Christmas lights have appeared on various homes on my street now… and I am sitting on my porch without a jacket. All different styles of displays, the vintage white lights, the subtle, and the modern display including a blow up Santa. Santa looks great when the air is on but during the day he just looks like another old man the morning after a bender. More of the opposite feel than what the Christmas decoration magic is trying to capture. I have yet to put my garland and lights up and today seems like a warm enough day to get that started.
A seagull flies by with it’s usual call, as if by an ocean or lake…or McDonalds. Alas it is the canal and lake boats behind my home that attracts them. The rest of the birds have started their conversations… talking over each as if their story is more important than the others. Maybe it is just a collective joy… best Christmas display ever.
moon is full, tanks are empty
Sometimes a full moon can give us energy, sometimes it is draining.
PORCH SENSES: Episode 20
It occurred to me that I have been coming out to this porch everyday for longer than 4 months now and I don’t even smoke. Lighting a cigarette seems to be the culturally accepted reason for going outside despite what the weather is and usually reflecting what has happened or about to happen on the inside. Smokers during work hours will have mini meetings outdoors with fellow smokers and strangely leaving the non smokers inside “out in the cold”. Complaint sessions, relationship problems, it is the modern water cooler conversation place but so much more since the no smoking laws of the 80’s. Many years ago I served as a juror and day 1 of being sequestered, the smokers got to go outside to give in to their habit. What about MY habits? The second break was announced and the same 4 grabbed their cigarettes with permission. I expressed my desire to have fresh air on my break. It felt great to get out of our little room. Even to walk through the hallways that we rarely used. A precedent had been set. By day 4 of this stand, everyone on the jury was taking a fresh air break. A welcomed pause in understanding and hashing out the details of law. Fresh air can be the stimulant you need to think more clearly, give you energy, even just the fact of moving your legs to go outside is stimulating exercise. Go outside and see the world even if only for 5 minutes. Take a deep breath, let it fill your lungs.
Smoking became popular and very cool until it was discovered how harmful it is to our bodies. Let’s make fresh air cool. You can’t put tax on that.
PORCH SENSES: Episode 19
It is very quiet this morning. Single noises can be heard now. A motorcycle on the highway in the distance accelerates. A squeaky storm door opens slightly and closes, sounded like a cat. A gentle breeze making the metal clang on a wind decoration chimes in. Footsteps in the crunchy snow can be heard in a driveway getting louder…it is my shorts wearing neighbour putting out his weekly receptacles.
They question whether or not a tree would make a sound if felled in a forest and no one is around. You can be standing in front of that tree and only if you are receptive to the sounds around you would you hear it. Listen to what the Earth is telling you.
PORCHES SENSES: Episode 18
The air is cold but I only feel the chill when the air is moving around. A chickadee breaks the silence. It sounds happy. Snow is covering everything, there is less to land on and yet the birds remain contented. Maybe it is the warm glow in the sky this morning. The sunrise has given a pink hue to the sky. The East facing homes, the trees, and especially the steeple, even a tv antenna are all reflecting the fiery glow. Magic that is enough to put a skip in a step or an extra whistle in your bird call. Enjoy the day.
