February morning

Got up as usual to the sound of the furnace kicking in about 5:30. Checked the wood stove, put on a pot of coffee, and ripped off today's copy of the sudoku. It was the blue hour, a magical time of day in February, but I wasn't paying attention. The lights were on in the kitchen, and I was working on my puzzle.

I heard the rumble of the snow plow coming up the lane and turned on the outside lights to assist him.  Flakes falling and spinning slowly out of the dark skies overhead, like tiny feathers. The floodlights showed them like tiny stars nestling into the snow bank.

A universe of mini constellations that shifted about as I moved from window to window to better observe their glow in the blue/white light.

The sun shines not on us, but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us.
John Muir
Zen page-a-day calendar

Gemini

With temperatures in the teens and brisk winds, yesterday it was very uncomfortable to be outside. I got home late last night. The wind had calmed and the stars were out. The constellation Gemini, prominent high in the southern sky; Castor and Pollux, the twins. As usual, they were holding hands as they skipped their way across the heavens. Coyotes were howling from the hills in the back. They sounded cold and hungry. I was glad I could go in and sit by the wood stove for awhile before going to bed.

stirring

Things are starting to stir outside. While I haven't seen our heard any returning birds, some of the birds that have been around all winter are getting more active. I am hearing the usual spring call of the chickadee as they start to announce their territory for the spring nesting season. Saw a red squirrel scampering along the road this morning.

sugaring

I've always felt that the time between my birthday and Allyn's birthday has corresponded with the coldest part of the winter season. Yesterday Nathan Hewitt came by to say that he was going to start tapping. Temperatures moderating today for a few days. Temps above freezing during the day and below freezing at night, perfect for sugaring. It looks like the sugaring season has begun!

Happy 70th!

Happy 70th birthday to the world's nicest person!

My religion is very simple.

My religion is kindness.

Dalai Lama

coating of ice

Three inches of powder and clear skies overnight led to a morning low of -8. Steam rising out of the Ira creek covered the surrounding trees and bushes in a coating of ice. 

Frost heaves

A sure sign of spring in these parts (uh, ignore the snow).

crescent moon!

Leaving the Zen Center after a long day on Saturday evening, waxing crescent moon shining in the south.

I remembered that same crescent moon from January.

It seems so long ago and far away. I just noticed this, the shape of the moon is the same in both photos, but the positioning is different. Google says that the moon's orbit is along the equator. In the southern hemisphere, people see the crescent moon "upside down" so the side that is shining seems the opposite from the northern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere, the first quarter looks like a growing D, and in the southern hemisphere it looks like a C. In the last quarter the moon looks like a C in the northern hemisphere, and a D in the southern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere, the sunlit part of the moon moves from right to left, in the southern hemisphere it moves from left to right. I didn't know any of that!

Paying attention

After bringing another load of wood into the kitchen last night, I took a look at the weather forecast. They were calling for freezing rain, up to a third of an inch in our area. It has been a very wet winter. The sump pump seems to run almost continuously. The sump pump is important because if we were to get a lot of water in the basement, it could ruin the furnace.
I started thinking. If we get a lot of ice as forecast, we could lose power. If we lose power the sump pump will quit. We have a generator for that purpose, but it's in the garage where the garage door operates electronically. If the power goes out, it will be difficult to get to the generator.
So I backed the car out of the garage, and  backed out the generator as well. It had started raining so I covered the generator with a tarp which I held down with four pieces of wood I pulled off the aforementioned stack of wood in the kitchen. Then I rounded up extension cords in order to connect the generator to the sump pump in the basement. As I was doing this, I thought that maybe all this work would act as sort of a good luck talisman to protect us from the freezing rain that was in the forecast.
Sure enough, the rain stopped. When I got up in the middle of the night to fill up the wood stove, I looked outside and there wasn't any rain and there wasn't any ice. We had dodged a bullet-this time.
Living in the country in Vermont is wonderful, but it isn't easy, especially in the winter. Paying attention to the elements isn't a luxury, it's a necessity. Paying attention, an important aspect of life here on the other side of the creek, and as a zen student.
Driving back from the morning's meditation, 32 degrees, and wind from the south.

flowing

The deepest words
of the wise man teach us
the same as the whistle of the wind when it blows
or the sound of the water when it is flowing.

Antonio Machado
Zen page a day calendar

different world

Temperature is 40 degrees this morning. Yesterday was sunny with a high of 51. It was a different world. Water running in the lane and cutting small rivulets in the ice. Sound of water in the road as cars pass by.
Allyn has said that 50 degrees in the fall feels cold, but 50 in the spring feels so warm. People, including me, had their windows rolled down, sound of music from cars passing by. Nathan Hewitt has put out a brand new sap collection bucket on the other end of our property, a sure sign of spring. We've lived here long enough, however, to know it's still a long ways away. Wind is supposed to turn out of the north this afternoon, low temperature tonight is supposed to be around 15.

Groundhog Day

It's also Candlemas Day. Half your wood and half your hay should still be left by Candlemas Day. How are you doing on your wood supply? I need more, and I'm going to get some today.