As November fades

We currently have about 3 inches on the deck railings, at least where the birds and squirrels haven’t tromped the snow. Can birds and squirrels actually tromp? Maybe I should have written trod? You decide. Anyhow, by the time I fire up the snowblower I expect we’ll be blowing 4 or 5 inches of the white, flaky stuff. It will be less of a chore if the wind stays down until the drive is clear but I’m not counting on that.

The book we bought the other day, about the Yule Tomte, begins by telling us his name is Grump. I can relate. In fact, I noticed the Better Half smiling and quietly chuckling several times as she read the book and I’m now highly suspicious she was noting similarities between her spouse and the descriptions of the tomte’s characteristics. Or maybe it’s just my imagination. I did enjoy reading the story of The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits and look forward to sharing it with our Granddaughter, a few pages at a time.

Sigurd, now one of our traditional seasonal decorations

Photo by J. Harrington

With today’s snowfall, it looks as though we’re in for at least three solid months of a landscape that’s dominated by white, just as our summers are preponderantly green. Take a wild guess which I prefer. It seems to me that the way we’ve commercialized the Yule season we’ve lost touch with the seasonal changes it captured in the days of folklore. It is now less than a month until the shortest day / longest night of the year (in the northern hemisphere). Very soon after the winter solstice, the days begin to get longer. The earth begins to be reborn. Meanwhile most of us in western civilization try to plod on as if it weren’t the depths of winter, cold and snow covered. I’m not sure how we’re going to reclaim respect for the nature on which we depend for the real essentials of life, fresh air and clean water, if we remain separated from the seasonal rhythms that affect the rest of the earth’s inhabitants. Nowhere in any of the traditional Yule and Christmas stories with  which I’m familiar do I remember reading about “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday.”  And, while we’re on the subject, does anyone know where “Giving Tuesday” originated, and why.  Enough!

I’ve a Judy Collins Christmas CD on the stereo (yes, I am that old). The Better Half and I have begun pulling from storage seasonal decorations for assembling. I’m going to try to leave my grumpy elf aspects closed in a figurative chicken coop until New Year, or maybe even longer. As the author of Desiderata reminds us: “With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.” 

Earth, Teach Me.....Native American Quote

                Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.
                Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
            Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
                  Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
                  Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
          Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
              Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
              Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
              Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
          Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.
      Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.

                                                An Ute Prayer

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