merry christmas!

(with thanks to Norman Thelwell)

winter solstice 2009

I started thinking about this post on Friday, imagining something grand and wonderful, with accompanying pictures that would perfectly illustrate my words. A number of ideas came and went over the weekend, mostly related to music.

I heard Polyphony's rendition of the Donkey Carol and had thoughts of putting that music to a short video of Rafer Johnson and Redford, doing what they do best - running around the entire front field, taking turns pushing and resisting and holding the crest of the other by the teeth, firmly enough to guide, but gently enough to leave no mark.

For most of November and December I listen to George Winston's December cd, and his rendition of Pachelbel's Canon is one that makes me want to overcome my block regarding playing the piano, which I studied for 9 years as a child/teen and then gave up. Now I can't remember the left hand notes. The only thing that would compel me to struggle through that is playing the Canon the way George does. I had a brief fantasy of having a grand piano delivered to X in the riding arena, where I would play Pachelbel while horses and pony and donkeys danced in circles around me. Wouldn't the video of that be a perfect winter solstice post?

Given the fact that I would need an entire year to acccomplish that led me last night to looking for you tube videos of George Winston playing, or videos using Robert Frost's Stopping By Woods poem as the theme. In the end, I abandoned the keyboard to watch way too many episodes of the first season of West Wing, which I watched on DVD a few years ago and have now decided to watch again. I love the writing and the pacing and the way the cast brings the show to life. There was something winter solstice-like about the entire show, and when the first disk came on Friday, with EIGHT episodes, I knew there would be a binge at some point.

This has been an odd year for me. A number of milestones that most of us go through as we live our lives. The death of a parent, the death of a beloved dog, a physical injury that stopped me in my tracks for a few weeks. Caring for an older mare who seems bent on teaching me that aging is a process, and sometimes what seems catastrophic is just a bad day. And that there are not always clear answers to the question "what do we do now?"

I was holding her head on Friday, just being with her and stroking her eye. Salina is a black horse, perfect symbol for the winter solstice, and yet when I stood there holding her head in my arms what I noticed most were the silvery white hairs that sprinkle her face, much like the dawn of the day that follows the longest night. The days that grow longer, bit by bit.

This morning the first images of the winter solstice out my window were Keil Bay and Cody standing side by side in the front field, eating together from a small pile of hay. Now, as I look out, Keil Bay is standing alone in the morning sun, gazing directly at my window, his white star brilliant against his red bay coat.

There have been sounds of various cats growling and stalking, monitored closely by Kyra the Corgi, who likes order and wants them all marching to her Corgi drum.

It's chilly, but the day promises to get warm enough that I can do chores without a jacket. We have a special meal planned, and dessert, and a new box of white candles to light this evening. Today I plan to take a walk in the woods, and maybe I'll take the green velcro sleigh bells out and attach them to a halter or bridle just to hear the jingle and think of Robert Frost.

Tonight I hope to have a small bonfire. I have a stash of big stones by the labyrinth path that I've been collecting to make a fire pit. And sometime today I will set aside an hour to write another chapter in the pony book, which grew by many pages during my writing retreat, but is coming more slowly now.

In years past I have posted poems and excerpts meaningful to this day, and I think I'll look back in the archives and read them again. Mostly, I want to mark the passing of this year, and focus on the coming year, which I think will be a good one.

Happy winter's solstice to everyone. I hope you find something today - a moment in nature, a photograph, a piece of music, a poem - that invites pause enough to stop and reflect on the year that's passed and the year that is coming. How darkness grows and then the light comes. How marking the passage of things makes us human.

shop for the holidays - right here!

Welcome to the camera-obscura holiday shopping extravaganza! All products here are made by people I know either locally the regular way OR locally the blog world way. I'm thrilled to showcase these beautiful offerings. Support the arts!

(It's not too late to add your items - keep sending them and I'll add them to this post.)


Talk2theAnimals offers a number of great items:

T2TA 1st Annual Commemorative Ornament, a doggie shirt and a totebag are found HERE.



2999 Award Winning Photo book and 2010 calendar are HERE.

T2TA Bookstore

and

T2TA Gift Certificates




Sheafferwear! You can get t-shirts, mugs, hats, posters, cards, etc. at Sheaffer's store. There are images of Jack too! Proceeds go to Primrose Donkey Sanctuary, a very worthy cause. We have the above poster in our tack room. Sheaffer's excellence and watchful eyes kept Rafer Johnson company during his broken leg convalescence. Now Sheaffer keeps me company every morning when I do breakfast tubs. Somehow I feel he would approve of that.




Beautiful handmade books - weekly planners, agendas, journals and sketchbooks, albums and organizers... and my personal favorite - the book of folders, shown above, for those of us who love to organize!



Gorgeous handmade jewelry, elegant and elemental. The one I'm drooling over, the redfearn bracelet:





Stunning kaleidoscope designs available on a variety of products:

These are so lovely it's hard to pick. I'm partial (at this moment) to this one - the original (titled Corgi Footprint):



the kaleidoscope design:





A series of photo books--one for each season--featuring original photography and kaleidoscope art along with inspiring quotes. A beautiful calendar available through Lulu as well.

My pick for this season:



The yummiest scarves ever, Dana calls these the "Stevie" scarves:







Dana says, "And a number of beautiful items for which proceeds go to the Malawi Fund at HCC- every cent is sent back to Malawi! We have sent kids to school, bought school supplies, paid for malaria meds, mossie nets, bought people food, put a roof on a house and so much more!"



To inquire or purchase any of Dana's items, click HERE.

shopping for the holidays - at camera-obscura

I had an idea late last week and would like to share it here and see if folks are interested. (ALSO: mystic-lit is hosting a similar shop for authors and their books!)

For the past two years we have done our holiday shopping locally. We're fortunate to live in a very creative area, with some wonderful small stores who carry interesting, unique gifts.

And we'll do that again this year.

But I want to add a new layer to the meaning of "local."

Certainly the internet affords us the opportunity to meet and engage with many people via blogs and otherwise to the degree that we form a community that I would argue is indeed "local."

Many of you who read and comment here feel like neighbors to me. Instead of having coffee while talking over the back fence, I sit at my desk each morning, coffee in hand, and visit blogs, commenting back and forth, and it's a cherished part of my day. I know many of you do the same.

And I know many of you are also talented, creative people who may have wonderful wares to offer.

So... I invite you to send me links and photos and any info you can share so that I can do a camera-obscura shopping week. Readers, new visitors, and I can then browse and hopefully stir up some business for you (and shopping fun for us) during this holiday season.

If you don't have my email address, send me yours in a comment (which I won't publish here) and I'll send you an email.

Books, calendars, artwork, photographs, knitted items - anything you make or create is welcome. Also any horse-related items - your own training DVDs, books, special tack. The bigger variety the better.

I'll try to get everything set up this week so the "store" can open on Thursday or Friday. I'll leave it up top for a full week - giving your items the best chance of being seen and giving ME a nice break from blogging!

Looking forward to it - if questions you can send those in a comment too. I'll only publish comments that don't include personal information.

Happy December!

river walking

For a number of years when our children were young and we didn't have horses, we rented a lovely cabin in the mountains for the week of Thanksgiving. Over time, we accumulated a series of day trips we loved so much we did them year after year, until we had a very full week awaiting us each November when we packed the car and headed west.

There were always at least two days devoted to staying at the cabin and hiking the surrounding 50 acres. One day we went to a small college town nearby and window-shopped, then lunching at a little vegetarian cafe where we had chili served in pumpkin bread bowls.

We usually went to another little resort town one of the days, where we played in the big park and ate lunch from the hot dog stand, ending with homemade peppermint ice cream from the candy shop.

Another day we usually played by ear, and explored places we wanted to go back to or found new things to do.

The day after Thanksgiving was almost always devoted to a trip to a waterfall, which had hiking trails that were easy, moderate, and difficult. I remember one year taking all the time we needed so that my not-yet-two-year old daughter could hike the entire way on her own feet, which she insisted on doing. And I recall many anxious mother moments when my son went darting ahead of us, or scaled something I felt needed spotting to climb.

At the end of the hike we had a favorite restaurant we ate in, always ending the meal with strawberry-rhubarb pie.

I think those years cemented all of our love of the mountains and walking by rushing water.

But then we got horses and it was difficult to leave for that long.

Today we drove the few minutes from our home to a favorite river walk. The water was rushing after all the rain we've had, and it was chilly today so it feels like we're actually in November.

Kyra the Corgi scampered along on her purple leash, game to climb anything, including the huge rock outcroppings that in some places required careful footwork and holding on to tree trunks and branches to get up and over.

There was no one else on the trail, and after a few minutes, it was as though we were far out into the wilderness. I discovered some years back that the secret to being rejuvenated by these hikes is to go far enough to experience remoteness.

And now we're back home, and it occurs to me that part of why we went to the mountains those years was to gain what we have right here in our own backyard now.

It's one of the things I'm most thankful for - the haven we've created here, and the access to remote places without having to take a trip to get there.

I hope everyone is having a nice day today. Whether you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday or not, it's a good time of year for reflection and gratitude, moving toward the winter solstice and the new year.