time suspended in early winter

Left to it's own inclinations, the snow has melted away. Only a few defiant crusts linger against the curbs, compressed by the hand (or machines) of humankind. I see a lesson in this. There is a time to have patience and wait for things to right themselves.

Harmony and patience. These are good thoughts for the quiet days between the Solstice and the secular new year. This is a good time to clean and polish candlesticks, to open the windows to let the morning fog drift in, and to reflect on the serenity of winter.

I am very grateful for the sanctuary of the Aerie, where the frenzy of the holiday season never penetrates. I am snug and at peace, high in the treetops. I can gaze out at a lattice of branches, knowing each holds the new life of spring, deep within its core. I am content to live the same way.