Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Wednesday - Not Quite Wordless

Ask me what I am doing out on my hill on the day before Christmas, and I shall probably not be able to tell you, in words at any rate. It is good to be out here in the wind - this winter wind with its hollow whispering song, its icy fingers tugging urgently at my sensibilities on a cold day in the holiday season.

"Come away with me, come away, come away," sings the wind on the hill.

The house is full of boisterous (and much loved) clan members, and there is only me out here in the wild wind, feeling a little wild myself, and exhilarated in the true sense of the word - joyous and happy to be alive.

Is it the smooth expanses of glossy snow with tufts of mullein protruding here and there? Is it the almost submerged fence posts and their strands of frozen barbed wire like lace, the blue-gray sky and the pale winter sun a few days after the solstice? For some reason, I find myself thinking of The Engulfed (or Sunken) Cathedral (La Cathédrale engloutie) from Claude Debussy's Préludes. This place does seem a bit like an ocean in winter.

I haven't a clue what I am doing here really. It's cold and damp, but the western hill always seems like home to me, lithe and greening in springtime, lush and shaggy in summer, crimson in autumn and now, icy blue-white on a winter day.

Merry Christmas to all....

7 comments:

Sky said...

merry christmas eve, cate! beautiful blue icey cold you capture. hope you are toasty warm by the crackling fire.

i am watching a new batch of snow fall, wishing it would wait for an otherwise boring late january day when it would be more appreciated. we want to leave for a few hours tomorrow for a tasty christmas feast. no go! we will spend the day, our 9th, house bound by heavy snow and icy streets we prefer to avoid.

Sorrow said...

Just stopped in to wish you a blessed new year, and winter days full of inner warmth.
Oh
and a big puppy hug for Spencer

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Sending you blessings this Christmas Eve. Your images continue to tell a story on their own. Go inside and stay warm by the fire.

Anonymous said...

Hi Cate, Just beautiful, I can see the cold in the blue and I can feel the wind going through my coat all the way to my bones. Ahh indeed, winter is here and we shall keep warm, eat and be merry and dance til dawn. May you and yours be happy and healthly and surrounded by loved ones.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Lots of love your way.
Louise

Suzanne said...

I just wanted to wish you blessings today and always, Cate. Thank you for the gift of your vision and words every day.

Blessed be.

Dawn said...

lovely photos Cate, Merry Christmas to you!

Shell said...

Gazing at this picture reminds me why I love Winter. The quiet beauty of it all. The feeling like you just want to roam and just listen to your heart.
Merry Christmas to you, too.