In the meadow we can build a snowman...or not!

 

On Friday we got the most beautiful snow! I'd been waiting for it and when it arrived, I was thrilled. I love seeing those fluffy, white flakes fall from the sky. I was thankful the weather predictions were on target, they usually aren't when it comes to winter weather here, but this time, they did good! 

We were ready. We'd purchased a dump truck load of split red and white oak the day before in anticipation of the cold weather. My husband I worked hard to get all the wood stacked and covered. We couldn't wait to build our first fire of the season in our new house! Having a blazing fire on a winter's day was so comforting and we'd enjoyed many over the past years at our other homes. 

We'd also pulled out the antique glass lanterns, purchased new lamp oil and wicks. Power outages are common in this area when there's snow or ice and we didn't want to be off guard. 

We had a charcoal grill, charcoal and lighter fluid at the ready, too. If the power failed we'd need to salvage as much food as we could from our fridge and freezer. We'd learned from past experience how devastating it could be to lose a freezer full of food. Thankfully the last time that happened we'd saved our receipt and were able to be reimbursed by our insurance company minus our deductible, of course. 

We went to bed knowing we'd done the best we could do and were surprised to find 5 inches of snow! We hadn't expected that much! 

The white blanket looked so lovely in the moonlight as we stood on the front porch enjoying the view. It was so quiet and still. We looked for wildlife, but didn't see any. Normally, we have a herd of deer that come through. They're so gentle as they softly pad across the yard. But nothing was out, not even the neighborhood feral cat, Tommy. We were worried about him and hadn't seen him in days although we had prepared a warm place for him to rest and had been providing food for him for months. All we could do was pray for his safety.


Today, we're listening to constant dripping as our beautiful snow is melting! I'd built a tiny snowman on the front porch on Saturday because I wanted to feel like a kid again but it was too cold. Instead of doing a  proper one in the yard, I opted to make one atop a small table on the porch. I only worked on it for about 10 minutes and my fingers were frozen! 

I don't know how I managed, as a kid, to stay out in the snow for hours and hours, running and playing...having snowball fights, sledding, building snowmen or making snow angels. I must have had thicker skin then but I know I didn't have the warm down coat like I do now or the sturdy warm boots and gloves.

Back then, we slipped our sock feet into plastic bread wrappers and then into our rain boots to help keep our feet dry. I remember coming back in with no feeling whatsoever in my feet and having to sit for hours barefoot in front of our radiant gas heater until they thawed out again. Those were the days! 

They're predicting another round of wintry weather for this coming weekend. I don't know if I want to go through more of it but as long as it's not ice, I'll be happy. Ice on power lines and trees typically causes outages here. We really need to get a generator. It's on my "to do" list but it hasn't been done yet. They're so expensive.

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