Thoughts on Winters approach

There are sides to this life that many many do not consider. Some have a larger impact. The change of seasons is a big one. Especially*this* change. There is snow in the forecast. More precisely, a few continuous days of snow, with accumulation of up to 9cm on some days. In fact, it’s supposed to start tonight. Not news we want to hear.

We’ve been working hard in some gross weather conditions to create a more solid build out than we had last year. But the weather has not been on our side. It’s one thing to work in a light drizzle or heavy mist, but quite another to work in a deluge and high winds. Not only does the equipment not like it, neither do we.

The build out is not complete, so we’ve been relying on the campers furnace for heat as the temperatures drop. This means we have used a lot of propane which, while it gives great heat, eats up the resource which should last all winter to cook with, and use as a last resort for heat.

The darker skies and cloudy weather also hamper the charge on the camper batteries and power stations. It can be quite frustrating when the needle on their charge barely moves all day. It means adjusting our habits and our luxuries, such as Starlink. It means less time online and more time truly connected to nature and to each other.

The adjustment is a big one. And while we all know that the arrival of winter is inevitable, one is always almost surprised by how quickly that transition can occur.  It’s like while we were working away diligently, someone switched on the freezer motor and you blink your eyes and it’s cold and snowy.

On the plus side, my body has finally started adjusting and is starting to return to following a circadian rhythm. I wake up just before sunrise every day. It matters not how early or late I go to bed, I wake up around the same amount of time before sunrise each day. And, with the change from Daylight savings time, that didn’t change waking up just before the sun.

It’s a good feeling, a sense of better rhythm with nature and the earth. The body returning to a rhythm it was never meant to loose. We get so bogged down and regimented by alarms and schedules that force us to do things at times that go against what our bodies are truly programmed for.

One advantage of waking so early is being able to quietly observe the forest waking up too. It’s now an almost daily occurrence to see grouse pecking around in the leaves and branches on the ground. They are not graceful birds, and certainly in our experience quite stupid, but watching them scavenging for food is somewhat calming. A few days ago, a male was proudly strutting with his feather all fanned out to attract a female, who seemed very disinterested in his advances.

So while winter is settling in, and the pace of nature slows, there is still beauty and peace here in the forest. There is a quiet and a stillness that speaks to the soul and offers rest for now, and renewal in the spring.

Until then there is much for us to do still, but each day bring us closer to the closing of another year here, and the beginning of the next chapter in our adventure.