Holidays and cold days

We made it past the consumerist holidays...almost. New Years is still on the way, but I look forward to leaving this cold year behind and moving into the next. Spring will be coming with the new year, and warmth with it.

I think it is getting easier each year to not participate in Christmas. I have less guilt now, which I believe is just a carry over from cultural programming. Of course most of my extended family is still not happy with our decision not to participate in a holiday we don't believe in. I'm not sure why, but that's how it is. Our little kids are young enough, it doesn't seem to matter anyway. It's just another day. Of course, when you don't participate, you realize just how much the nonsense has saturated the American culture. As if everyone in the country has to be a part of it, by default. It's on the radio, on Pandora commercials, I get ads from my banks, not to mention the decorations everywhere. Silliness really. All (mostly) in support of a consumerist culture. Funny, my family and I spend time together every day, showing each other how much we love each other with our words and actions. Every day is about sharing the love, isn't it?

We didn't do anything alternative to celebrate. The Solstice came and went with a subtle acknowledgement of longer days to come. It is just too cold here to be motivated to do much of anything. It's too cold to process a turkey outside. I don't want to go out into the woods to look for sticks, or build a pyramid in the yard, I just want to stay warm and have the temperature rise enough for the snow to melt. Being warm is all that matters.

The animals are hanging in there. The goats wander out in the yard to stand in the sun during the day. The chickens are laying again, thanks to the light we put in their coop and the few days of above freezing temps we got. Mostly our highs hover around the high 20's. When we get up in the morning the temperature is always nearer to 0 than not.

We did find a home for our older hens. A nice man came up from Hondo to pick them up. It might be just enough warmer down that way that the chickens will lay some eggs for him.

I was looking toward Las Vegas, NM as a possible relocation, but it turns out there is no water there and the wells are drying up. There are beautiful trees close in, which means more potential for forest fires, plus, they have a recorded lowest temp of -28 F. That isn't any better than here, is it?

Fowler, CO is warmer, has a bit more water in the way of annual precipitation, and is closer to a big city. And, come to find out, they are on a fast track to becoming sustainable, removing themselves from the grid, as a town, and working hard to make their community resilient in the face of things to come. Interesting, and fits most of the criteria Richard has outlined for a better place to relocate. Of course we still have to find a suitable place and a way to finance it. That doesn't change, no matter where we look.