Looking out the window, I see blue skies dotted here and there with purplish clouds.  They meander slowly along over an Earth that, from a Raven's point of view, looks bare and brown.  As the kids and I ventured out for our morning walk, the air was crisp and fresh, and and there was a light frost sticking to the tips of the spruce boughs.  We brought along a few tubs to gather more lingonberries along the way.  When you get down close enough to the land to touch her floor, it's not so bare and brown after all.  There are still greens and reds to be seen, and if you happen to glance up the trunk of a willow or a birch, you might notice pussywillows beginning to sprout.

 

I read back over those words, wondering what to entitle this post, and it seems as thought it should have some Spring-y title, doesn't it?  Yet it is October in the Interior...and not just any old October, but the near-end of October.  Where is Jack Frost?  Where is King Winter?  Where is the Crystal Queen?

 

By this time of year, there is typically measurable hard pack.  The trees typically hold their first dusting of white, and the air is chill.  By this time, I am usually wearing wool gloves, a winter coat and snow boots when I go out for a walk. 

 

It is so strange!  I told the kids that if this weather holds out, they are going to experience weather on Hallow's Eve like I did as a kid in Ohio!

 

We have been busy lately continuing our preparations for winter, but I have a different cell phone now and can't figure out how to get my photos from it onto the computer.  So, hopefully soon, I will have pictures of our weekend at Feedback Farm where we butchered pigs for the first time.  We now have ham and bacon curing, bone broth cooling and other pig parts waiting for processing into ground meat and sausage.  It was a highly educational and super fun experience, and I am excited to share the adventure.  It is always so satisfying to get one more step closer to being more self-sufficient and also to lay down in our cozy bed at the end of a weekend filled with hard work, friends and laughter, shared meals and lots of meat!

 

In the meantime, here are some pictures of sunrise from our rooftop...the rises and sets of the sun over the past several weeks have been spectacular.  The pictures cannot do justice to the real thing, but they certainly capture some moments of mother-daughter connection...

 

Dove and I had been doing some spontaneous painting at 5:00 in the morning...we were both having a hard time sleeping, so we got our creative juices flowing...

 

 

After a few paintings, I looked out the window, and noticed that the sky was exactly the colors of the painting Dove had just created:

Of course, we instantly headed outside to get a closer look.  When I looked through the trees, I felt like I finally understood what the color "peachblossom" really is - that color which is often referred to in books about Waldorf/Steiner watercolor painting that happens in the center of the color wheel if you get your colors to mix just right.  In the photo below, it looks more pink and purple.  But through my eyes at the time, it was this magical golden-peachy color that immediately transported me to an instant feeling of pure bliss:

 



 

 Immediately, we headed up the ladder to the roof, our favorite vantage  point for sky viewing...

 

  We stayed snuggled together in the crisp morning air until the sun made an appearance above the horizon.  The moment of magic was not wasted on either of us...we were entranced and so grateful for the gift of this moment!

 

 

~Blissings & Blessings~