Saturday, January 28, 2012

Musings.....








I love January - it's such a peaceful, quiet month - resolutions and new beginnings or not. After the flushed and glowing, ginger heavy scentedness that seems to hang over the bustle and busy of November and December, this part of the season is filled with the fresh air of comparative blankness. This year, the snow has matched the activity of the calendar beautifully. As the earthy meetings with friends and family (which can start to feel cumulatively complex) finally slowed down and the noise faded away and the calendar cleared,  the landscape outside was blurred to simplicity in the white blanketing of snow that has, finally, apparently, come for good. Now, everything's purified and made newborn in pristine white. Now, the cold and ice has come in earnest, driving us indoors, even as the sun is coming back to us more and more, every day, and streaming through the windows - making our home a veritable solarium of bright warmth - its own genial terrarium - while the hard cold presses in from the outside.

I'm not sure if I've been dancing into the new year or dreaming, drifting and floating into it. I do know that this year has started with much more happiness and peace than the last one did and I am deeply glad for that. In the meantime, reading so many posts, lately, it's been a bit bemusing to observe how differently we all react to January. Some of us seem to charge into the new year - robust and energetic - full of gusto and plans. Others of us seem to be introspective and, even, a bit lost in a happy way. I am, definitely, of the latter perspective. No matter how hard I try and plan ahead in December, I slow almost to a misty halt in January.

Speaking of dreaming, a couple of you have asked me if I'm planning for my garden, yet, and I must confess, I've had only a brief and vague thought for it as I've made sure that I would receive my seed catalogs, this year. However, the time to plant seeds seems so very, extremely far off - like in another world or era. The magazines are telling me that I want to reorganize my home and, indeed, I have projects started - both in my heart and in earnest (think, 'reorganizing closets and cupboards'! =]) - but, mostly, I'm dreaming of it all. Just dreaming - reading, thinking, thinking, thinking. I'm thinking of beautiful images and ideals while I'm looking through my windows at the beauty outside and loving the way that the light shines back, falling on my half finished projects. Even as night and dark and chill, still, come early, we're snug and cheery inside.....




 



 




The frost garden on my bedroom window...






















 









"The quiet in the house echoes the quiet outside, where ice-sheathed bare branches are gilded in the sunshine, and snow has stifled movement, except that marked by the little birds' interwoven tracks..... This day is waning, the wan sun sinking, the fire needing a stir and a poke. And what have I accomplished? My January day, like the forest outside, looks from afar like a snarl of dead ends and broken places - sere, not serene. But I know different, here at the beginning of the year. Things are stirring, however circular my thoughts, just as the sap is rising in the tangled and hidden world outside. The strength, the purpose, and the flowering of the coming months start here, in the depths of winter, and the icebound month of January."

~Catherine Calvert for Victoria Magazine, January/February 2010



I'm sorry to the few of you who've heard about this, already....  I have to confess that the quiet of January was violently interrupted for a few days with much shrieking, clamor and waving of excited hands when my "Jack Frost" photo (shared in the middle of the post, up above) - an image taken of the frost on my bedroom window - was selected as an 'editor's choice' on 500px. You can read about it HERE. It was funny how easily and quickly life calmly slipped back into its sleepy ways, again, though. It's, sort of, old news, now - sort of....but very happy and I just wanted to share it with the few of you who wouldn't have heard about it, yet. =]






14 comments:

  1. I am new to your blog, it is beautiful. God's blessing to you.

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  2. A beautiful post and I love your writing
    Have a joyful weekend

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  3. What a beautiful relaxing post Kathy !!...love and blessings from me...xxx..

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  4. A lovely read on this cold Sunday morning in England, we are expecting our first snow this winter, and so love the photos of your home. I have just come across your lovely blog and will be following it.
    have a great week.
    Jillx

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  5. congratulations on your selection and I agree, it is a lovely calming and relaxing post and it sounds like you have a lot of plans and dreams too, lovely post and photographs.

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  6. Hello Katy:
    What a beautifully dreamlike post you delight us with here. We do agree that January is a month giving the most welcome of opportunities to slow down, reflect and make plans of what might be in the coming year. There is never a rush as inhospitable weather always serves to prevent one from venturing too far from home and hibernating at the first possible chance.

    Your photographs are absolutely wonderful, and how exciting that you have had one published. It is really rather nice when one feels that something one has done has been really appreciated by another. It gives a real sense f achievement and rightly so!!

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  7. Yay, photographer of the month, YES YOU ARE...and it is brilliant your picture Katy, really brilliant. I am longing for some snow - plenty of frost but no snow. I am a slow starter too, like to get my thoughts straight, such as they are and I quite like them wonky too so mustn't grumble...Happy Sunday,

    Love Sarah -x-

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  8. Dear Katy,

    You sound a bit like me. All that dreaming and thinking. I am glad to read that your are just like that too, but I already new that :-)

    You posted such pretty photo's today. All that snow!!! We may get some this week too. Temperatures are slowly dropping to -10 degrees celcius. It won't be long before we can fetch our skates from the loft.

    I enjoyed seeing your colourful Christmas decorations; the leaves above your windows, with natural decorations (how pretty can icycles be!), the colourful balls and best of all the ice flowers on your windows. They look amazing!! I understand why you won the price :-). Congratulations!!!! I will check out the link in a minute.

    Wish you a happy new week!

    Lieve groet,

    Madelief x

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  9. Forgot to mention, what a lovely photo of yourself :-)!

    Madelief x

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  10. Hi, my Angel-

    after a long break, I am able to look at your wonderful and really genius photos again. We got a new computer - not this little netbook from my daughter, which was to small for my eyes to enjoy your blog...

    Really great photos- and the landscape around you- I love it...

    It´s really a wonder- your face- shot from the side looks really like my mother- and my daughter, too- cause they got nearly the same face :-) So I have always the feeling, you are a member of my family :-)

    I hope, you feel good.

    I have some problems with my hip and my back- but I am an old lady- heehee ;-)) so that´s normal, I think...

    Enjoy your day, pretty lady-

    I think of you- Ines

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  11. All your photos here are beautiful and I can see why one of them won you recognition as a photographer. I agree with you regarding the month of January. It is an opportunity for reflection and one for rebuilding and beginning things anew.

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  12. Hello!
    Is that your red barn?
    SO incredible and what a view!
    I see some of my readers commenting here :) The Hattatts and Helen Tilston. Small world LOL!

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  13. What a beautiful passage from Catherine Calvert, and what a lovely self portrait! It is so nice to visit here and read your thoughts on January. This has been quite a good month for me -- much better than usual. I think maybe it's the warmer weather... It is a quiet month, though, and I treasure that. Thanks for sharing your beautiful images, and congrats again on being an editor's pick. It is wonderful! xoxo

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