Daily Archives: November 7, 2014

Colorado, Friends, Minnesota, The Move

Neither Here nor There

Leave a comment

Samain                                                                        Closing Moon

Finding myself in a strange psychic netherworld, neither wholly ready to act, nor wholly unwilling, between this state and that state. This mood will lift, perhaps by tomorrow, but right now. Neither this nor that. Doesn’t seem odd to me, one possible result from what feels now like a rush to the finish, yet the location of that rush to the finish being a place of stasis for over 20 years.

Living in the move has been our mantra for the last 8 months and we will, in just over a month, live the move. That’s a different interior location, the difference between preparation and action. While in the mode of preparation we have been able to live the comfortable old life and indulge in fantasy about Colorado. Now, though, the preparation is coming to an end and we will have to face the real world consequences of our decision.

One conversation I had with a friend over the last month lead us to wonder if there is no morality, just consequences. That is, ideas and actions are neither good nor bad, just consequential. Whatever the truth value of that idea, it does seem that maturation comes when we accept responsibility for our actions and their consequences.

In this case there are two large stroke consequences that have been obvious from the beginning; the notion of living in the move has been an exercise in accepting both of them. The first is a going away from, a leaving behind of friends, memories, familiar places, habits and routines. The second is a moving toward, a discovering of new places, new friends, creating new memories, habits and routines. No, it’s not as black and white as I state it here. The two consequences will bleed into each other, interact. Friends will visit Colorado; we will return to Minnesota for example.

But the consequences remain. Physical separation, especially 900 miles, changes the nature of all kinds of relationships: personal, geographical, botanical, navigational. The exact nature of the changes will not be known for several years, probably, and that’s a good thing. A gradual rather than a sudden unveiling seems easier on the psyche.

Colorado, Memories, The Move

There and Back Again

Leave a comment

Samain                                                                            Closing Moon

At some point the weather of Conifer and Andover will diverge. This week is a foretaste. Andover heads into the teens while Conifer remains in the 30’s and 40’s. This divergence will increase as December and January come with Andover getting colder and colder, but Conifer remaining 10 to 20 degrees warmer. Fortunately, this process reverses as Andover heats up, Conifer remains cooler and will eventually be cooler consistently than Andover during the summer months. From my perspective this is an ideal divergence from our norms here, mildly warmer in the winter, markedly cooler in the summer. And, yes, this factored in our choice of locations.

Going to lay down the broadcast in the vegetable garden and the orchard this morning, then mulch. Kate and Anne planted next year’s garlic crop while I was in Colorado. With no additional effort then, the new owners will have apples, pears, plums, cherries, currants, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus and garlic from their orchard and vegetable garden. In addition they will have daffodils, liguria, monkshood, many varieties of Asiatic lilies, iris and hemerocallis. Clematis, daffodils, tulips and fall crocus will IMAG0683bloom, too. Wisteria, lilac, bushy clematis and snakeroot put fragrance, delicate and sweet, in the air. They will have three different sheds in which to organize their outdoor life and a firepit for family evenings. There are, too, the separated plantings of prairie grass and wildflowers that bracket the front lawn, providing habitat for butterflies and other wildlife.

In addition the property has about 1.5 acres of woods, including a morel patch that shows up in the late spring. With the inground irrigation system this is a place for a person with an interest in living closer to the earth and harvesting the literal fruits of such a lifestyle.

Included with the property is enough woodenware to get a beekeeping hobby started.