Here we are deep into our winter in the Colorado Mountains. The San Isabel National Forest. We live high, around three thousand meters. Sometimes when I sleep I wake up gasping for oxygen. I panic. I think that I am about to die. Then I really wake up. I realize that I probably just was breathing very slowly and woke myself up! The wintertime up here is so quiet. One hardly ever sees any birds or animals. In fact, the other day while out skiing I actually saw a gray-jay otherwise known as Clark’s Nutcracker. I had been noticing that I hadn’t seen any birds lately except for Crows. One of our neighbors saw a moose through the Aspen trees. They are out there living in this frigid environment. It is just unlikely to see them regularly.

Some days I don’t even want to step outside my A-frame cabin. It is simply way below zero and not fit for man nor beast. I enjoy being inside reading. I read a lot of books! I also drink a lot of tea. This is the time when I love that I do not have to get into my car and drive anywhere. It is a real perk for being a retired nurse!

I also love listening to music and cooking and baking. I bake all our own bread. I have a sourdough starter. I feed it and wait for it to get ready to make more bread. It is an art that I haven’t quite perfected. Maybe one day it will be. But it is good enough for us. We enjoy the freshness of the loaves as they come out of the oven.

I also make a lot of soup. Usually starting with some leeks and potatoes, then adding leftover chicken or whatever is on hand. It is a no fuss soup but sure is tasty!

Today is a really cold windy day. So cold and windy our local ski hill Monarch Mountain closed due to high winds. It is good that they don’t have everyone and their cousin driving from long distances. Otherwise, they may injure themselves or get frostbite. Some days were meant to just stay home.

We heat our cabin with wood. So one of my daily chores is to keep the kindling box full. It is good for me to have to do this. I enjoy it too. There is something quite satisfactory in splitting wood and having it just the right size. It is a part of my daily life. Today is also a day not to go walking or skinning. So I am happy to stay indoors and do my inside activities.

I hope you are warm where you are. I am also thinking a lot about the poor victims of the LA Wildfires. So tragic and scary.

Halt dich an Frieden un Liebe **** Hold on to peace and love