, collecting dust in a corner of my bedroom.  I thought of you all...more times than I can count...wondering how you're doing & how your life stories were unfolding.  But I knew I couldn't hide my darkness from you, that was enveloping me & sealed tight, so I simply stayed away...trusting you all somehow knew my spirit was with you.

I hope you will forgive me.  I'm so sorry for vanishing.

I hope your holiday season was a festive one, if you celebrated, or peaceful & full of light if you did not.  I made a valiant attempt here at home to make merry but I know it was lacking from the usual fare.  Perhaps the holiday season of 2026 will be better.  I'm hoping so.

I'm slowly climbing out of my hole but I'm still deep inside it yet...but not as deep as I was.  Self care is the order of this time in my life, taking my days slow & steady and giving myself grace when all I accomplish in one day is getting out of bed & getting dressed.  

Bless you if you're reading this and haven't forgotten about me.  I'm off to try & catch up a bit with what has been going on in all your lives.  I will read all your posts but please forgive me if I don't comment on each one.

Much love, Andrea  xoxo

Thank you all for your kind words about my little possum friend in yesterday's post.  I want to update you about him/her this morning.

Hubby and I went out back about an hour or so after I wrote that post.  He refreshed the water bowls for the wildlife while I spread out the food for the day.  Then he started digging the grave hole while I put on disposable gloves & prepared my little friend for burial.  I took an old, clean, soft bedsheet and nestled him/her in it after an examination of the body.  There was not one single mark or sign of trauma anywhere.  His/her coat was absolutely beautiful, mouth was closed & no sign of spital or foam coming out, eyes were closed & dry, his/her little hands & feet were preciously perfect too, as was his/her weight.

At first I thought perhaps s/he had some fatal disease like distemper, rabies, cancer, something.  But his/her body & appearance simply wouldn't have been in such good shape if s/he were sick for quite some time.  There are no trees above the area that s/he could have fallen out of either & if that did happen, I would expect to see some bleeding from the mouth.

Normally, when I know for certain that a wildlife animal died of natural causes, I place them in a shallow box & hubby walks it out into the woods about half a block or so.  Then, the wildlife who are carnivores will be nourished by the body of my deceased friend.  That's how God designed things.  But if I have no idea how a wildlife animal died, I don't want to take the chance of something being spread to other animals who might eat it.  That's when the deceased animal gets buried.

When the hole was deep enough, hubby gently took the well wrapped body of my friend & placed it in the cool, quiet spot.  He covered the hole back up with dirt & placed two rocks on top.  I clipped a rose from my rose bush & placed it in the soil.  I chose a spot next to the foundation of my side of the house, near where my possum friend laid down to pass.

Did s/he simply die of old age?  I don't think so as his/her coat & body looked too nice to have weathered years of outside life.  Did s/he have some sort of internal defect while developing in his/her mother's womb that finally took its toll?  I just don't know.  But for whatever reason, s/he passed away and came into my yard, close to my house, to do so.  If close to my house & me is where s/he preferred to be, then close to my house & me is where s/he will remain.

I wanted to update all of you.  Thank you once again for your comforting words left on yesterday's blog post.  Have a great day.

Much love always, Andrea xoxo

I think everyone has those Ah-ha Moments every once in awhile. You know...those times when life creeps up on you without warning.  I had one of those when I got up this morning.

I awoke about 5:30am after a good night's rest & crawled out of my toasty bed about 5:45am.  I went to open my bedroom curtains and was stunned to find it was still dark outside!  Usually it's already bright by that time.  I walked over to my bedside table & looked at my clock, thinking I surely was up earlier than I thought.  Nope, 5:48am!  Then it dawned on me....autumn really is here!

That's probably the one thing I miss about summer...the early bright mornings.  Lots of folks don't like it when it's dark by 4pm and I can see their point, especially if they work outside the home.  They go to work in the dark & come home in the dark.  That wouldn't be very pleasant.  But I can't say that I mind it being dark by 4pm or so because by that time, I'm tired anyway and am happy to close my curtains on the world for the day.  But it's the having to wait so long, after I get up, before I can open my curtains in the morning that bothers me.  Pooey!  

Such first world problems, eh?

When it was indeed light & I could open up my curtains, I had a sad surprise in my backyard.  An adult possum was laying about 10 feet from my window, apparently having passed away.  Possums play dead, that I do know, but I don't believe that's what is happening here.  I see no blood and no trauma, at least from my vantage point inside the house, so we'll see what's up when I go outside a bit later to move his sweet body into the woods.  I don't see any foaming at the mouth either, which is the usual telltale sign of poisoning.  So perhaps it's just old age but even then, it's odd that a wildlife animal would choose a place out in the open, so near the house, to close his eyes in death.  To me, his position means that his demise was sudden & out of the blue.

He looks peaceful and safe, stretched out in the cool grass as if he were asleep.

Things like this happen though, when you live in the woods & especially when you feed the wildlife as I do.  Death is as normal as birth and each one comes in its proper time.  My animals know me & I know them.  They can trust there will be food & water available and know me by sight, often coming to eat or drink before I even make it back into the house.

Perhaps this sweet possum wanted to pass away at a place familiar, knowing he would be properly taken care of after his life fled.  He can trust me to do that, for sure.

Much love to all, Andrea xoxo

Rest in peace, my little friend.

My last post spurred on some comments about "calendars" of activities.  Those comments got me to thinking.... I've never had a calendar of things-to-do in my whole life.  And I'm not quite sure I could handle it if I had to have one.

I've mentioned before that we're simple folks.  Our homestead was always busy but never with Having To Go Somewhere lists.  We had three kids, six foster babies, my Mom came to live with us so I could help her with common tasks (like bathing) when my kids were 3, 13, and 18...and my husband & I were 44, we homeschooled for 25 years, bought our food in bulk from a health food co-op that would meet here at the house once a month, made our own bread & yogurt & such, cooked our meals from scratch, the whole bit.

But we seldom left the house or had anyplace we needed to be on any certain day, at any certain time.  I guess you could say I made sure of that throughout the years.

We haven't been on a trip or vacation in over 26 years.  By choice.

Once in awhile there would be a doctor's appointment on our calendar or a reminder of someone's birthday coming up but other than that, our calendar in the kitchen simply showed us the date & nothing more.  It still does.

So I don't know if this old hermit woman would react favorably to a calendar filled with places I had to be.  I'm thinking probably not.

But some people love the busy schedule & live for having to go here or there.  Our oldest daughter is that way!  Oh my word, even her siblings have commented to me about their sister's "calendar" and wonder how....or more importantly why....she has let her life become so busy ("complicated" to them).  I've read that if someone has to run, run, run all the time, they're running away from something and can't let themselves sit still with their own thoughts.  I don't know if that's true or not but it sounds plausible to me.

We have some faithful readers here who are dealing with health issues, either of themselves or their spouses or both, and that's a whole other issue.  You not only need a calendar but almost a personal secretary to handle all of that type stuff.  My prayers continue for them all.

Thank you to the commenters who mentioned their calendars in my last post.  It caused me to think...and then write...for today.  :-)

Our rain has stopped & it's a glorious sunshiny day here today.  I hope it is where you are too.

Much love, Andrea xoxo