glad to be home

    hi there, i am writing to you from the hill and i can not tell you how glad i am to be home. The fog is thick and the air is warm and again the snow begins to melt. I have been away both for work and personal reasons and at every quiet  moment i craved the hill, thought about the animals and tea by the fire. I spent some time in Maine while we shot and styled many stories, met incredible people who were inspired to start something and in turn have left me genuinely happy knowing that good people are doing great things.

It has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster  sad and happy news seem to intertwine but the ability to remain hopeful and at the same time and the continual belief that the path i am on is the right one keeps me moving forward. I learned quite a bit these past few days about myself and others and i do feel at this moment overwhelmed by all of it. i have one day to try to process it all and take away what is useful and let go of the things that are no longer.

Dear friends, it  is a sunny fog out there so thick that you would think that the clouds have fallen unto the pastures. i feel as if i can fall asleep standing up and i have never said that in my life- so i am treasuring the next twenty four hours before i am in the thick of it again. there will be a few walks in the forest and across the fields, a book left by a friend to read and a loaf of bread baked by another on the hill and left for me to slice into and i do hope a few good hours of sleep.

winter and happiness

the most unusually weather fell upon this part of vermont this past weekend, a fog so thick, a warmth so wonderfully mild  that the snow could be heard melting.  early saturday morning, a walk through the thick and moving fog, down the driveway led to the car that could not make it up the hill the night before, i did not mind for it was such a good way to start the morning and made for good photo taking. off to the grain store and coffee in the nearest city, gosh the weather was so lovely and everything took my breath away. lingering at the grain store, snapping away ( those are to come in later post) then heading back to the hill, a quick uturn when the abandonned out buildings where spotted. there is no secret how much i love the snow and  fog and when i am surrounded by it, i am truly at my happiest.

Upon returning to the hill and after a leisurely breakfast of freshly gathered eggs, peach jam handmade and gifted to me in the summer, a mocha and a game of chess scruffy building clothes replaced city ones. it was time to revamp the interior of the coop ( yes again) it has taken many takes to get it right, hours spent under the sunniest of skies trying hard to beat the sunset before the chickens decide to roost in trees. Sunday was a repeat of good breakfast and a game then the coop again, happily finished midday leaving time to tackle other things like wood stacking.

i had many thoughts going through my head this weekend and could not tell you how many times  i looked out to the pasture and the hills, how lucky i felt. the other thought i had was that i truly feel safe, comforted and profoundly happy when the animals are well taken care of, when i know that there is plenty of grain, a good place for them to rest and play, i guess that is what parents must feel as they tuck their children in for the night.

this post has run a little long i know, i loved this past weekend and the photographs that came from it but more so the things that where on a list the weighed on me could finally be crossed off. Dear readers, there is a possibility of a pause between this post and the next , for personal reasons but also i will be shooting in maine, connecticut and northern vermont maybe a quick trip to montreal and house guests. i feel very lucky that you visit here and that the hill means something to you, i will see you soon.

hiver

i have just returned from the forest, it is the loveliest of winter days. sun shines beautifully and the warmth that cometh from it is spring like. the house is very toasty and i walk barefooted and my clothing is light and delicate. a large glass of orange juice with grated ginger is on the table and je grignotte on carrots as a banana, chocolate coconut cake bakes in the oven, the house smells lovely and rich.

I want to play chess with the pieces that were made just for the hill, i need someone to play with me but i will wait. music is playing and i feel so at peace and calm. i have worked on many projects this week, consumed by the computer i do not do well staring at a screen for so long, it takes moisture from my skin and oxygen for my lungs but in the big picture i hardly have to do it at all. thank goodness for the hill and the most beautiful hiver i can remember, for long winter walks, healthy animals and a quieting soul.


some winter inspired songs i have been listening too: here,  here, here, here, here, here truth is loving this band  and this one

winter in the woods and snow

it was as i hoped it to be, the weekend that is. lots of time outdoors, a film and another one this evening anna karinina. I can not wait to be outdoors again tomorrow, there is something that brings me happiness in the snow, it is so crisp and beautiful and as i walk under large canopies of ever greens and oak trees my spirit becomes unburdened by things that can weight me down.

I think is time to dive into books, it has been too long since i read a last page of any book, i wonder what it will be and where it will take me and whom i will meet in it's pages.  i also plan on purging many things in the house, things that clutter up drawers and closets and end up making me feel phobic. I also want to commit myself to a few things i put on my list when i first moved to the hill, one of those things is meditation, true meditation. on my last visit too santa fe, new mexico i visited a tibetan home where i was gifted the most beautiful piece of music perfect for reflection. I played  it for a month straight every morning and evening as k and hiked through the colorado mountains a few years back.

i hope you have a good week, would love to hear what you are listening and reading.

january and a winters walk.

 I have just returned from snowshoeing in the woods behind the house. the snow is so beautiful and the sun warm. there is so many animals tracks in the woods, deer, coyote, bunny and birds. it so quiet when you walk on snow through the forest, even a stillness and calm that i desperately was seeking yesterday one of the biggest days of my life,  i often romanticize how things should go, in fact i can romanticize most anything like i often do about mucking stalls.

I am sitting by the fire now, a wool blanket covers my legs and a warm cup of tea sits next to my knitting yarn. the horses are loving todays weather, i think all of us are since yesterday the temperature fell to minus nine.

this weekend will include a trip to the city, a film, farmers market, more snowshoeing, knitting and cooking. I am looking forward to it, since i am at the gate of so much work to be done, shoots to plan, workshops to announce, houseguest to welcome, airline tickets to purchase, house to paint and so on. may you all have a good weekend, i just love january so very much.