16 Jan Sat 2010
Dear Ohio; Love, California
January 16, 2010:
In the dead of winter, we hear, in Ohio. The garlic cloves are tucked safely away beneath their thick layer of mulch, protected from the freeze/thaw/heave that the ground undergoes in the cold. I wonder what they are thinking under there, all warm and cozy?
We are stealing away in green California...not so much "green" because of the eco-sensitivity out here, but because the hills are now actually green. The rain has come to drench the dry, thirsty earth, and the hills are loving it. We actually saw some happy California poppies waving in the gentle breeze today.
Someone called us "Snow Birds" before we left. I suppose it is meant to be derogatory, but in a way, I kind of identify with it. We stuck it out in Ohio last January in the negative sixteen degrees (Fahrenheit), and don't remember stepping out my front door. I assume that if you had the opportunity to spend an extended time in mild, mediterranean weather, you would do it too.
This has nothing to do with my feelings for Ohio. A government agency tried to tell me that if I spent more than four weeks out of state, well, then I was no longer a resident. I didn't want to argue with her, but I guess she doesn't realize she cannot "decree" such nonsense when it comes to a sense of "home".
My home sits on top of our hill that catches the wind that powers our computer. My home is where I open the front door and my two-year-old can explore freely outside. My home is where our horses stomp in the early morning sun outside the barn to keep warm. My home is where I know exactly where the floor creaks...and on and on.
And I miss it. While we're gaining some valuable R and R, and seeing some great examples of corporate support of small family businesses, and using dishwashers, and water that we don't pump ourselves, we'll be glad to be home again soon.
Until then, Happy Winter.
Shelley