Wabi-sabi ::

 The art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in earthiness, 

of revering authenticity above all.

Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, roughness or irregularity, simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.

If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi.

Wabi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.

Wabi originally referred to the loneliness of living in nature, remote from society, rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects.

Sabi meant "chill", "lean" or "withered".  It is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs.

"Wabi-sabi is everything that today’s sleek, mass-produced, technology-saturated culture isn’t. 

It’s flea markets, not shopping malls; aged wood, not swank floor coverings; one single morning glory, not a dozen red roses. 

Wabi-sabi understands the tender, raw beauty of a gray December landscape and the aching elegance of an abandoned building or shed. It celebrates cracks and crevices and rot and all the other marks that time and weather and use leave behind. 

To discover wabi-sabi is to see the singular beauty
 in something that may first look imperfect"

~Robyn Griggs Lawrence

~j

Today was a good day.

A warmish day outside for February, with a bright sun.

But on my morning walk, as I trudged through knee-deep slushy snow,

 I decided that it would be a good day to spend inside

with this:

The alpaca fleece that M. (the woman who purchased our goats last December) gave me, 

with the trust that I would indeed track her down and return it cleaned, carded and spun.

Little does she know, that she has inspired me to finally buy the hand carders I've always needed, and to investigate (via You Tube tutorials of course) how to clean and card the 2 bags of raw alpaca fleece she put so faithfully into my hands.

"I find conversation and talk isn't real.

But in cooking, gardening, baking bread, there is something real. 

A visceral experience."

 Inspired by the quote above over my morning coffee,  and a newly formed vision for a life well lived, I sat down in my sunny kitchen and spent the day playing with fiber.

"Be present in your life - just do whatever your heart tells you. 

Don't be stuck in your mind"

I feel a pull in a new direction - new intentions coming to life - 

and as always, I am being led.

All of this insight from a bag of alpaca fleece and a day well spent 

behind a spinning wheel.

~j

All quotes from Tara Jensen.

  

People always tell me how lucky I am to have goats.

Goats are inquisitive, and kind, and cheerful (with that perpetual smile on their faces!)

They are also inherent mischief makers.

Which is why, after 1 1/2 years of tending to my girls,
I sat down at my computer and placed an ad:

"Saanan goats for sale: serious inquires only."

By the end of the day, we had payment in full.

In the end, it came down to a fence.
Our make-shift fence did the job for awhile, but
those girls eventually figured a way out and after that there
was no stopping them!

They feasted on the remains of our garden,
they ate the bark off of our 2 year old apple trees,
they nibbled away at my wild rose bush.
They decided that the best place to hang out was the 
front porch, so they could peer in at us through the windows.
I know that they were only doing what any respectable goat would do...

....so in the dark of the night, less than 24 hours after placing my ad, 
our recuse came in the form of a woman in a pick up truck hauling
a large horse trailer.

M. owns a 100 acre farm and is a seasoned farmer.

Ethel and Ruth were taken away to live in a big old dairy barn.

I will always have fond memories of my time spent in the barn with the girls.

I enjoyed the routine.

I enjoyed their company.

And even on the most brisk mornings, when I was forced away 

from my warm place next to the fire, I would smile with gratitude.

After all, how else would I have seen that flock of geese fly by in perfect formation?

Or listened the sound of an owl echoing up from the valley ?

Or have witnessed the light just so on the field as the sun was rising?

Thank you girls.

~ j

The full strawberry moon is just days away. June! 

The last time the moon showed her full face we were just beginning to taste the sun and feel warm grass under our toes.  

It was under that moon that we had our first bonfire fueled by the sticks and leaves we cleaned out of the muddy yard after the winds and snow of winter had littered them. We tilled and planted our garden.

The full moon this week shines on a much different landscape :: lush green trees, fields of buttercups and timothy grass full and swimming in the wind. Fireflies are just beginning to spark in the fields at dusk. 

The lilacs, plum tree, and apple blossoms have already come and gone. 

For this moment (brief!) the peonies and roses are showing their pink faces.

  I lean into each cycle of the moon welcoming new landscapes - new stories. The stories with each turning are always a bit different, yet the changing landscape comfortingly familiar.  

I know that by the next moon the roses and peonies will have faded - but then wildflowers of summer will appear, followed in time by purple asters and goldenrod. 

I don't look away, distracted - I may miss something delightful.

"There's always a sunrise and always a sunset and it's up to you to choose to be there for it," said my mother. "Put yourself in the way of beauty."

~ unknown

~j

Waking up from hibernation. 

After a long, dark, and sleepy winter 

I’m stepping out into the light - 

squinting, stretching my arms to the sky, 

and ready to begin another cycle of the seasons. 

This grateful heart is smiling as I shake off 

the cold grip of an icy winter, 

shed some layers, and soften a bit. 

Unpretentious March!

Your raw, earthy beauty grows on me the older I get.

I appreciate your stripped-down authenticity:

No flowery offerings - you show me true grit.

I wouldn't want to live here with you forever,

but a few weeks with you teaches me resolve.

It is a humbling and necessary acquaintance.

A few days ago the warm sun was my companion!

 Now, I look out my window to see the snow is falling again. 

 The snow isn't as fierce, the cold isn't as biting. 

And along with the Equinox I feel inner momentum - 

 a sap rising within myself.  

Gumption has returned!  

All of the  seeds I planted during the 

dormant, sleepy winter are manifesting - 

no rush, in due time. 

Today I am building a fire 

and am once again sipping tea - 

but I have daffodils on my table to cheer me, 

and tomorrow will bring another story all of it’s own.

~j

happy inside

So much about this season is beautiful and comforting.  

Maybe it's because I have a warm home and hearth - 
plenty of food packed in freezer and pantry - 
sweaters and hats and scarves to keep me warm. 

Maybe it's because I love being at home - 
warm inside looking out.

 This season offers me plenty of time to be with my family 
(who is also staying close to home). 

Right now, the kitchen is the place to be: 
close to the wood stove, 
chairs spontaneously pulled up to the warmth, 
conversations begun -
 an effortless and comfortable connection 
that is diluted when the warm sun pulls us outside and spreads us thin.

Come into the kitchen and you will see a pot of soup bubbling on the stove,
 or a loaf of bread coming out of the oven - 
you will smell the woodsmoke mingled with broth, herbs and yeast.

Life this time of year revolves around the preparing and eating 
of the hearty foods that sustain us: 
breads, soups, stews, strong coffee, warm tea.

Sustenance.

 I'm not lost to the "hassles" of winter - 

 but, if I am mindful, I allow the hassles to become reminders: 

: take more time
: be in the moment
: breathe into discomfort
: sleep more
: eat nourishing food to feed my body
: create color and beauty inside my home to feed my soul.

 I am that much more grateful when the peepers and sunshine appear - 
only a couple of months away.  

For now,  the the view looks good from right here by the fire.

~j

Snow.

A necessary pause in the cycle of the seasons.

The talk around town is:

"It's cold out there!"  
"I'm not ready for this!" 
"More of the white stuff this week!" 
 "Ugh!!"

Simply

Nestle

Or

Wither

A friend of mine said to me the other day: 
"I was never really well until I aligned myself with the seasons."

Yes!

Spring invites us to create, plan, hope

Summer is our time to celebrate and bask in abundance

Autumn asks us to let go, mourn, remember

Winter is the time of darkness; turning inward; quietude; rest

The flowers know this,
the trees know this,
the animals know this,
 -  we can't always be in celebrate mode.

Submerge 

Noiselessly

Ordain

What is inside



~ j