Season's Greetings from the south western corner of India, Kerala. I love all that you write, contemplate and dream. Living in a tropical monsoonal land, I have never experienced snow or winter. But I love to read and think about what you so poetically write about snowflakes and biting winds, migratory birds and the long wait for spring. Yes I too loved The Overstory which I savored page by page. I wanted to write down every one of the lyrical sentences of Richard Powers. Hauntingly beautiful book. Love and Wishes for peace, joy, health and harmony in the New Year and the years to come. Santhi
Thank you dear Louise, I have just spotted snow flakes on my weather map and I am trying not to let that childlike excitement build up only to be disappointed again when they disappear in a day or so! I honestly think the cows and my sheep will be relieved, they must despair at the constant mud and turloughs, especially when other four legged creatures are purring and cosy on a cushion by the fire! I pray for snowflakes, for us all! xx
Many Thanks Betty, I hope your week has been one of tying up and tidying loose ends in readiness for a relaxing festive break. I have one more week of classes to get through before I can even think about even putting up that tree yet - it still sits, unadorned in its Christmas sparkles, naked and more than a little unloved on the terrace!
Haha, Thank you, don't tempt me Jonathan - you would be lumbered all winter!
Grateful thanks to you for all your wonderful support, apologies for delayed responses this end, the Christmas build up and extra organisation is all consuming - this morning, once again, the entire school will be loaded onto a bus and transported to La Salle des Fêtes for festive theatrics - fabulous for them, exhausting for us!
Thank you. For this, and for sharing this. It is very good to be reminded of what is real and important in life, and you do it so very admirably.
I would send flurries and flakes your way, but they are resting teasingly close, a few descending to our level, but most a hundred and fifty metres higher.
I really appreciate your words and images, and how you allow us into your world. It is a true treat.
Thank you Alex, as always I am grateful for you and to you in this magical space on the internet, I too am terribly behind on reading but holidays are looming fast and with them (once christmas shenanigans are done with) I will have time for catching up curled in front of the fire with a hot chocolate and home made mince pies to hand - I am looking forward to it immensely!
There is still no sign of a snowflake here despite grey skies and cold temperatures, I have high hopes that they will arrive at some point through the winter months though, eternal optimist that I am!
Wishing you a kind and peaceful day my friend, thank you again.
I have yet to find mincemeat I would actually buy here. Its worth making though, the difference in flavour is well worth the effort!
It’s been very cold here all week but damp grey cold, the sort where you don’t think its as cold as it is and are never quite warm enough, one morning was glorious though, crispy white leaves and ice on puddles glorious!
I have never made my own mincemeat! I am absolutely going to write a reminder for this, for next year (or maybe just at some point after Christmas!). I love that idea.
Weather still dark and cold, but no snow down here (lots on the tops, though). I am trying to make the most of the hour or less of sunshine when/if it appears at lunchtime. I timed it last week, and the sun peeked out from behind the mountain at 1137, then disappeared at 1234. That’s not a lot of direct light, but still warmer on the face than in the north of Scotland, I suppose, and much higher in the sky, too, so brighter throughout the day. I’ll take small positives where I can.
Do try the homemade mincemeat, you won’t regret it - or perhaps you will because shop bought simply isn’t good enough afterwards!
We’ve had just three hours of sunshine all weekend, al other hours were dark like dusk had fallen. I managed to dash to the top of the hill while the sun shone and was greeted by the glimmering white peaks of the snow covered Cantal Mountains in the distance - it felt like a mirage!
Oh, and the troll, I forgot to mention him - I loved David’s post too, and the trolls. They remind me of greetings cards or maybe they were post cards of pictures with a family of trolls, fishing and camping by a fire in the woods. Wonderful and magical, I can feel them there in your photograph just waiting for us pass by so they can return to their quiet activities ❄️
Oh don't remind me - I've dreamed about David's Troll all week Emily! Every calm moment in class has been taken up with scribbled sketches and ideas for my own woodland troll - its a huge undertaking though - a retirement project I think. 🙏🏼
The beautiful dance of the leaves as they fall, so wonderfully captured Susie. I too wish to be where snowflakes fall but we are unlikely to have any, and the disruption they would cause should they fall would be unhelpful to all that must be done. I can well believe that one tiny mouse sounds like there are a hundred, having lived, briefly with a mouse in the loft. The frost on the sheep and the owl, moments I’m grateful to enjoy in your letters. You bring me the beauty and wonder of the quiet and stillness of nature as you write, and I am grateful for it, I have ventured out only briefly with the dogs this week, the wind and rain here are sharp with cold and I am full of a cold, bunged up and drowning in mucus filled sinuses. I wish for an end to the rain, honestly, and some bright crisp stillness please. Sending love 💛✨
I am improving slowly, thank you dear Susie. Each day slightly better. Not bouncing back so fast as I used to, but the great privilege of being able to work from home and not go onto the office makes it easier. The mice can be so destructive on the inside of a house, I hope they behave. I do not know how the mouse in the loft of my childhood met its end, but mr P sets traps for the rats in the garden, as they will steal the birds eggs and the baby birds in the aviary if given the chance 😢 I hope the sun arrives soon to make us smile, we have grey and damp here, to match the grey and damp of my cold!
I hate resorting to traps as Im sure you do too but after another night of partying above me those mice are pushing their luck - we have humane traps but they are way too clever for those! I am glad your feeling better lovely, I wish I could work from home, Im not sure my husband would agree with having all those children sitting at my kitchen table though! 😂x
I do hope you're on the road to recovery dear Emily, and that the wind and the rain have come to a peaceful halt. Here the colours are rather grey and uninspiring but the rain has stopped falling, perhaps, hopefully, carried away by the wind to a place more in need. Here we are full up, overflowing in many places even... especially the hill which has a constant stream of water running onto the lane - treacherously so when the temperature dips below freezing - as I was unfortunate enough to discover first thing Monday morning!
My one little mouse is now several, he was obviously having such a wild time bouncing on the insulation between the floorboards he invited some friends to join in! And still I cannot bring myself to set traps... a fact I will regret.
Some bright and crisp stillness would be a dream this week for us too - Im sure its out there somewhere just waiting to make us smile! Sending love back to you with thanks always - take care of you 💛xx
"The forest is resting along with the farmer, there is no sound other than the river at the bottom of the valley." You capture the beauty of the countryside so well! I really enjoyed these short pieces.
Kindest thanks for reading Jeffrey, it is quite likely there are many more quiet moments like this during the year but in winter the silence appears so much louder...
I so join you Susie with such a thought! I wish to be where snow flakes fall. Every winter. What a beautiful essay. So peaceful apart from the mouse that you describe with such an great sense of humour
Belated thanks Pipp, still not a snowflake has fallen here, though it is certainly cold enough - I will keep on hoping and praying although it seems to have proven rather a fruitless task in recent years!
That mouse is now several, I think he must have a WhatsApp group and has been telling all his friends! 🙄
I'm happy the Canadian Snow Geese paid a visit. It was not a coincidence. As they fly over my house I asked them to include yours on their flight path. Did you see them tipping their wings to say hello from me? Your photos and daily experiences are wonderful short stories. You live a rich life my Sweetest soul. xoxo
Much love and humble thanks right back to you Kimberly, I have never considered my photography in doses of awe but this makes me smile from my heart...
Grumble though I do of the cold and damp, the two short days, I am finding much beauty in this melancholy season, there is much waiting comfort in the darkening hours knowing nothing more can be done and hunkering down in front of a roaring stove is absolutely permissible! x
A lovely meander through your week, Susie. We've had another mixed bag of temperatures - a couple of very cold mornings with attendant ice. I, in my muppetry and crocs, stepped on a sheet of ply wood on a small slope at the end of our garden as I headed out to our shop to forage for dinner. The minute I stepped on it, I knew it was a mistake and slid elegantly downslope landing on my backside and rolling off the sheet at the bottom. Nothing injured other than a dent in my pride. A mental note to pay more attention in future!!
I did exactly the same Lynn! There are many springs on the hill and because we have had such a very wet year they have all sprung to life, flooded the sloping land and water is pouring constantly onto our lane. I took one step onto what still looked like water on Monday morning, tried hard to stop the inevitable and landed hard on the iced tarmac! Ouch! No permeant damage was sustained and it was still dark so no spectators either!
Thanks for reading, I'm still waiting for snowflakes to appear, its definitely cold enough!
Absolutely scrumptious … I would read the book ‘A Year in the Life of a Hill and I’. Split into 4 seasons, daily notes, incredible photos … it would sit proudly on our coffee table, nudging us to make the most of the year, to notice more, to grab at slow moments …
Apologies for such a belated reply Barrie, the last two school weeks before the festive holidays are not being so generous with free time slots! Unlike you very generous comment. Thank you so much - I have already begun this project - five years ago! I add a few pages every year but fear the grand finale may have to wait for retirement! I am delighted to be encouraged though and what better place than Substack to perhaps do a little promoting. I hope you’re both staying cosy - its turned mighty cold here!
Chilly here too … a bite in the breeze. Tomorrow’s pedal to the shop might be rewarded with hot chocolate! And a roaring fire. The project will emerge when it is meant to. In the meantime, each snapshot is a tantalising glimpse between the covers and a ‘soft launch’ of the drafting process!
It is hard not to be in rhythm with nature here Sarah, especially in winter when everything living needs extra food and huddle in one warm place, the birds shelter in low branches, cattle and sheep always in the corner of the field protected from the wind... I think we all look forward to spring for so many reasons.
I hope you're cosy and warm, the wind was an icy damp blast running up the valley today, we have all been huddling tight!
Susie, I love to read about how the wind and weather and animals shape your days, all held so closely by the hill and trees and river. All seen through your artist’s eye and a wish for snow. Warm and lovely. xo ❄️❄️
Lovely diffused photos of light, Susie!
Kind thanks Ron, I am happy you enjoy my blurry art, I love that you use the word ‘diffused’ so much 🙏🏼
Dear Susie,
Season's Greetings from the south western corner of India, Kerala. I love all that you write, contemplate and dream. Living in a tropical monsoonal land, I have never experienced snow or winter. But I love to read and think about what you so poetically write about snowflakes and biting winds, migratory birds and the long wait for spring. Yes I too loved The Overstory which I savored page by page. I wanted to write down every one of the lyrical sentences of Richard Powers. Hauntingly beautiful book. Love and Wishes for peace, joy, health and harmony in the New Year and the years to come. Santhi
Lovely. I want to be where snowflakes are, too. And cows. Lots of cows. And cats. x
Thank you dear Louise, I have just spotted snow flakes on my weather map and I am trying not to let that childlike excitement build up only to be disappointed again when they disappear in a day or so! I honestly think the cows and my sheep will be relieved, they must despair at the constant mud and turloughs, especially when other four legged creatures are purring and cosy on a cushion by the fire! I pray for snowflakes, for us all! xx
I loved these daily notes and how you find a little difference in every day.
Many Thanks Betty, I hope your week has been one of tying up and tidying loose ends in readiness for a relaxing festive break. I have one more week of classes to get through before I can even think about even putting up that tree yet - it still sits, unadorned in its Christmas sparkles, naked and more than a little unloved on the terrace!
Hi Susie. We were out of town for 5 days last weekend and I feel very crunched for time. NYC daughter is arriving Tuesday!
I want to be where snowflakes fall…
Come on over, I've got plenty to spare :)
Beautiful weaving of words an image creates your always soothing and spectacular tapestry. Thanks Susie, loved it, as always.
Haha, Thank you, don't tempt me Jonathan - you would be lumbered all winter!
Grateful thanks to you for all your wonderful support, apologies for delayed responses this end, the Christmas build up and extra organisation is all consuming - this morning, once again, the entire school will be loaded onto a bus and transported to La Salle des Fêtes for festive theatrics - fabulous for them, exhausting for us!
Thank you. For this, and for sharing this. It is very good to be reminded of what is real and important in life, and you do it so very admirably.
I would send flurries and flakes your way, but they are resting teasingly close, a few descending to our level, but most a hundred and fifty metres higher.
I really appreciate your words and images, and how you allow us into your world. It is a true treat.
Thank you Alex, as always I am grateful for you and to you in this magical space on the internet, I too am terribly behind on reading but holidays are looming fast and with them (once christmas shenanigans are done with) I will have time for catching up curled in front of the fire with a hot chocolate and home made mince pies to hand - I am looking forward to it immensely!
There is still no sign of a snowflake here despite grey skies and cold temperatures, I have high hopes that they will arrive at some point through the winter months though, eternal optimist that I am!
Wishing you a kind and peaceful day my friend, thank you again.
It was the coldest night so far here, thick rime everywhere, leaves frozen and crunchy, breath in clouds. Still no snow, though.
I wonder if I could source some mincemeat for mince pies! And make gluten-free pastry, too. Hmmm.
I have yet to find mincemeat I would actually buy here. Its worth making though, the difference in flavour is well worth the effort!
It’s been very cold here all week but damp grey cold, the sort where you don’t think its as cold as it is and are never quite warm enough, one morning was glorious though, crispy white leaves and ice on puddles glorious!
I have never made my own mincemeat! I am absolutely going to write a reminder for this, for next year (or maybe just at some point after Christmas!). I love that idea.
Weather still dark and cold, but no snow down here (lots on the tops, though). I am trying to make the most of the hour or less of sunshine when/if it appears at lunchtime. I timed it last week, and the sun peeked out from behind the mountain at 1137, then disappeared at 1234. That’s not a lot of direct light, but still warmer on the face than in the north of Scotland, I suppose, and much higher in the sky, too, so brighter throughout the day. I’ll take small positives where I can.
Do try the homemade mincemeat, you won’t regret it - or perhaps you will because shop bought simply isn’t good enough afterwards!
We’ve had just three hours of sunshine all weekend, al other hours were dark like dusk had fallen. I managed to dash to the top of the hill while the sun shone and was greeted by the glimmering white peaks of the snow covered Cantal Mountains in the distance - it felt like a mirage!
I shall make it!
We have so little direct sun now (today was 1142 to 1231), it is ridiculous! Still, the turning of the year approaches, and I can’t wait.
Oh, and the troll, I forgot to mention him - I loved David’s post too, and the trolls. They remind me of greetings cards or maybe they were post cards of pictures with a family of trolls, fishing and camping by a fire in the woods. Wonderful and magical, I can feel them there in your photograph just waiting for us pass by so they can return to their quiet activities ❄️
Oh don't remind me - I've dreamed about David's Troll all week Emily! Every calm moment in class has been taken up with scribbled sketches and ideas for my own woodland troll - its a huge undertaking though - a retirement project I think. 🙏🏼
That would be so awesome Susie. I love to dream of creativity, even if it stays in my imagination- the dreaming is magical 💛
The beautiful dance of the leaves as they fall, so wonderfully captured Susie. I too wish to be where snowflakes fall but we are unlikely to have any, and the disruption they would cause should they fall would be unhelpful to all that must be done. I can well believe that one tiny mouse sounds like there are a hundred, having lived, briefly with a mouse in the loft. The frost on the sheep and the owl, moments I’m grateful to enjoy in your letters. You bring me the beauty and wonder of the quiet and stillness of nature as you write, and I am grateful for it, I have ventured out only briefly with the dogs this week, the wind and rain here are sharp with cold and I am full of a cold, bunged up and drowning in mucus filled sinuses. I wish for an end to the rain, honestly, and some bright crisp stillness please. Sending love 💛✨
I am improving slowly, thank you dear Susie. Each day slightly better. Not bouncing back so fast as I used to, but the great privilege of being able to work from home and not go onto the office makes it easier. The mice can be so destructive on the inside of a house, I hope they behave. I do not know how the mouse in the loft of my childhood met its end, but mr P sets traps for the rats in the garden, as they will steal the birds eggs and the baby birds in the aviary if given the chance 😢 I hope the sun arrives soon to make us smile, we have grey and damp here, to match the grey and damp of my cold!
I hate resorting to traps as Im sure you do too but after another night of partying above me those mice are pushing their luck - we have humane traps but they are way too clever for those! I am glad your feeling better lovely, I wish I could work from home, Im not sure my husband would agree with having all those children sitting at my kitchen table though! 😂x
I do hope you're on the road to recovery dear Emily, and that the wind and the rain have come to a peaceful halt. Here the colours are rather grey and uninspiring but the rain has stopped falling, perhaps, hopefully, carried away by the wind to a place more in need. Here we are full up, overflowing in many places even... especially the hill which has a constant stream of water running onto the lane - treacherously so when the temperature dips below freezing - as I was unfortunate enough to discover first thing Monday morning!
My one little mouse is now several, he was obviously having such a wild time bouncing on the insulation between the floorboards he invited some friends to join in! And still I cannot bring myself to set traps... a fact I will regret.
Some bright and crisp stillness would be a dream this week for us too - Im sure its out there somewhere just waiting to make us smile! Sending love back to you with thanks always - take care of you 💛xx
"The forest is resting along with the farmer, there is no sound other than the river at the bottom of the valley." You capture the beauty of the countryside so well! I really enjoyed these short pieces.
Kindest thanks for reading Jeffrey, it is quite likely there are many more quiet moments like this during the year but in winter the silence appears so much louder...
I am delighted you enjoyed the peace.
I so join you Susie with such a thought! I wish to be where snow flakes fall. Every winter. What a beautiful essay. So peaceful apart from the mouse that you describe with such an great sense of humour
Belated thanks Pipp, still not a snowflake has fallen here, though it is certainly cold enough - I will keep on hoping and praying although it seems to have proven rather a fruitless task in recent years!
That mouse is now several, I think he must have a WhatsApp group and has been telling all his friends! 🙄
Naughty mouse!! Maybe he’s having a Christmas party!
Cold here too. Feels as if snow isn’t far away
Perhaps if we both dream of a white christmas it might actually happen! 🤞🏽
ok.
I'm on it.
I'm happy the Canadian Snow Geese paid a visit. It was not a coincidence. As they fly over my house I asked them to include yours on their flight path. Did you see them tipping their wings to say hello from me? Your photos and daily experiences are wonderful short stories. You live a rich life my Sweetest soul. xoxo
Your photography takes my breath away, always. (Both you and David Perry’s imagery are soul medicine, always delivering the perfect dose of awe.)
“Winter Emerging” in particular, pours honey all over the melancholy corners of my being, a reminder of sweetening within the darkness.
Much love to you and your luminous self that is time and time again able to reach through your hands, lens, and then captured for all our eyes to see.
Much love and humble thanks right back to you Kimberly, I have never considered my photography in doses of awe but this makes me smile from my heart...
Grumble though I do of the cold and damp, the two short days, I am finding much beauty in this melancholy season, there is much waiting comfort in the darkening hours knowing nothing more can be done and hunkering down in front of a roaring stove is absolutely permissible! x
A lovely meander through your week, Susie. We've had another mixed bag of temperatures - a couple of very cold mornings with attendant ice. I, in my muppetry and crocs, stepped on a sheet of ply wood on a small slope at the end of our garden as I headed out to our shop to forage for dinner. The minute I stepped on it, I knew it was a mistake and slid elegantly downslope landing on my backside and rolling off the sheet at the bottom. Nothing injured other than a dent in my pride. A mental note to pay more attention in future!!
I did exactly the same Lynn! There are many springs on the hill and because we have had such a very wet year they have all sprung to life, flooded the sloping land and water is pouring constantly onto our lane. I took one step onto what still looked like water on Monday morning, tried hard to stop the inevitable and landed hard on the iced tarmac! Ouch! No permeant damage was sustained and it was still dark so no spectators either!
Thanks for reading, I'm still waiting for snowflakes to appear, its definitely cold enough!
Absolutely scrumptious … I would read the book ‘A Year in the Life of a Hill and I’. Split into 4 seasons, daily notes, incredible photos … it would sit proudly on our coffee table, nudging us to make the most of the year, to notice more, to grab at slow moments …
Apologies for such a belated reply Barrie, the last two school weeks before the festive holidays are not being so generous with free time slots! Unlike you very generous comment. Thank you so much - I have already begun this project - five years ago! I add a few pages every year but fear the grand finale may have to wait for retirement! I am delighted to be encouraged though and what better place than Substack to perhaps do a little promoting. I hope you’re both staying cosy - its turned mighty cold here!
Chilly here too … a bite in the breeze. Tomorrow’s pedal to the shop might be rewarded with hot chocolate! And a roaring fire. The project will emerge when it is meant to. In the meantime, each snapshot is a tantalising glimpse between the covers and a ‘soft launch’ of the drafting process!
I leaning on the theory/hope that the longer it takes the better it will be! 😉
💛✍️💛
I love these daily snippets, Susie. They're such lovely insight into the rhythm of your nature life.
It is hard not to be in rhythm with nature here Sarah, especially in winter when everything living needs extra food and huddle in one warm place, the birds shelter in low branches, cattle and sheep always in the corner of the field protected from the wind... I think we all look forward to spring for so many reasons.
I hope you're cosy and warm, the wind was an icy damp blast running up the valley today, we have all been huddling tight!
Susie, I love to read about how the wind and weather and animals shape your days, all held so closely by the hill and trees and river. All seen through your artist’s eye and a wish for snow. Warm and lovely. xo ❄️❄️
Such a lovely comment you write Carmine. That you see it is artistry is a a heart warming balm - Thank you so much 🙏🏼x