Friday, December 12, 2008

winter light

Me on right with my friend, Andy.

Yes, Roz is right, I don't quite understand snow. Ok so I WAS born in Michigan (shhhh, it's a secret!) and I have adorable pictures of me in a snowsuit. I quit understanding snow the year I lived in South Dakota/northern Nebraska, when it was 117 on the Fourth of July and -42 in December. Admittedly, there wasn't that much snow involved in the whole process, because it doesn't rain out there very often... But still, snow and my brain just sort of did a disconnect, which was reinforced when I lived in Madison, Wisconsin the next winter...

But winter light is winter light and I love it. I try to analyze light. I think about it: would I know that this was December if there were no other external clues, just the light? I think the answer is yes, because here in Texas at least - where we do have palm trees, although they don't really sway - the other clues are highly changeable. It can be warm or it can be cold, but the light is that sort of weak, lemony, but kind of harsh light... Raking light from the angle of the sun.

This week it has been cold - a couple days - and warm... Also a couple of days. And today was a warmish one... Mid sixties. I went for a walk late afternoon. I went to the Golden Slipper, my local shoe repair shop. "When do you want 'em?" the guy asked me. "Umm, today?" I replied. After all, it was my favorite pair of Børn Cardinal boots. I wear 'em at the tree lot. It's part of my high fashion lumberjack look. He said he could have 'em ready by five. I said that was cool 'cos I needed to go to Farm to Market Grocery (Look for the radish!) on South Congress. So I walked there, enjoying my neighborhood and the fall colors of the leaves, and the neighborhood goat.

After I shopped at Farm to Market, I went next door and ate dinner at Woodland. Ok, it was a bit early, but it was happy hour, so I had the white bean and sausage soup with a glass of Malbec. And damn, I missed not having my journal with me! After the mugging, when I go shopping, I take just a bag and a credit card or $$$ in my pocket, but NOT my purse. So I didn't have a journal, and I was hard up.

I'm going to have to work this whole thing out. I don't want to be mugged again - and, oh horrors, if they'd gotten my purse with my journal in it! - but, I can't go around without my journal.

So, I've got some thinking to do.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I found your blog through Roz's, whose blog I found through Danny Gregory's podcast, and beyond that it's a blur..
Just wanted to say hi, that I like the way you write, and your sense of humour, and your touching sick cat story, and your artwork.

Where do you teach?

wendy hale davis said...

Anna Maria!
I mostly teach in and around Austin, but have taught in Boston. I'm trying to work out some stuff on the east coast for when I'm in NY in the summer and when I'm traveling to and from.

Ricë said...

what happened to your borns? you didn't tell me about that! aieee-need i beware?

Anonymous said...

Wendy, I love the photo of you and Andy in the snow suits. Proof that you dealt with snow. I guess living in Nebraska and South Dakota goes a long way towards explaining things!

Winter light is beautiful!

I'm having difficulty sitting here thinking of you without your journal, so I'm anxious to hear what you're thinking about this.

Roz