Oh, the things that I do to keep my heart alight. My youngest son gifted me a jar of homemade peach jam at Christmas. It is such a bright, glistening jam. It makes me think of sunshine and warmth….peach juice running down my chin and arm as I eat the delectable globe. On mornings when there is no sun….which happen more often than not in this wintry clime…I have peach jam on my toast. It is my sunshine vehicle, transferring golden light to all my cells. Perking me up to face the blowing snow that has obscured the world this morning. The sun is a faint white orb in the sky, struggling to break through the snow clouds.

Any bit of color stands out in stark contrast to the white and black world. I sent a friend in Australia a couple of photos of the outdoors here in Northern Vermont. He commented that it was a good choice to edit them to black and white. That made me laugh. There was no edit. My world is white and black with tiny splashes of colors from someone’s front door or porch roof. The dark green of the fir trees looks black against the white. Most cars are black, grey or white these days. Fortunately, tractors are still mainly green which adds a bit to the color landscape. Occasionally a pair of cardinals flash their scarlet feathers across my view as I look out at the cluster of birch trees outside my window.

Flowers are hard to come by which is what I miss most through the winter. It is hard to get them home safely without damage in the freezing temperatures and there is nowhere close to buy them. Soon some of the local greenhouses will produce the first tulips for sale. I look forward to these hot house spring flowers, coming in weeks before our daffodils and tulips peek from the ground. The front garden which is normally six feet below my front stoop, has snow packed up to its surface and beyond. The snowbanks grow higher as the paths and driveways narrow. I shoveled a path to the kids’ swing set yesterday so that the little ones could walk to it to play. Within a half an hour, you could not see a path. It was obliterated by the constant snowfall. We laid on our backs on the circle swing and let the snowflakes wash our faces. It made us all giggle. You had to keep blinking as the snow landed fast and thick.

There are no plans to travel this winter, though all of my family are taking trips South to soak up some sun. Last year at this time, I was swimming in the ocean in Western Australia. But my inner guidance says no to any movement this winter. I am here for the duration. I find myself embracing this season with open arms……well bundled! I have lots of wool clothing, good food thanks to the farmers’ greenhouses that produce bright emerald greens for us as well as heaps of root veggies that have been stored for these months. My grandchildren offer laughter and delight and playmates in the snow. I get to be a kid with them. I am so grateful for my body which allows me to carry the one year old through the drifts and dig myself out of drifts when I fall to my waist! Perhaps today will be a sledding day. Off to see what the snow offers……will it hold together for snowman building? Pack down enough for sledding? Or hold up for digging into to create forts? Time to find out.