A Little Different

I'm sitting in my studio at my desk, a steaming hot cup of black tea next to me. It is my first day of "real" scheduled studio time. Monday morning are now being allocated to writing, for here at Journey of a Fiber artist, but also for The Fiber Nation, and for a new digital magazine that will be available starting early next year. I've also done another first this morning. I have spend some time taking, and altering photos for use with this post. Something I want to do a little more of for future posts.

The hot tea is so very necessary this morning, it's only 34 degrees out right now. Which means my lower level studio is a bit chilly, such is the case with any home in the midwest that is on a cement foundation level!

There are still some leaves on the trees outside, some haven't turned yet, but most have turned - in fact most have fallen off and began blowing around the neighborhood. It's amazing how the seasons can affect what you're producing.

Despite the beauty outside, I am already starting to look forward to the snows. I have a wall of windows in my studio overlooking a wetland preserve, and honestly the most beautiful views out of them occur during the winter months. The trees are bare then, and the underbrush is dead and beaten down. Snow starts to blanket the forest floor, the wetland freezes into a solid surface. The view clears out and I start to notice more squirrels, deer and birds. Most mornings I will be able to see the fox scurrying across the frozen water in search of morning morsels (mice). Nearer to dusk and sometimes very early (near dark) in the morning I can catch a glimpse of a coyote!

There is a silence that comes with a snow, that brings a calm over me like nothing else can. I relish those days, and I look forward to them. My only wish is that the harsh months (particularly January and February) were a bit less harsh or much shorter!

But then, we always want things a little different than they are, don't we?