Long December

Every year, I wish the same wish – that I could go to sleep on December 1 and wake up on December 31, just in time to welcome in the new year.

Sometimes, December feels easier and sometimes it feels more difficult.

I know there are things that I can do to make December better for myself. One of them is blogging, something that I have not been doing for quite a while.

So, I'm going to try to post at least a few times this month. I've been thinking about a lot of things (as usual) and maybe it is time to start trying to put some of those thoughts into words.

In the meantime, here is a link to my ever-growing, end-of-year, YouTube playlist. These are the songs that comfort, console and keep me company through this dark, dark month. Perhaps they will improve December for you, too:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUCTQC2TUoqBl3DQ5x7IgBY7tFJdnhXgI

Second last move?

Here it is, October 9. Thanksgiving weekend. 

And it's the end of my summer here in The Crooked Wood.  

Fall colours are just starting to kiss the tips of the trees in The Crooked Wood

I've been slowly moving to my winter accommodations in Lunenburg. I moved the big stuff (my small chest freezer, my bicycle) on Friday with help from one of my cousins and with my folks' pickup truck.

I feel really sad about leaving this place. I wish I could stay, but I know that Wholehearted House and I are just not up for living through a winter together. Already, the cold nights are causing condensation problems. I know I don't want to do the work that I would need to do to stay here and be warm and dry through the winter, nor do I want to pay for the renovations that would be necessary to make this a year-round dwelling. It is a perfect summer retreat, but believe that trying to make it into something it is not designed for will be a waste of money and will probably cause long-term damage.

While I know that my winter accommodations will be comfortable and fun, I still feel really sad, which several kind friends have pointed out is a good thing – because it shows how much I love it here and how much I feel like I belong to this place.

So, I've been letting myself feel sad and soft and vulnerable and treasuring my last days here for 2016.

Sal and I have been spending lots of time cuddling during the cool nights and mornings

I've walked around The Crooked Wood many times over the past few days – partly in search of mushrooms, which have finally gotten enough rain to be able to bloom – and partly in simple appreciation, finding countless little beauty spots to take with me while I am away:

"Nature decorates so beautifully!" as a friend commented when I posted this photo to social media.

Pretty mushroom! Probably a Purple Cort, according to my mushroom-identifying friends.

Salinger loves to come with me on walks. He climbs way up in the trees.

I have to say goodbye to my garden, too. It's been a challenging year for gardening because of the lack of rain. But I haven't had a killing frost yet, so my tomatoes are still ripening on the vine and my potato tops are still lush and green. The little bit of rain we have had has helped a bit.

My hugelkultur mound in July

My hugelkultur mound in October

My raised bed in July

My raised bed in October

I am feeling very motivated to make sure that I can build a year-round dwelling here next year. I feel quite overwhelmed at the thought of designing a space and corralling enough money to make that happen. But the thought that I could move back here next spring and never move again (unless I choose to), is a very compelling thought. Yes, I will be very happy if this is my second-last move. Ever.

I have this beautiful mini garden of forest mosses and lichens that my friend Kristina made. My mom bought it for me at the Lahave Craft Co-op this summer. I feel like this garden is a way to keep The Crooked Wood with me through the winter. That feels like a great blessing – to have a reminder of what is here waiting for me.