Samhain Thanksgiving Moon
Sitting here, the gas stove burning away behind me, the weather system panel above showing 19 degrees outside. The patio furniture has snow cover easily at the 14-16 inch level. The patio umbrella, still outside to my surprise, has a conical hat that looks a lot like the pope’s bee hive crown. The bees have formed themselves into balls, crawling over each other to keep the entire colony warm.
Outside the window here the view is now white and sculpted as opposed to yesterday’s green-brown and late fall dismal. The world narrows now, down to the yard, the house. Inside baking and writing and sewing and dogs sleeping. Outside the world has become Arctic.
These are the days that people notice, those not living in a northern climate, and wonder, why do they live there? It’s a fair question. We wonder the same about Phoenix in September. Florida in hurricane season. Las Vegas and L.A. in a drought. Yet we have our preferences, we humans. Those of us who live here love the change, the magical transformation snow brings. We know how to dress for the cold, to enjoy it.
If you want to see the north in its true dress, come visit in late December or January. Then. Then you’ll see us at our happiest.
