Spring #2

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”

Rainer Maria Rilke

blue ice

Spring in Alaska is a gentle affair. The last couple of days started with crystal clear skies and cold temperatures. Just before sunrise it is usually the coldest, single digits or below. As soon as the sun climbs above the horizon around 8:45 AM the temperature rises and climbs near 32F. The snow becomes soft and melts in exposed areas. Icicles dangling from the corners of our roofs start dripping. At certain angles the illusion of colors appear. White and blue are still the dominant hues.

red ice

My bell pepper seeds have germinated. The first pair of leaves have appeared. I believe it is time to move them to the green house, at least during the day.

The Uses of Sorrow

in a sea of darkness

“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.”

Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver is an American poet, winner of Pulitzer price for poetry, who escaped my attention until yesterday. Her poetry is about Nature and of Fundamental Truth that speaks to me. Hope, encouragement, and motivation are present in her poems without being overbearing. There will be more if her poems in the coming days…

Remembering Nel…

“I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

The purpose of life is…

“The purpose of life is…

to enjoy every moment.”

just another magic moment

I always felt steeping tea is more… inspirational,

than brewing coffee.

Found the above quote attached to my tea bag.

I think, I rest my case.

What more is there to write about?

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What others have to say…

• Lesson #2 The purpose of life (lifesateacher.wordpress.com)
• Life’s Purpose (christhejournalist.wordpress.com)
• Know Your Life Purpose (drjotorres.com)

Thanksgiving

“I am grateful for what I am and have.

My thanksgiving is perpetual…”

Henry David Thoreau

Sunrise over Round Mountain

Could not have said it any better.

Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving.

Be kind to each other.

Be kind to yourself.

Nature #2

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived”

Henry David Thoreau

mountain light

So why did I come to the woods? For some peace and solitude?

To see what nature can teach me? So far I learned how important it is to bundle up, when it is below zero.

Taking care of some hardy horses every day.

To plan and prepare food for others.

To start the oven in the morning, although it is still dark and cold.

Simple things you need to do, because there is nobody else around to take care of things.

Today we hauled firewood, split it, so we can have another cozy fire tonight (while watching Monday night football via satellite TV). I guess that is part of the new way of “living in the woods”.

Nature #2

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread,
places to play in and pray in,
where nature may heal and
give strength to body and soul.”

John Muir

— winter waves —

A day of snowfall without wind is followed by a some blistery winds. Yesterday the lake ice was covered with a cushion of soft snow, even, untouched. Today the wind starts to form ripples, not unlike waves.

Standing in the middle of the lake, fantastic.

I cannot stay long and play or pray, as John Muir suggests, but I take a picture with me and return to my warm shelter.

“Let My People Go Surfing.”

“Let My People Go Surfing.”

Yvon Chouinard

English: A photo of rock climber Yvon Chouinard (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today, Yvon Chouinard, one of this generation’s most prolific outdoor wilderness area advocates, celebrates his 75th birthday. Yvon has been a ground-breaking pioneer in many ways. He  was one of the leading climbers of the “Golden Age of Yosemite Climbing”, self-taught blacksmith, concerned environmentalist, avid fly fisherman, fearless surfer, and outdoor industry businessman extraordinaire.

Yvon led courageous first ascents in Yosemite, the Rockies, Patagonia, and Kenya, just to name a few.

He began his entrepreneurial career selling climbing hardware out of the back of his truck in Yosemite Valley, California. His second business, Patagonia, Inc., is regarded as highly for its environmental programs as for its legendary gear. In 1985, Yvon started 1% for the Planet. a campaign that became a global movement with over 1,000 participating companies donating 1% of their sales to a network of more than 3,000 approved environmental organizations worldwide. To date, Patagonia has awarded over $46 million in cash and in-kind donations to environmental groups through the organization.

Unexpected

And if you ever got your hand on a Patagonia catalog or visited one of their stores, they have the most amazing outdoor photography on the planet.

Happy birthday, Yvon.

Thanks for all you’ve done to keep our playground healthy!

Interesting articles on Yvon Chouinard

• Interview with Yvon Chouinard
• An article in the Wall Street Journal
  
• Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard Shows Brands they Don’t Have to Buy into the Usual Growth Path Story

Nature #1

“Heaven is under our feet

as well as over our heads.”

Henry David Thoreau

What was under my feet today

The ice on Puntilla Lake is now 2 inches thick. That’s enough to walk on it, I am told. Yesterday the lake made noises like a herd of whales.

“Whoooop, whoop, whoooouuuup…”

Not sure what that was. The water underneath loosing contact with the ice? The ice settling, cracking?

Today I walk on the ice. The windy conditions over the last few days have blown off the snow. I walk on the bare ice, which is gray and opaque in most places. Then, for no reason there are a few clear spots, where i can see the bottom of the lake, eerie. It feels like walking on that glass balcony over the Grand Canyon. Near those clear spots I can’t help but wonder if the ice is strong enough to support my weight. Silly thought, it is.

Small air bubbles have been trapped in the ice and float like little universes in it. That’s what I saw today, under my feet.

Winter #1

“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

Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell (1887 – 1964) was a British poet, who lived for much of her life with her governess. She wrote two successful books on Queen Elizabeth I of England and numerous pieces of poetry.  Her readings were colorful events drawing criticism for her extravagant appearances loaded with jewelry, turbans and precious gowns.

Nevertheless, during World War II she wrote under the light of oil lamps as her house had no electricity. She showed great sweetness and kindness to her friends. Her relationship to her parents was strained. She never married.