It is a typical gray November day. The air is bitter and heavy with woodsmoke, the ground having just melted away the last of the heavy frost, and sweaters are now the normal every day wardrobe. In the past few weeks, I have found myself with holiday burnout before the holidays have even truly begun.…
Technically, winter doesn't begin until the end of December, but in the Finger Lakes it's hard to deny that there's a certain chill to the air that is very reminiscent to winter. And so, for the last three years I've found myself humming Christmas songs* and joyfully walking in snowfall in November. *It should be…
A few years ago I was in therapy for anxiety, and I'm in therapy again, and an area we worked on was getting myself to take into full consideration the present. To be more mindful in my day-to-day activities so that I would not be as crippled with anxiety over possibilities in the future. It…
End of summer and beginning of autumn life update can be read here. As so much of this year has been filled with uncertainty and unknowing, with the shadow of worry close at hand, that feeling unsurprisingly poured into our holiday seasons but no holiday greater than Halloween. How would we celebrate Halloween? What would…
More times than not, I write on my Instagram. It's where I share most of my photos and will often write quick blurbs in the description that are much longer than what most people write in theirs, and often I lend far too much meaning to an area most people scroll past. I've wanted to…
In Pagan traditions, August 1st is the celebration of the start of the harvest. It’s a time to remember that Autumn isn’t far off, even if you’re in the height of summer weather. This seems most appropriate in the Finger Lakes, as August seems to be all of that. We have the most inconsistent weather…
Continue reading ➞ Wild & Precious Life – End of Summer/Start of Autumn 2020
How are we here already? Autumn is my favorite season, one I deeply miss when it isn't present and eagerly look forward to the moment I hit my threshold for being constantly sweaty in the depths of summer. I appreciate and love every other season but autumn? That's perfection to me. And yet I am…
In Virginia, August was the depth of summer. The hottest days, the highest of humidity made all the worse if a tropical storm or hurricane came winding up the coast. We had regular days where the heat index was over 100 and I wouldn't go outside if you paid me. The humidity was oppressive, choking…
Since posting last, we celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's--a first as our family of three. Bruce and I were so ready for the winter months so that we would have more time to focus inward and accomplish projects around home that we had previously ignored. We didn't realize how quickly winter would come…
Continue reading ➞ Wild and Precious Life – End of 2019/New Year
I write plenty of reflective pieces on this page but rarely give a life update. I suppose I leave that to those who happen to follow my Instagram, as I pen long captions for each photo I provide. But I feel at the same time there is this lack of personal day-to-day tales missing on…
Lows in the 40s, crisp night air, crackling bonfires and sweaters held close. Apples are like fists, pummeling the ground while the breeze shakes them free. There's a familiar scent in the air last present a year ago with dim skies and spooky shadows. The sun sets earlier and earlier, the darkness holds on longer,…
Please Note: An edited version of this piece will be featured in the Autumn issue of Bella Grace magazine. More details to follow. In my childhood, autumn was sweaters and boots and jeans. Sometimes, autumn was winter jackets a puffing our breath into the air to pretend we were dragons. But always, it began at…
Erica Rose Eberhart 