‘Tis the Season
Winter more or less starts in November but bounces back into Autumn some days. Today (November 12) there’s a warm breeze melting the remaining bit of snow and it feels more like Spring. There’s no getting around it though, daylight is shrinking and longer nights are slowly dominating the skies. In no time the winter solstice will arrive and soon Christmas will be upon us with 2026 arriving almost by surprise.
I don’t often go out after dark so I miss seeing many of nature’s night sky paintings, but last night the northern lights domed the entire sky in colours so beautiful I stood out in our yard in awe. Another plus for living in the north. Before long the snow will come and stay, dropping a blanket of quietness and turning the landscape black, white, and grey - soft yet harsh. Winter can be lovely if you don’t have to go to battle with it, but it seems like things are bound to break down no matter how well prepared you think you are.
Winding down from the gardening season I find myself some days with no project to complete. It’s kind of nice after a busy summer and autumn to relax with not much to do before Christmas baking, shopping and ornament making begins to fill the days. Unable to sit and do nothing day after day though, I started thinking about soup, a winter comfort I like to have available when it’s chilly outside. I really like the idea of having a perpetual soup pot on the hearth but have a feeling modern cooking guides would frown on the practice. Canning soup is the next best thing. I usually make a giant pot on the kitchen wood stove (its continuous even heat works like a non-electric slow cooker) then I pressure can what’s left so we don’t have to eat it for 5 days straight. Today I made hamburger minestrone.
Wishing you a wonderful Yuletide filled with family's and friends, hearty soups, eggnog and Christmas cake, turkey and dressing,
hot chocolate and cookies, and many gifts of love.
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