Things I Like About January

Sometime around the middle of December, I begin to dread January. December is so full of joy and light and fun and family. January is so q-u-i-e-t, dark, empty, long. But this January (so far) seems different. I'm really enjoying this one. I don't know if this year is different, or if I'm different, but here are the things I like about (this) January.

Beauty
Sunsets and sunrises. Frosted leaves and grass. Snow silently falling. Clear cold days and nights (there have been a few!).

Birds
I guess it is living here on the slough - but I've never seen such a concentration of birds - cool birds, not just your run-of-the-mill robins and chickadees. I didn't know there were so many kinds of ducks. Mallards I knew, but Buffle Heads, Coots, Wood Ducks, to name a few I didn't know. They are beautiful and quirky and all so different. Chris (our family Duck Commander) delights in pointing out the different varieties and helping us identify them. Yesterday a Blue Heron hung out behind the house. He/she was in no hurry - long neck turning this way and that. A Snowy Owl perched on my back fence long enough for me to get a good look before swooping away. A Red Tailed Hawk lives in the tree directly across the slough from our house. I watch him circle and land nearly every day. And just now, a Bald Eagle came rocketing down to pick up a little something to eat from the bounty of the slough.

Balance
I think I need January as a place to regain equilibrium and balance. The calm, quiet of January is a perfect time to reflect and recoup from the frenzy of the Fall months. Long nights and short days offer an excuse to rest.

This year I have no job to rush off to every day. I didn't have a long list of "new" initiatives to begin or programs to implement. I think this has given me time to be aware of how wonderful the month of January really is. Maybe next year, regardless of my employment situation, I will be more aware of the beauty and I won't dread it so much.