Gone Hunting
- By: rebekah
- On: 02/15/2010 07:27:16
- In: Rumor Has It ...
- Comments: 18
The less I write, the harder it is. Way back when---when I posted three times a week on this blog---the posts just flew right out of my finger tips. Whoosh. I'd noisily pound all over the keyboard and voila! It was done.
But as other responsibilities have taken over, my time devoted to creativity and writing has lessened. Now I write a blog post here only every other week, and my fingers are no longer flying over the keyboard. No pounding. No whooshing. I just sit and stare at the screen. Every once in a while a soft, slow…click, click.
I think the biggest reason that it is harder now is because I’ve got so much to talk about. I mean, a bunch of things have happened since I last visited with you. I’ve started new projects; ideas have been brewing; I’ve tried lots of new recipes; things are happening! Of all that---what should I make the subject of this post? Which one is the most interesting? Which one do I have the best pictures for? So much pressure! So I sit here and stare at the screen. Hmmm….
Okay, here’s the deal. I’m just going with whatever pops in my head. Not the best. Not the most interesting. Not planned.
Just *pop.*
Oh no, oh dear, so sorry, oh my goodness...
It's snow. Snow. And. Enchantment.
I can just imagine how tired some of you are of snow. They say that there is snow on the ground in 49 out of the 50 states right now. But for us in the south? We’re happy and surprised to be one of those 49.
We have actually had a fantastic winter here in Dixie. No, not much on the ground, but quite a few days of flurries, little scatterings of white fluff. If you lived in the south your whole, entire life (like I have) then chances are that you DREAM ABOUT and LOVE snow.
Snow is enchantment around here.
People make fun of our snow rituals. In the south when we hear a forecast for snow, we run to the store, shut down the schools and businesses. I’ve always wanted to defend "us" on this point. Snow in the south isn't just snow: it is celebration. It is an event. It is a holiday. It really is enchantment. We celebrate even the slightest prediction of snow.
Because. Well, it's not old hat. It's new hat.
So we run out and get milk so we can make snow cream...
yum!
(p.s. there's a pan under all that snow just to collect snow-I put it out just in case the weathermen were right!)
and we buy the ingredients for chili....
And we build fires in the fireplace. And make hot chocolate and/or hot totties. And we STAY HOME from school and work so we can celebrate. See? We choose to respond like this to snow. It's not crazy; it's fun. A fun choice.
I was talking the other day to someone who had moved this year to the south from the north. She was commenting (through her giggles) about what we go through here to prepare for a few flurries. She asked me if we southerners thought we'd actually be snowed-in for days and find ourselves in need of that bread and milk we rush out to buy. I explained it to her how it is a party. A holiday. She finally said, "You know, it has actually been kind of fun. There is a lot of excitement about it."
Yes, exactly. Excitement.
Now, as if the snow weren't enough enchantment for us already, my daughter piled on some more. She had the idea to "go fairy hunting" in the snow flurries.
I'm always up for inserting enchantment in our lives. Just like that joy I chase, if I don't intentionally insert enchantment, then chances are that I won’t have any.
And have you noticed what I've noticed? Being an adult usually means having tons of responsibility. Responsibility weighs us down. Being weighed down is being burdened, and worried, and heavy.
Bringing enchantment into our lives is one way we can lighten up.
My daughter has such a spark of enchantment. (And I hope she keeps it!) She has always believed in fairies and magic. Remember last year when she made the fairy dancers for her class project? Some of her classmates told her there were no such thing as fairies. She told me that she asked those non-fairy-believers if they had ever heard of the tooth "FAIRY"? She said they stared at her, stumped. Duh.
So at her beckoning, on one of those recent “flurries in the air” days, my daughter and I went on a Fairy Hunt. We’ve got some woods behind our house, so we decided to go on our flurries-in-the-air-fairy-hunt there.
Come with us….
The gate to the woods
Here is our very own Fairy Tree.
Hello? Hello? Any fairies in there?
When we lived in this house before my daughter actually saw "a fairy" in our fairy tree. Well, the arm of a fairy. She said that it was thin and small and brown and sticking out of one of the tiny holes inside the big hole. (Hey, no comment from me, fairy-believing, but also snake phobic.)
Today no fairies, just Strudel-Noodle. She loves this tree.
Here's another fairy tree...
Hello? Hello? Any fairies in there?
No, only shells from acorns and hickory nuts.
How about here?
Hello? Hello? Little fairies!
Hey, Mom, I'll look----
Nope, No fairies today....
How about in this tree?
Little fairies! Come on out to see us!
No fairies there either.
(This has got to be my favorite tree on our property.)
Soon that snow melted.
But joy of joys! A few days later it snowed some more! And we went on another fairy hunt. This time we took Hubby.
'
This looks very fairy-ish indeed!
And look how fairy-ish this is!
Gorgeous.
Ah, and then eight hours later, the snow was gone yet again.
You know what they say about the weather in the south: if you don’t like the weather today, just wait ‘til tomorrow.
Here's the front of our house that morning.
Here it is that same afternoon.
I know there’s a debate out in the world about whether a child should have “fantasy” and “enchantment” in her/his life. Whether we adults should foster it in their minds.
And yes, I also know that dancing around in the yard, throwing glitter in the air, and searching for fairies doesn’t pay the bills. But, it sure makes life fun. It lightens us up. It makes whatever we do to pay the bills easier to take.
So, there’s no debate for me. In our little corner of the world, we encourage and embrace enchantment.
(And just so you know…when my daughter was much younger she let me in on a secret: I actually have five children. The other four are just invisible.)
Until next time, Friends, savor the flavor of life!
Lots of love, The City Farmgirl, Rebekah
(I finally talked my hubby into letting me post a video of him singing. I caught him off guard with my little digital camera. www.rebekahteal.com I’m going to post some snow pics too. Just in case you haven’t seen enough in your own backyard!)
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Comments
Thanks Rebekah for a great post! You pulled another rabbit out of the hat for your readers!
Deb~
And snow cream - yum! Of all of the snow I have experienced, never once have I had snow cream! I am going to do a little research and surprise my sweetheart with it next storm.
Oh, and please tell your daughter that my neighbor gave me a pop-up fairy book last year that I absolutely adore...and I am 36 years old. Are there gnomes out your way, by any chance?
V
PS Can't access the video of hubster singing Blackbird but will try again later - my computer is feisty...
Looking forward to the next post!!
I very much enjoy your blog posts and your style of writing. So relaxing to read at the end of a stressful day. Your comments always help "flip the switch" in my brain from the craziness of my day to a feeling of calm, peace, and serenity. Thank you!
Your chilli looked good...hint hint, do you share recipes?
thanks!!
We both (my husband and I) grew up in eastern Wa. in lots of snow, spent many years on the coast of Wa. with lots of gray, and retired more than 10 years ago back in eastern Wa. and had wonderful snowy winters...that is until this winter. I know the magic snow brings. Miss it....There's always next year.
Happy fairy hunting.
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