waldorf

the tree that keeps on giving

/ barnraised / 13 Comments

Christmas trees around the world

Joining in at silverthreading.com with our little barn tree:

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We always try for a living tree. They are not always easy to find. We have to go to a small, local nursery and tend to pay more for a tree smaller and more modest than the average cut one. But, it makes up for it in the knowing that we have a tree in our home that is ALIVE, breathing, caring for us as we care for it. And then ends up planted on our property to continue on it’s life. We have always striven for this. However, when we moved into the barn of “barnraised”, we suddenly found ourselves living in a home barn that didn’t belong to us. And, I don’t think it would be quite the same sentiment to return back to the house that we own and now have renter’s leasing to…knock, knock, can we plant our Christmas tree? So this tradition took a hiatus while we lived in the barn. Now, we have this new beautiful property. A fresh canvas to plant. We, this year, continue the tradition. Holiday tree #1 for the new barn.

As we take, we try to give back to the earth. That’s the Christmas spirit that I wish to instill in my little girl. That’s the sort of “tradition” I want to pass on.

 

when the quiet comes

/ barnraised / 7 Comments

thanksgivingthe barn has been quiet these days. I don’t mean this literally. It is rare, a quiet barn. I mean, this site. I keep up with my weekly “moment” photos and have been enjoying them. But the cowgirl, she has been short on words.

I sit here in the quiet of Thanksgiving night. Everyone asleep, the horses all brought into their stalls, dinners all fed, the house eerily still after the bustle of the day, dishes done, silence falling all around, cold settling in already at 23 degrees and falling. The ups the downs, the laughters and the disappointments of the day all done. It is now that I find myself drawn once again to words. To writing. To the barn of the soul.

flowers

It is easy to find gratitude in many things, moments, thoughts, feelings. The softness of my daughter’s cheek. The full table of food. The lack of want. The freshness of air. The beauty of the world.

It is not always so easy to find it in the quiet solace of the open space at the end of the day when the world sleeps. It is there. These are the times, my friends. These are the times that many turn on the TV, turn up the news, turn up the outside world to blur the quiet, to fill the space. In this barn, there is none of that. It is quiet space. It is the sitting with oneself that leads to appreciation. Not the hyped up, overdone, media-induced, would’ve been, should’ve been, could’ve beens but the true and deep moments of gratitude. They are quiet. They are empty. They are calm. They don’t need filling. They are also accepting of life as it is. Even in the heavier moments. Life is not about ups and downs, highs and lows. It is the peace you struggle sometimes to find, and other times not, that sits with you every moment of everyday. The solace of the open space… of… each… moment…

solace