The Changing Sky

Winter on our little homestead is usually the time when we can take a little break from the hard work. The outdoor chores are done at a slower pace, less demanding than other seasons. The garden needs no weeding or watering. The wood has been chopped and stacked. Winter takes on a slow and easy tempo most winters. This year, with warm southern winds keeping the temperatures high, it feels confusing. It feels as though we should be preparing for spring. Turning the soil, cleaning barns in preparation for new life. I know this is the time for me to do my spinning, knitting projects and yes sewing and quilting. My indoor projects are done this time of year, but its warm out and that spring like air calls to me, beckoning me to the outside, but once out there, there is nothing to be done. I wander around a bit, feeling uneasy as though I am missing something.
Sitting in my rocker with time to think, I wonder what it was like so long ago before the media kept us so well informed. In a strange season like this, it must have felt menacing. Frightening, wondering what is around the corner. Will it rain, will it get cold again, will spring storms be worse this year ?
I guess I wonder about all those things too, but the weather does not dictate our lives as much as it did back 130 years ago.
Tonight as I watched the sun set I mentioned to my husband how it was a different sunset tonight. Lately, it seems each night we see the same colors and same sort of sunset night after night, but tonight it was different all around. I thought about my Grandmother who was always predicting the weather by the sky, or from how the cows were laying down, or how the leaves were turning inside out on the trees in the wind. I believe tonight she would have said, there is a change coming.