The night Mabel broke her arm, while we gathered around her trying to decide whether or not to cut off her dress, Ambrose, sitting nearby, was cutting his hair. We didn’t realize it until he had a nice little pile in his lap. I can never find a pair of scissors when I need them, and I’m constantly amazed at Ambrose’s ability to do so. He refused an offer of having the rest of his hair buzzed off, so he had a choppy hairstyle for a few weeks. More recently, he was discovered at my bathroom sink giving himself another trim and this time, one severe enough that clippers were needed along with lollipop bribes.
When I was younger, February was the month to survive. It always felt like the longest stretch of winter and I just wanted to make it to March and spring! I turned 46 end of December, and I don’t feel the same way about February anymore. As much as I love spring more than any other time of year, I’m glad to sink into winter for as long as it sticks around, which isn’t that long anyway here in Virginia. Over the past few weeks we’ve had snow along with a day that must have hit 80 degrees, not to mention a family wide bout of the flu. That part of winter I would love to do without. I’d forgotten how hard it is to bounce back from the flu. And maybe it’s that deep fatigue that makes me want spring to hold off a little longer. I’m not quite ready though I did start a couple flats of snapdragons in anticipation.
The first two days of the flu I didn’t feel like doing anything, but by the third or so I was ready to knit and read a bit. Larkspur and a friend of hers recently discovered a couple of Hackberry hats that I knit many years ago and declared the pattern quite fashionable. Larkspur asked me to knit her one and I remembered that there was one languishing more than half finished in a project bag, a project I started nearly four years ago in really lovely avocado skin dyed yarn. (You can find my pattern here.) It was quite satisfying to be able to produce a requested knit so quickly! I also finished Mabel’s third Puddle Duck Jumper and will get photos soon.
The book I read during my illness, The Goshawk, was one I purchased on a whim shortly after listening to Ring of Bright Water. (all Amazon links are affiliate links) Ring of Bright Water is the first person account of a man who chronicled a period of his life living in a remote location in Scotland with pet otters. The Goshawk was written by T. H. White (better known for his The Once and Future King. I haven’t read it but my oldest son has.) and it tells the story of his first attempt at falconry. One afternoon I was lying in bed reading it, and Larkspur climbed in bed next to me and started reading along randomly. She must have read just a few sentences when she exclaimed, “What in the world are you reading?” I showed her the cover and she sighed before telling me, “You’re such a weirdo, Mommy.” I guess I’ve always been fascinated by stories about human interactions with wild creatures.
Yesterday, I was at a park date for Mabel’s book club and accidentally mentioned a new interest in freshwater mussels. Another mom, ten years younger than me and basically a stranger, almost immediately interrupted me to discuss her concerns about sun damage on her face. I realized that I may be moving towards a place of being unfit for human companionship. I really am a weirdo. Maybe that’s just the weeks of flu talking, but I will try to remember to keep my odd special interests to myself in the company of innocent women who want to chat about things a bit more relevant to every day life than freshwater mussels. Even so, I do hope to read this book in the near future.
I probably need to settle on a work of fiction, but am having a hard time. The first piece of classic literature that I read as a teen by choice (not assignment) was Of Human Bondage. I remember randomly picking it up at a bookstore, probably Waldenbooks. I must have been about eighteen and it sounded angsty and interesting so I bought it and felt very smart reading its small print. I pulled that same copy off a shelf recently, and not remembering the story at all, decided to reread it. I’m about a hundred pages in, but I’ve set it aside for the currently more interesting tales of men and their wild animals. I’m afraid that Of Human Bondage is kind of depressing.
Actually, right now, I’m nearing the end of A Walk in the Woods, a book I bought for Jonny years ago meaning to read myself, but never did. The author tells the story of his time hiking on the Appalachian Trail. Jonny hiked about 55 miles of the AT as a boy scout, but I’ve never set foot on it that I can recall. My dad did take my siblings and me hiking throughout the Smokies when I was a child and I have some very fond memories involving hiking in the rain, black bears, grassy balds, and wild blueberries. Now I’m entertaining extremely unrealistic thoughts of hiking the AT (yeah right) though not as ridiculous as the deep desire I experienced to hike to base camp, after reading Into Thin Air. I get out of breath hiking upstairs to my girls’ bedroom. But that’s why we read isn’t it? We get to imagine ourselves hiking Mt. Everest or attempting to train a goshawk. We read the stories of others’ encounters with bears in the night and feel grateful that we’re sleeping indoors tonight. Though, I must say, I am feeling ready to camp again. In the meantime, I don’t mind that February is sticking around for an extra day this year.
Oh my, I love this post so much. Thinking of all the lovely talks about inspiring books we’d have! Keep up the wonderful weirdness my dear, it’s your super power!
Ginny,
I don’t think you are a weirdo because you want to talk about fresh water mussels. I think there are too many shallow people who cannot discuss anything that has substance.
At 63 I find myself to not have anything relevant to say to most anyone younger than 55 because I am so out of touch with anything pop culture or current anything. Oh well. it doesn’t really bother me too much. I am happy to be a weirdo, too.
I would be so much more interested in fresh water mussels than sun damage on your skin…oh, if only we would meet in a park at homeschool meet up!! Please don’t ever stop talking about the books you read – I love your lists and comments and have so many of your recommendations on my wish list. We, in the southern hemisphere, are feeling the opposite weather – hot, humid, summer days and by this time in February I am ready for the slight coolness to come in the mornings and evenings.
I think of myself as an ambivert, but I’m very melancholic, read: deep. I may not have an interest in mussels, currently, but I’m usually thinking about something much deeper than sun damage when I’m in a group!
I like to read depressing books like The Tattooist of Auschwitz and the memoirs of Cardinal Mindzenty in the gulag—stories of ordinary people surviving in horrific situations. And adventures. I read Into Thin Air years ago and all the other books of the 1996 Everest disaster. Hiking just to base camp sounds challenging enough, although I am appalled by the crowds that attempt Everest now! I’d rather hike the Camino de Santiago where there are beds and restaurants. 🙂
I hope you recover your energy soon! The sun is coming back and that makes me so much happier.
I’m another one who’d be happy to talk to you about freshwater mussels. My daughter and I were just talking the other day about how the people who seem happiest are the ones who embrace being a little weird. 🙂
Hi Ginny, I would rather listen to you talk about mussels or any other random interest that might come to mind, any day, rather than a conversation about the effects of sun on the other lady’s skin. That said, I’m not known for having a lot of success talking to women my age (late 30’s) because I’m also a weirdo :).
I can relate to feeling like a wierdo around other women. We live in a foreign (only to me) country and when I do get a chance to speak my mind in English rather than broken Polish, I realize that I must not be very interesting. The other people around just kind of nod politely. I get so excited to be able to talk freely that I forget to curb my enthusiasm and ramble about all I have been wanting to say.
You have inspired me to start some seeds. Always just a little late with that myself.
Peace be with you!
OK I am so here for a conversation about mussels. I totally get the interest in what you actually are thinking about. I am this way too. I think about different things that interst me but a lot of people wuold totally not get. Why not be yourself, everyone else is taken. love you Ginny!
Ginny you are not weird at all!! I think with the current state of the world we want to be weird. Anyway, I recommend a memoir that I just read Move Like Water by Hannah Stowe. You will not be disappointed!
You might enjoy Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, a book about the first woman to walk the entire Appalachian Trail solo. Also, I would like to hear you thoughts on freshwater mussels. I know I would learn something! ❤️
Please don’t stop talking about freshwater mussels, or goshawks, or mice, or otters, or goats or chickens! Your weirdo kindred spirits are here, relishing in the fact that we have so much in common and are NOT worried about my face or spots there-on. Your life is beautiful and I thank you for sharing it. P.S. I joined the Lepidopterists Society after reading “A Girl of the Limberlost.” You are not alone!
Hi Ginny, I’ve been following you’re blog for a couple of years now. This is the first time I comment. I enjoy your posts and beautiful photos so much. I’ve always had a hard time fitting in with other women, so I know exactly how you feel!
I enjoyed “A Walk in the Woods.” Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. I, too, am a wierdo and feel like at this point in my life (56) there is no point in trying to fit in. Bring on the random books and strange topic discussions! I am here for it.
Hi, please let me know, where is that fabulous cape of Larkspur from? It looks fantastic!
Hi Noeh! My daughter-in-law made it!
Hi, I usually enjoy your photos, and found the ones in this post particularly beautiful. Thank you. And I hope Mabel’s arm heals well and soon.
If I was at that bookclub I would have preferred talking to you about fresh water mussels!
You are the best Ginny. Please continue to just be you. I am a 52 year old mother with 7 children, my youngest is just 6, and I have found that I am absolutely the weirdo amongst these young mamas. My oldest is 29, so I have seen, as I am sure you have, many generations of parenting styles and fads. We need more mothers who are their true blue selves loving life and all its creations.
Agreed! I am a a late-40s weirdo mom!
Hi Ginny;
Hope Mabel’s arm is doing okay and you are doing better too.
Ambrose keeps you on your toes. He is an adventurous boy.
Happy ST.Valentine’s Day
Marion
Ginny I hope you are feeling much better. Your posts are always very interesting
Ambrose has a mind of his own. he knows w hat he needs for his hair cut. A cutie.
Happy ST. Valentine’s Day .
Joan
Ginny, your photography is so beautiful! I am curious about the sleeping mice. Are they pets? Another book you might like is Mozart’s Starling. Really fascinating. I love starlings myself, even though I gather they are not appreciated by various folks and with good reason. But I think they are lovely.
Hi Theresa! Yes, they are pets- four female mice that I brought home last summer to be my h.s. biology class pets. They travel to homeschool co op for class once a week. I really enjoy them more than other rodent pets we’ve had, but they smell terrible! I read Mozart’s Starling last year and really enjoyed it! 🙂
The so-called weirdoes are the most interesting people! Give me someone authentic with their own unusual interests over a bland person any day :).
I personally loved Of Human Bondage and found it uplifting rather than depressing – I like stories about people rejection societal conventions to make their own path in life (I spy a weirdo theme, haha). Having said that, I did read it about ten years ago.
Enjoy your February, Ginny :).
Hi, Bee! I agree about weirdoes. 🙂 I will try to stick with Of Human Bondage. So far it was feeling prettyy dark to me, which I usually am good with, but for some reason not so much right now. I usually like any book you recommend. 🙂
I so love your posts, Ginny, and selfishly hope you never stop. Been reading for years (about 12 or 13?) And I would love to discuss mussels of any type with you.
If you’re a weirdo, then I am too, Ginny. I routinely find myself having conversations with other mums at school pick-up time and being met with mild astonishment 😀 Loved your post, as always.
Another fellow introvert here.
When I typed my online dating profile that found my husband of 10 years, it said,” Must be ok with the fact that I like animals better than most people.” He was:)
Reading ideas….Charles Frazier, a Western NC native who wrote”Cold Mountain”( not my favorite of his ) writes historic fiction. He writes about the smokies, Jefferson Davis’ wife and an artist hired by the government to paint murals during the depression. My favorite is”13 Moons” which is about a bound boy growing up working a trading post and being adopted into the Cherokee Tribe before, during and after the removal.
Thank you for all the beauty that you created and share
Thanks for the recommendations!
Ginny, I loved the book, “H is for Hawk” by Helen Macdonald, and I bet you would too. The author tells of her raising a hawk while she is also grappling with grief. It’s an extraordinary story. In it, she references the book you are reading now.
Do pick up Grandma Gatewood’s Walk to read.
I was just going to suggest Grandma Gatewood and am not surprised one of Ginny’s other readers would do so. It’s wonderful! If you’re in the mood for a movie, the film version of A Walk in the Woods is fun, too.
I requested it at the library! 🙂
I requested it from the library! Thanks for the recommendation. Sounds great!
Sorry you all had the flu. It does take a while to recover. When I had the flu years a go I went out in the rain too soon and caught pneumonia. Ambrose sounds like he wants to be a barber when he grows up. Hope Mabel’s arm is healing. I always enjoy your posts.
Happy Saint Valentine’s Day
Marilyn
I love your posts and your views on things so much! You inspire me. Thank you!
Thank you for the smiles and the chuckles, they were needed today. I always love your snowy blogs the best! Aching for snow here in the NC mtns, none yet. And also thank you for the reading inspiration. I got The Yearling to read to the kids soon, and may have to add a couple of these to our list. Phoebe really wanted to get homing pigeons a couple years ago and I bet she’d love the book on falconry.
I am in the extreme western corner of Watauga County where we have had tons of snow. You must be further south. You might need to make a trip up the the High Country. 🙂 Nice to see a fellow NC Mama here. 🙂
Hi Martha! For some reason I had it in my head that you read The Yearling last year when we did. You’ll have to tell me what you think!
I don’t know that being interrupted when discussing mussels is a sign of your weirdness as much as it is a sign of someone else’s lack of manners. Even if I had nothing to contribute to a discussion on aquatic life, it would still be more interesting than talking about wrinkles. (If you listen closely, you can hear my eyes rolling, haha!)
I just added ‘Immersion’ to my Amazon cart so thank you for mentioning it 😊
Couldn’t agree more. The world needs more women like Ginny. Bring on the conversations about mussels! Away with the talk about makeup or the latest fashion or what’s on sale where!
Yes please! I want to discuss freshwater mussels and avocado skin yarn dyes instead of face creams any day.
Agree. How super rude and also totally narcissistic and boring of that other mom. Wrinkles. Yawn.
Ginny, when I was in high school I was obsessed with The Once and Future King. I haven’t read it since then. Makes me want to go down to the basement and find my old copy. I used to draw pictures of Guinevere in my notebook. :))
I really can’t get interested in discussing wrinkles, that’s for sure! I really need to read The Once and Future King, especially knowing you were obsessed with it!
I’m envious you were able to make snowmen! We had beautiful snow—but fine and powdery and totally against clumping together to form a snowball let alone a whole man.
Haha, my little boy recently got a buzz cut as well. Only it was because of my own over zealous (and over confident) attempt to cut his hair myself. It didn’t turn out well. 😂 At least with boys you can start fresh with a razor. 👍 Also, I agree with everyone. Fresh water mussels seem far more interesting conversationally!
I would love to talk about freshwater mussels at a book club park meetup!
You always have the best book recommendations. It would be neat to see Seth’s book list sometime 🙂 I recall a few other great suggestions from him in the past, on previous posts.
“Yesterday, I was at a park date for Mabel’s book club and accidentally mentioned a new interest in freshwater mussels…” Well now I really want you to write a blog post about freshwater mussels, because I would have loved to hear your thoughts!
And no that’s not pressure to write more blogs. 😉 Just know that there are indeed people who would not find you unfit for human companionship.
(And perhaps, that your interest in the world around you was interrupted by someone else’s culturally-driven concern about their appearance was really just an indication of the navel-gazing self focus that permeates our current culture, so…I don’t know that you’re the problem…)
Watching Ambrose grow up does something good to my heart. I am taken back to the years when our only child was his age, reminding me of how much I loved being a mother raising a child.
There was a time when I wanted five just like my parents but raising a child with care and intent took time—most of my time anyway. It paid off in the end because our daughter grew up to be an amazing human being, leaving me to often wonder how I could have done such a great job. LOL.
Thanks for introducing me to books I might never read but your relationship with books are akin to my own. I have a number of unfinished reads that still beckon, along with a few that will be donated without guilt because they will never received the benediction of “The End” after the final page is turned.
Your photographs are forever works of art that always pull me in.
Thanks for read-worthy posts that show gently lived lives that remind us that not all families are vulgar reality shows.
Be well.
It is so great to read people who love raising children Bobbie. There are so many who seem to dislike it even if they chose to do it. Mothering is such a great gift. Glad you enjoyed. You must be a super auntie (I think “aunting” can apply even to children who are “not from your family”). The world needs more aunties!
Fellow introvert here! Your comment about being unfit for human companionship really tugged at my heart. I know EXACTLY what you mean and how it made you feel. I’m a bit older than you, but I have found it’s just a matter of finding your people. It truly is. And I’d much rather have one of those people than a bunch. And I follow more animals on IG than people. So you be you cause you’re incredibly awesome!!!!!
Glad to hear everyone is feeling better. Ambrose is just adorable. I had to giggle as my 6 year old granddaughter “found” the scissors and decided to trim her bangs. Well, after taking off a lot on each side, a trip to the hairdressers was in order.😊 Ambrose looks nice with his new trim. 😊 Love reading your updates on everything. God bless, Anne 😊
I can relate to your thoughts about appropriate conversation. I often find myself wanting to have a real conversation about relevant topics but find the majority of my friends do not. Everything has to be on a surface level and frankly, it’s boring. Conversation in the 21st century seems to be relegated to political sound bites and banal discussion of recipes and home decor. Glad that I am an introvert.
I’m with the other commenters above! Fresh-water mussels is actually a way more appropriate (or at least, interesting!) conversation topic with near strangers than personal health issues. lol!
Our Virginia weather sure has been all over the place this winter, hasn’t it?! I actually blame that partially on all the seasonal illnesses 😜. I feel like most of our Jan was spent with similar issues so I am hoping for more awareness in February!
Honestly, I feel that discussing aquatic wildlife is a reasonable conversational gambit in a group setting; whilst being interrupted by a stranger to share personal medical concerns, is maybe not quite so much on the reasonable side? …?
Hope you’re all fully recovered from the flu now! We had a bad bout (the upper respiratory type) and I am yet post virally fatigued …
I spy a wee grandbaby, yes!?🤗
Love hearing other peoples’ book notes, thank you for sharing!
I expect it was the other Mum’s nervousness and lack of self-confidence that made her interrupt rather than you being weird. And anyway, who wants to be the same as everybody else? 🙂 Christine xx
I would chat about fresh-water mussels with you any time! I know nothing about them, but am always fascinated with the lives of creatures we share the planet with.