hunkered in

This is what hibernation looks like at our house. Cold and frosty outside, cozy and light inside.

I made a pot of soup with leeks dug from the garden last week and homegrown fingerling potatoes brought up from the root cellar. Roasted squash and steamed grains and dark greens are on heavy rotation for suppers. I baked a big batch of granola on Monday and stewed some dried fruit (recipe from Laurel's Kitchen), both delicious on plain yogurt. We bought a carton of citrus via a local fundraiser and the grapefruit and oranges brighten our breakfasts.

Blooming Christmas cactus, paper whites and amaryllis bulbs just beginning to show their green shoots decorate the windowsills. The Meyer lemon is getting ready to bloom it's fragrance in our bedroom. I love seeing the beautiful blue green acres of balsams from our windows.

The snow comes across the valley in a gray curtain nearly every day. The bitter cold and fierce winds are more the hallmark of deep winter, but they are with us now. Tomorrow's high temperature is forecast to be 9 degrees. The bird feeders are aflutter with chickadees, goldfinches, nuthatches and other brave little birds. Interconnected animal tracks in the snow look like lace from the upstairs windows. 

We eat by candlelight at breakfast and supper, the days are so short right now. The light of the full moon on the snow illuminates the landscape and creeps into the house in the middle of the night.  

Laundry dries on wooden racks, humidifying the dry indoor air. Slippers combat the daytime thermostat set at 65 degrees, blankets and quilts fend off the 62 degrees at night. I brew Russian caravan, kukicha twig and green tea. 

Bits and pieces of sewing projects litter the dining table along with postage stamps, envelopes and strapping tape. Our mailbox is a friendlier place these days, with more than junk mail and bills to offer. Packages show up in the breezeway now and then. It's feeling a bit more festive each day around here. 

Dear readers, what does hibernation look like at your house? Or maybe you are in the midst of summer where you live...