After a little New Year's Eve revelry, this morning was definitely low energy for me, though the sheep were their normal bouncy selves. The young ewes skipped like lambs the entire length of the barn to say hello. Guess they hadn't stayed up late partying last night. Headed to the village for a double latte (thank goodness Mocha Maya's was open) after morning chores.
I went hunting for color outdoors today. For several hours the sky brightened, the sun warmed and the snow thawed, though by afternoon we were back to flat, gray light and more snow flurries this evening. Color sightings included a handful of jays at the feeder (actually Mike spotted them); a pair of cardinals, male and female, lurking near the garden; purple, red and blue water buckets filled with ice in the barn; and this oriental bittersweet vine clinging to the lower limbs of a soft maple and the surrounding lilac shrubs.
This brushy outcropping sits inside the stone foundation of the original barn which burned in 1969 (it was attached, I believe, to the original farm house, also lost in the fire). The current barn is sited just downhill of the earlier building. All that remains of the original farm complex are the stone wall foundations, the well house and the mason footings of the old silos. I wish I had photos of the farm before the fire.
This week my friends and I have been comparing views on new year's resolutions. A few years ago I decided that rather than create a long, overly-ambitious (and mostly unrealistic) laundry list of goals, I'd start each year with just one personal challenge in mind and to hold that thought at the start of each day. It's kind of like a new year's helpful hint for self improvement, rather than a list of resolutions (which sounds so formal and authoritarian).
The catalyst for my 2010 new year's thought comes from a book Holly shared with me a few weeks ago – a nicely illustrated children's book called Eleanor, Quiet No More by Doreen Rappaport, about the life of Eleanor Roosevelt. Holly and I especially loved one quote from the book, "Every day do something that scares you."
It made me think about how easy it is to become complacent and to do things by rote which really doesn't teach you very much or challenge you to grow in any way. And so I will try to mindful of this quote throughout this new year and nudge myself to test myself in both big and small ways. Mind you, that doesn't mean I'll be out galavanting near the bulls in my neighbor's pasture or dilly-dallying with my back to the rams in the barn. My goal is to be brave. Not idiotic : )
Nursing a cup of chamomile, and now for some quiet knitting time. Hope you had a good first day of 2010. You can share your new year's goal(s) here, if you like.
