Happy St. Patrick's Day

 There are things that I don't say anything about when I am filming the downsizing videos.  The last few days I feel like I need to express some of the meaning behind that sign.  Yesterday I wrote about how Gideon came up with the idea of having flying letters 'I' as pictures.  For St. Patrick's Day I looked through the internet for Irish symbols other than the shamrock and leprechaun.  What I found that struck a chord with me was the Green Man.  He is a Celtic symbol of rebirth.  As I go through all my things to downsize I feel that in the end, I will come out a slightly different person and thus reborn.  I don't expect some huge change.  I do hope to be lighter in a metaphysical sort of way.  Keziah was kind enough to draw a Green Man on today's sign.  Other happy things from today:

• Oddly enough the box I went through today had in it a fake gold coin.  It was a token from an attraction we went to years ago.  I thought that was kind of a cool thing to find on St. Patrick's Day.  Obviously, real gold would have been better.  😊
• Generally speaking I think it is getting easier to sort and get rid of some things.  Books are still hard to get rid of, but I am saying, "goodbye," to some of those too.
• There is a house down the road a little way that I walk by sometimes that has a brook running near it.  It is very picturesque.  Walking out back today and hearing the water in our little brook ripple down the hill I tried to imagine it looking as lovely as the other.  It won't, it is different and is beautiful in its own way.  I hope to find time to clear out around it more and make it more accessible.  Perhaps all it needs is the ability to see more of it.  
• Walking around the garden today I noticed that the peach tree and cherry tree are starting to form some buds.  

Peach tree, Marjorie.

Pretty sure this picture is of the cherry tree, Tucker.

• Since it is St. Patrick's Day I decided it was time to try the Bells of Ireland seeds I found that are dated for 1967.  Instead of planting them, I put some into a wet paper towel to see if they might germinate that way before putting them into soil.  After doing that, I saw a YouTube video about soaking seeds in a bowl of water overnight to test them.  I'm learning so much!

• I just learned that my aunt got vaccinated today against the Covid-19 virus.  YAY!!!

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Today I read from a small book I unpacked: Town Pounds of New England, by Elizabeth Banks MacRury.  The author researched and visited some New England Town Pounds and included a bit of history for them in the book.  

Stay safe.

Fresh Air

 There were surprisingly few animal footprints when I walked out back today.  There were a few deer tracks and something small like a mouse.  I could hear chickadees in the trees and saw a few morning doves.  The new tracks today were that of a snowmobile and the footprints of the rider.  My guess is that something happened with their machine, they walked home and then got another person to help them out.  Since I haven't been out there in over a week, I can only guess that this happened yesterday or the day before by the way the snow on their trails were a little melted, but not really covered.  

The walk was difficult, but very rejuvenating.  The temperatures soared into the 40's today so my winter jacket was perhaps too much as I moved slowly along on snowshoes.  I think I am getting better at using the snowshoes.  At least I didn't fall this time.  The fresh air and bird song was what I needed to get out of yesterday's miserable headspace.  I also took the time to notice the very beginnings of buds on some trees.  Signs of spring help warm my heart.

Deer prints.

Itty bitty leaf bud.

The Witch Tree still stands.

Other happy things today:

• My aunt got in touch with Keziah about borrowing some knitting needles.  Next thing I knew we were driving to meet her and then go on to her grandson's house that they are building.  He planned for a house for just him, and then he fell in love.  Thankfully there is room for two in the 30' X 30' house on a hill he is building.  

View from what will be the kitchen window.

Sunset.

• My cousin came by too.  Her dog, Daisy, is always looking for attention.  Daisy got so many cuddles and scritches as she went between Bel and I and anyone else in the room.

Isn't she adorable?

• While the sun was shining, the front room heated way up.  Winston loves it out there.

Winston, watching the wildlife out the front room window.

February 25th is Commedia dell'Arte Day.  There will be a Zoom performance from i Sebastiani: The Greatest Commedia dell'Arte Troupe in the Entire World, at 7 PM at this link.

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Currently reading: The Burgess Book of Nature Lore, by Thornton W. Burgess.

Stay safe.