Reflections on Light

'When I walk the dogs before bed" ( or Long Ago and Far Way).. I find myself gazing at the lights of the winter nights. I often talk to the dogs about it, but they just go on looking for white ice to yellow...however, their ears are so large, they  seem to be listening.  I notice the many changes in the 'hood lights, and call out what is different..."ooh....the Joneses have already put up their Christmas lights...the Joneses must know when the first big snow is coming;
( November- they are so smart).". You see, it is important to put up your lights before it is too frosty or icy to be on your roof..I have been known to use a broom to sweep off the snow on the trees, so i can string lights in them...you would think I would learn!  BUT, even if you put up your lights early, there is an etiquette to when you can actually turn them on....not until until AFTER THANKSGIVING!   Paaalease!...

so now that it is the end of January...I would like to 'reflect' on what i observed these wintry nights... There is a new blue light out this year... not like the Hannukah Festival of Lights Blue...but a cool, neon, Hot Blue...I like it with the mixed colors....not so many 'icicle' light this year.... I like them all- the ones that float in the trees when it is late at night are my favorites.
Each household has their own unique style- Jen with the darling country home, has lights up her walk and in her trees...Bill and Anne, our eldest neighbors,  have single candle lamps in each window- peaceful and warm....the neighbors in the cul de sac with 5 girls, have their old bikes, in the front yard,  lined with lights, and the wheels spin festially ( festively)? The large, 3 story log home that houses a bunch of growing boys,( the boys have been jumping off the roof all winter into the snow around the yard).. have a Giant  live tree in their 3 story, corner window with a ton of lights... .. Jess likes our house to be 'dim' so i put some twinkling lights in the front tree by the front porch....and I stole Anne's idea and put a single candle LED light in the front windows.

We  also have the neighbors who like patriotic lights, and have their trees in singles of RED, White and BLUE.. It looks pretty cool...we march when we pass their house--da da da da da da da da da..

Then there is the sequence in which the lights dim this season, to only porch lights this week...Bill and Anne; first, then the big tree all lit up in the corner window- and the kids' bikes were last... There is one yard down the street who still has a one tree lit up each night- I wonder what the significance is.....

Besides the Christmas/Holdiay lights, there are the natural lights of winter... I need you to know that I LOVE the dark! You see, without the dark, the lights would have no chance to shine their sparkle, the moon, its waxing fullness, nor the snow to glitter...

As the sun sets, the dark sets off the ridgelines of the mountains, makes the shadows go from grey, to purple, to dark, and the house to silent and still..Soon, I can see the smoke from the houses, and the glare from truck headlamps as they drive in through the neighborhood.. If i walk the dogs really late, after 10, then the dark is the best.. Each night has a different sky..different shades of the moon, and shadows.. I have a pretense that things come active in the dark that do not move at all during the day... the trees can dance, there are tiny fairies somewhere, the spirits are visiting in the snow..... I know I sound crazy, but my daughter and friends will vouch for my whimsical bent...I would like to be a 'lamp lighter' in another time-) then i could have the streets to myself.. (one way to perpetuate my fantasy, is that i walk the dogs in my flannel jammies.. parka and hat of course). I can't help but notice that the natural light- and the orderly way of things- is also changing..the dawn lights up our bedroom when i awake and it is dusk, not sunset when we leave the school building in the afternoon...I do like the longer sunrays, and the amount of energy i feel increasing...but am glad i was able to enjoy a dark, yet v cold, solstice season..

There are lights i don't like- the kind that shine in my eyes when i eat dinner...a light that shines up, a red light in a sconce, the light that keeps my daughter up when she visits- a 'pididddle' light on a vehicle- the light that burns Jess' skin... flat light, warning lights and ambulance lights.
MY least favorite light- the one on my alarm clock!.
everyone has their turn ons and turn offs...any other suggestions?

House lights I do like; .fireplace light, asmanycandlesaspossible lights, REALLY like candle holders with stamped cut-outs, soft reading lights, night lights in the bathroom ( they seem friendly), the stove light, my electric blanket light, flashlights..

 and ...Winter Fireworks- yahoo!

        



  We have a saying in our family...'night go'.  It stems from a nightly routine when the dogs are sleeping, we lock the doors, and lastly turn off the lights, our parrot chimes in, right on cue.."Night Go- night go night"! soooooo, to my friends and fam... we have made it through January...
"Night go"...

Grey Bird

 

The Dead of Winter..

Well folks,
My friends encouraged me to blog again, and I wondered why i had stopped..hmmmmm.

I truly had good intentions, as Halloween approached. As you know, it is my favorite time of year. It drives me crazy when people ruin it with looming, plastic dorky decorations... My niece, Dixie, told me on the day she found a great wedding dress to shed for her daughter's costume, that she was glad her kids like to celebrate Halloween with gore and scary stuff..  I think she is healthy.. I don't like the evil kind, as i believe in evil, and really don't want it around.. Halloween is supposed to ward off evil, encourage all living things that passed over the summer to Rest In Peace...Halloween arrived very quietly this year- a downpour of torrents and hardly any Trick-or-Treaters-( . I love the kids at the door, because it gives me a chance to connect with my neighbors whom I will rarely see in the next 5 months...the dads with kids on their shoulders, the teens with pillowcases, and all my Grand Nieces and Nephews who make the stop at our house to mostly say Hi to their Uncle Jess, and the Moms have wine with me-)...

Kids Celebrating at school..

But then it was over...I was strangely sad and nostalgic...it was here..time to withdraw....and I did.. Jess was injured, and this has been a fortunate life changer for us....really very cold and brown. I found myself with big sweaters, kids finding their way into my heart and dreams every night...and meetings-always meetings, to help spur the lessons along.

Hiking at school

Thanksgiving came at Krissy's (it gave her a chance to use her lovely Wedding China)..

.she couldn't eat much...found out she was newly Pregnant! yeah we are going to be Grandparents....Then the worry began...so I put her at the top of my list of nightly worries and prayers to stay healthy- hope the vitamins don't get puked back up- and that all is well- all well..Christmas arrived with Jess still in slings and bandages, quiet time with Krissy and Dan-

fun shopping for-dare we do it- baby things...but for sure Mommy things...So as the New Year arrived, Jess is now keeping house- AND IS THE BEST AT CLEANING- EVER-the dogs follow him everywhere, the parrot has learned to call out 'Go, Go' whenever ESPN SHOUTS OUT-DA, DA,DA...

Jess drives me to work, so i can relax enroute, and we have begun our new year as GYM RATs! That is right, GYM RATS- we cannot ski or ride outside- which is why we love the mountains...but we have made new friends in Jess' Physical Therapy. They have been a blessing I cannot describe. Jess looks forward to each PT session, even though it hurts like crazy and he is so tired afterward. I have joined him- so we are now in Couples Therapy-) We stretch, reach and abduct together. No lifting or above the head stuff. There are cute, huge and sweaty guys at one end of the gym who POWER LIFT- THUMP-UGH!  I have to sneak between them to find my weights (1lb)..Jess' is pink. He cannot believe it has come to this- ha ha!!  He(we) is(are) making progress, and falling in love with being old (er) together..

Shine on Harvest Moon

 Well, it is officially Autumn...we celebrated the beginning of the Equinox with a huge Harvest Moon!http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-22/living/harvest.moon_1_autumn-full-moon-optical-illusion?_s=PM:LIVING..
    his weekend,  Jess and were out scootering ( he rides his dirt bike- I scooter!) and noticed the big 50% off sale at the local Nursery. He said, "Darlin, this could be your lucky day'!.. "or it could be THEIR lucky day"! i replied... it turns out, it was a win-win for both retail and customer,, me-)  So, we loaded up with tools, fertilizer, aphid spray, soil pep, a new crimson maple, 3 peach trees, , two firey red vine creepers, and a good sized European Mountain Ash..oh and two pony packs of fall pansies and a darling orange watering can!!

                                            

 The trees look really good, Angie, the owner's wife, had some great ideas...She is also my massage therapist at Rejuvinate Day Spa, so everything is local here.. anyway, she cut the tops off the pumpkins and stuffed them with mixed colored pansies...it was so bright and vibrant..she said it was ok to send on her ideas if i would tell my friends they are having a BIG 50% sale for two more weeks at the nursery..so, get on a great deal folks,,,ground cover, perennials, tools, plant food, and one of my favs, BARK...all kinds of lovely, smelly, delicious bark. I usually hoard it during the summer by buying bags at the grocery store, so it doesn't show on my gardening splurges!  The nursery also guarantees anything you purchase up to one full season, soooo it is not too risky to buy now...

There is also a sale at the DAY SPA for Deer Hunt Widow Weekend..which i plan to hit..

The colors are so perfect right now...with a storm brewing, it looks like this may be the last week to enjoy..Before i chat about what is up next in the welcoming of Autumn, i need to make another Confession..... The peach trees we are planting, are going to be placed along a long fence that borders our neighbor's yard that we crashed this summer....We want to enjoy the trees, but feel just fine, that his family is going to enjoy them too....you see, when school started, we didn't mow our lawn in a timely manner...Jess crashed in the SKATEBOARD PARK, learning new tricks from his students and we think he broke some ribs. We do know he tore something in his shoulder, so the lawn had to wait....LO and behold, our neighbor who never did yard work, mowed and shaped up OUR yard for us!!! how cool was that? what a nice surprise...He has a mower, and weed wacker, and mows along with all the guys on Saturday.. It is pretty cool to see..nice to have happy neighbors...THEN the next week, my dogs got out!! my dogs? so well behaved?? huh?! ha! they called me at school, that the dogs were running everywhere, trying to herd the kids walking to school, barking and yipping and going bonkers...unlike Corgis,...... they corraled the dogs and put them back in the yard for us...they could have just let them run, and write a blog about their obnoxious dog owner neighbors, but no...they took care of us..so sweet-)

So, if you know me as a Catholic, i would make a good Act Of Contrition and promise to go and do good....!! and we did!! with Peach Trees for all of us!!

 On to the saga of Good Halloween Decorations as you celebrate the Autumn's coming..i have a lot to say about that, so i think i will close with this one and a closing thought....don't put up ghoulish things too early!! start slowly, start with the colors, preparing for the cold, dark weather....clean your house, and get belongings in order...( if you put in for a tax extension...they are due!) special ed money is due... flu shots, sweaters to the dry cleaners, and putting up salsa, jam, and peaches for neighbors.( not that i do do that canning thing, but everyone i know does).and i now have to move my very, prego orb spider. My friend, Sam, assures me she looks very pg and is soon to deliver a 'bajillion' baby orbs on my gardening work table.....tomorrow, Jess moves Ms, Orbie to the field to deliver in private!! I wanted to keep her as she looks so much like Halloween, au natural, but not to be...off to the field with her....not to die, she is friendly and helpful, just not on my work table..shhh, she is asleep right now, and i dont want her to know, that tomorrow is moving day.

"oh grasshopper"!

Once i returned to school, i was wondering if my ocd issues with weeds in the spring and summer had to do with my misplaced 'teacher' approach: to trying to find a solution to things...how to help a kid with this or that, teach a skill, have materials ready- have my tools for the yard- digging in the dirt- getting down on the floor with the kids...I have realized that i cannot fix everything..although i am sooo proud of my neighbors who have taken up the plow (literally), i also see yards who still need a good crashing...BUT slowly improving, slowly finding its own way and style...while raising children, taking care of ill parents, working extra jobs, and getting old.....and then i thought of another 'gardening' lesson that applies to my life..... the return of the grasshoppers...(not the locust plague)..just the lowly grasshopper...

When the grasshoppers hit late in the summer, i just want them GONE! I did put some mealy stuff in the shrubs, but was afraid of getting the corgis ill...and you cannot spray them without a huge lesson in futility... they are kind of creepy...and crunchy if you test it!  So, in guilt, i looked them on the internet...to find some reason why they should stay or go. well,  they do not eat any evil bugs, produce any lovely butterflys, do not smell fragrant, nor look lovely upon my marigolds as they light upon the petals..That would be the butterfly. Even spiders eat evil bugs!!!

Do grasshoppers provide a benefit to nature? YES...they teach us one thing...just to BE. They are only good for who they are. (.unless you are a chicken, then they are a tasty tidbit). The birds dont bother with them, so the grasshoppers  hang out on the shrubs, and jump around when you walk by, as in a greeting.

Soooo, grasshoppers are welcome so i can remember to just BE...just let some things occur in my yard, in my work, family and life because it does.. and that is a lot harder than i think it is!!!!

Just let my students BE- let the kids with Down syndrome be themselves, let the kids with Autism hang alone, the kids with CP be slower, the kids with gifts focus on those, the kids with ADD be spatially gifted, and the slow processing kids observe..and take their time.. we shouldn't try to cure kids with disabilities, but find ways to help them connect and be part of this lovely world..to just be..

For Katie B...

Katie,
 here are some posts from last fall pics that I took while hiking/Sunday driving  in PC over to Midway...stunning!
hope it doesn't make you too homesick!

K

maybe I could be a Wicca...if it weren't for that devil thing..

It is back to school time, and i find myself feeling guilty that i have my own share of 'dead heads' on my petunias and flower pots.  *another lesson- not everyone has as much free time as I do during the growing season....i am now an '8-5'er" and short on Landscaping Time...sure makes Retirement look good-)
to help with withdrawls from daily yardwork, Jess and I hit the nursery sales and returned with Treasures....
a lovely purple, potato bush/tree ( gotta Google it..too hard to describe- delicate with long thin branches and tiny purple flowers),  left.out.to.die. ground cover, fall pansies to replace my scraggly ones from May, and a NEW, WATER FEATURE!  not too big, 3 wine urns that trickle down from one to the other...the last one...(on sale)..Pip thinks it is his own personal, drinking fountain!
Oh, and a deep, pink large mum, for a now.green. only.flower.bed..-)

I told K2 that i was done blogging, now that school was back in session. She reminded me, "OH no!" you have much to do! Mom, your favorite season is coming up- Halloween ( it is a season in Utah) and you always have your opinions how it should be celebrated".  Soo, I should tell you why i love Halloween Season.

As August SLAMS into September with lightening, thunder, wind and hail, the leaves turn instantly. There is a strange feeling that slinks across the meadows and mountains with long, sun rays, and very quiet afternoons. It is actually cold at night...and DARK at dinner time and when you go to work!!! I get to pull out cute socks ( what not to wear) for school, and flannel pj's that don't have matching bottoms and tops.  My heart skips a beat when i stroll through Michael;s craft shop and it is loaded with orange, red, and black!!  the cuuuutest ghosts and witches, scarecrows and ghouls.  I had to walk with my hands in my pockets- a sure sign that i.am.not.buying.  I feel a connection with Autumn. I like the word "Atumnal Equinox' thinking everything is in balance.  I am a Fall Color person..(think dirt)I think I would like to be a Wiccan... I don't worship Mother Nature, but i sure feel drawn and want to to celebrate her. I am not into the ritual stuff; little dances in the full of the moon, nor meetings. I think it would be cool to have magic potions though..I have a list of things i would do with little viles of spells.  I just like the working with Mother Nature part.. this is a time i look for nymphs, find myself talking to plaster angels and fairies and worrying about bird feeders running empty. I always seem to remember to put my bulbs in on the coldest afternoon before an early fall snow storm!.... I am going to mark where i need some spring color now, so i don't forget when i am shopping..tall purple ones, like Karen's would be cool with the peach ones-)

THEN< I look around, and what do i see? not popcorn popping on the apricot trees,,,not colors, but PLASTIC! INFLATABLE YARD ORNAMENTS,  paper spiders, aaaaannnnddd...Christmas Lights!! Now i know it is a bit different in 'cold country'-Grandma calls it....we do have to get our lights up, as it is too cold, too soon and there is frost on the roof(unsafe) and sudden blizzards at any time...but please do not turn them on for 6 weeks.  If anyone wants cool ideas for Halloween, just shop around Northern Utah- These people know how to decorate for autumn...beautiful orange ceramics, black candle sticks, twinkling lights, and the food....heavy stews and .....too soon! sorry,

There is enough to do, to actually to slow down Halloween Season- The Sheepdog championships in town,  makes you want to shop for sweaters and Uggs, Swiss Days for crafts and presents and then, of course, FOOTBALL!  We have slowed down so much by not traveling the great state of Utah for high school ball games now that Jess has retired from coaching...but still go to the Ute games, 30 years!, and are anxious to see how they do before the big Pac 12 move!! Go Utes!!

Oh, and i probably should not forget to mention School! There is that you know...24-7..kids, schedules, parents, kids, meetings and kids...-)
I will leave this blog with a favorite poem;
September, October, November,
the wonderful months of Fall-
the days are short,
the nights are cool,
and all the kids go back to school-
September, October, November..
(sigh)

updates...and new ideas!

      So things are truely catching on.... my neighbors are weed whacking today and picked up their bag of weeds we have been waiting for them to load for days. My husband reassured me that we need to praise and not complain..."that progress is progress".. it works!
    Then he came up with a new idea....Mini Yard Crashes...so we identified a couple of houses that are near our rental home. There were plenty of weeds, but more clutter and litter laying around:.with many renters in and out...there just seems to be a collection of C-RAP that they leave behind...
    You have to understand, that most of these folks are ranked in the top 20 Skiers in the Rocky's...just ask them, they will tell you~!  So, they find a need to move around, as the snow demands, and their bar stories get stale.. THEN ; they leave all their groovy furniture, tye died rugs, yellow, plastic single -buckle boots, and old, single gloves, you name it..ALL over the side of the yard, in the shrubs, and walkways. With the tons of rain this month, the wild growth on the mountain side is, well, wild, and hides a multitude of sins, and C-RAP!
      So, we only worked for as long as it took to load the junk in the truck ( full to the brim),  and drove away... I pulled enough weeds to fill 3 barrels, Jess swept up...and there we were..ta da!.a Mini Crash-)


I need to go back to work, so i can rest!
PS:  don't hold me to that statement-)