Where the Sun Sets Early and the Land Feels like Fantasy

I would like to dub myself officially back on my feet *knock on wood*! The past few days I've been able to eat and move around and ACTUALLY participate in life as a human being and not a bag of bones. Still on a teeter-totter of feeling good and bad but I'm on the mend.

My Current Home

We have no snow here, which is unusual for this time of year. The other day we were blessed with what the Norwegians call Blind Ice! A thick layer of ice blanketed the roads and even meadows for a solid 2 days. One of those days I took the ATV out with a team of 6 dogs following on of the tourist groups. Never have I ever felt so out of control. The dogs were sliding, I was sliding; it was Bambi on ice. All said and don, e the fresh air and adrenaline rush helped my immune system beat down "The Illness" a few knocks.

Thanking the Ice Gods I didn't crash the ATV

The lack of snow yields a slow turnover of tourists and not everyday is filled with dogs and customer service. On a day I was still bound to the close proximity of a chair or bed I was taken out on one of the quads and shown the extensive trail system right in this valley. Years worth of a mushing playground is right out his front door! While becoming familiar with the trail system was an exciting excursion, I was all "goo goo eyed" over the land. I am aware of the fact that I keep saying this but I FEEL LIKE I AM IN A FANTASY LAND. I can't get over the green ground cover and the undeniably blue water. It would be silly to only attribute these feelings to just the fresh colors; the air feels like there is a dust of magic, whirling around keeping the ancient land young forever. There was no doubt in my soul that we were driving among little villages of faeries and trolls.

I call this one "Back to the Earth" or "Anna's sitting stump" :)

On our day off Anna and I went for a little walk while we had some sunlight to take use of. The waterfall we walked to was not completely frozen yet, just pools of blue meandering among the pale blue and white ice that took its winter hibernation earlier than the rest. If I didn't know how cold that water was I would have gladly jumped in for a swim in its purity.

Waterfall Hike

A part of me is maturing being here, not strictly in the sense that I'm traveling and getting new experiences as a person, but my wonder is maturing. As I was sitting in the echo of the waterfall and staring up at the mountains jetting from the Earth so sharply spoken, I felt as if I was living my own fairy tale. My spirit is light with the realization that there can always be a magical experience or new adventure if one changes perspective and finds the wonder that is in the world.

The sun sets early....

One thing that is REALLY messing with my head though is the short days of sunlight. With the sun setting around 2pm my body is ready to hit the hay at 5. For those that have never experienced darker days of winter I will tell you it's not something your body adjusts to overnight!
Aside from the sickness, my next hurtle to clear is to not pass out on the couch at 4pm.
God nott!