Blessings of the Season

Thanksgiving morning I pulled on my leather boots and trekked out into the snow drifts up to my knees.  I was on a treasure hunt... I grabbed a shovel frozen to the ground and set off, determined.  The day was clear and turquoise blue.  The turkey was already in the oven and soon friends and family would gather to celebrate the abundant harvest and the many blessings of our lives.  I set out walking east towards the 14,000 foot mountains that rose up majestically, protecting our small mountain town.  Just south of our greenhouse lay the frozen garden beds, covered in snow and ice.  The season's spiral in full swing, I wondered if the earth would be frozen or if the snow, as white and cold as it appeared, had in fact insulated the soil.  I scooped away a foot of snow where I thought I remembered the carrots growing, their green fern-like leaves reaching to the sun.  Sure enough I saw a speck of bright orange contrasting the dark soil and the white snow...my hands dug into the cool moist earth lifting up the sweet abundance.  I sang a song of gratitude and carried a bowl of dirty carrots into the house to wash them by the fire.  Then my mother and I cut them up into small circles, each carrot unique in shape and size, bursting with life.  We cook them up together and make them into a family recipe~cheesy carrots! SOOOO Yummy! As we later gather with our tribe of neighbors, family and friends we all feast on the treasures of the season and give thanks for all the blessings of life.  My heart soars with gratitude, and we celebrate into the night laughing next to the crackling woodstove, preparing for the coming winter!