Coiled for Spring

I live in a place where winter is long and cold.

I am also someone who is very light sensitive. Blue light at night will keep me awake for hours; I have blue light blocking on everything.

The short, dark days of winter are difficult to work through. Sunny winter days are often very cold, and I know the light rays are not the same as summer sun, but I nearly always feel better, with more energy, on sunny days, even if the light is through a window.

I have also become a fan of "earthing". It took me a long time to think of it as anything other than a new-agey put-on.

Pity. I wonder how much less insomnia I might have encountered?

Earthing is, in essence, putting your skin (hand, feet, back, legs...) into contact with the earth (sand, soil, rock...). It seems to help me offload the kind of energy that leads to anxiety and insomnia. For me, it's a mood-lifter.

But winter...a little cold to be barefoot outside! I haven't come up with a winter substitute.

Then there's my agrarian heritage. I want to grow things. I'm not very good at it. The seed catalogues come, and I remind myself that I am not actually a farmer!

Last week I met with a friend I haven't seen in ages. She is an organic farmer. She has all the energy I am lacking. She's asked me to help her this year.

For me it will be just a few hours a week, but I hope to learn techniques to help me provide vegetables for my family. I will help her with seedlings, harvesting and record-keeping.

I will be out in the sun. I will have my hands, and occasionally feet, in soil. I might even be able to find some chickens to talk to!

It's a new, supported, adventure, and I'll be in fine company, even if on some days it's just chickens.

One month until spring. If I could jump, I would be ready to jump in!