Well, Blow Me Down!

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you.
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I.
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.

Christina Rossetti

Should the wind ever stop blowing, it will be a miracle along the lines of loaves and fishes. However, until then, we are learning to tie on our hats, securely close the outer doors, and leave nothing outside that we don't want to fetch.

Probably the most poignant thing is watching the birds struggle to get to the feeders. We are under siege from blue jays, cardinals, phoebes, house wrens, and chicadees. They struggle to reach the feeder and then to hold on before being swept off by the wind. Finally, they give up and go to the snow to collect a little dinner before flying off to shelter.

Even the cats are disinterested in hunting right now. They are staying balled up on the porch, following the sun as it travels from the front porch to the side before slipping behind the mountain. Tiggie, the 19-year-old cat, has discovered that she can fit just in the crook of Annabelle's (the Pyrennes) tummy and legs if she wiggles down just right. I wish I could catch a quick shot of them sleeping, but they leap up, almost ashamed of being a peaceable kingdom of dog and cat sharing body heat. They adamantly refuse to come indoors, preferring the porch or the shed to the over heated kitchen.

Today at work, after a week off because of extreme weather, my office mates and I agreed to change our door art to spring time wreaths. Holding hope in the sympathetic magic of like drawing like, flowers, birds, and butterflies now fill our office doors. If nothing else, we have brought spring indoors and have planted a little seed of hope for warmer days. Or, we have confirmed that humanities faculty are indeed a little off plumb. Your choice.

In the meantime, I tie on my boggin, layer long johns, sweat pants, insulated bibs, long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, insulated jacket and gloves, go out to the barn with the goats and sit in the sun which surfs between the clouds. And I dream of bees making cleansing flights and honey.

Added at 6:39 p.m.: I know why I have been cross about all the snow. My feet have been really cold. Ends up one pair of boots had a hole in 'em I didn't notice until my feet were noticably wet. So, I put on a pair of my son's (with thinsulate and two pairs of socks). Warm! I love winter and snow again!