At home

Winter ‘lion

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.

~ Edith Sitwell

Recognize this place? (The pond at Breezy Acres in the Bogs.)

M and I are home, and for the first time since the big move, I can honestly and truly say I am happy to be here.  Even with all the chaos of the renovations, it’s good to be home.

Reflecting on home

I had a wonderful time visiting with family.  I was hoping to see some friends as well, but there wasn’t enough time to fit in everyone and everything.

Nesting in the chaos

It was lovely being back in the Bogs, and I enjoyed walking around the pond again.  It was during my walk around the pond that I realized that Breezy Acres, at least for now, is no longer home.  Home is here, at the Wabi-Sabi Ranch.

Breezy Acres is changing, becoming less familiar to me.  Some of the changes are not so good, and will require us to talk with the new neighbors about property lines.  I don’t know what it is about the property lines there.  Every time someone new moves in next door, we have to go out and show them where their property ends and ours begins.  The new neighbors, who I hear are very nice, have been clearing some trees and allowing their son to ride an ATV down to the creek.  Some of the clearing and tracks are on our property.  I was sorry to see the trees cleared.  The dead (and live) trees that were removed housed quite a few birds and other critters.

A winter flower arrangement

One of the first things I noticed on my walk was the lack of birds.  It happened to be a fairly warm day, and usually there are lots of birds out and about.  I did not see one bird anywhere around the pond that day.  Not one.  Strange.

The pond at sunset

Back here on the Wabi-Sabi Ranch, the trees are loaded with birds.  I was hanging up laundry this morning when hundreds of blackbirds landed in the loblolly pines in the backyard.  There were quite a few Red-winged Blackbirds in the group.  I’m not used to seeing them in winter.  They are a harbinger of spring in the Bogs.  I was excited to see the occasional flash of red as the flock took off.

One last look at the beautiful sunset we had during our visit to the Bogs.

It’s time for me to wrap this up and get caught up with things here at home.  Thank you so much for visiting.  Pardon the mess.  We still have a lot of work to do on the house, but I’m happy to say it has miraculously turned into home rather than just a house we’re working on.

I hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday.  Or a wonderful week if you were not celebrating anything in particular.

Swimming away. (At an indoor water park.)

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂