It's cold outside...

I just came back in from a short snowshoe with my granddogger, Akira. It is COLD out now... about 2 degrees, but overnight, it's supposed to drop to -25 below with wind chills making it seem all the more cold. Ah, winter! I am grateful for all the firewood I brought in yesterday, and thankful for my daughter's help stacking it! The ol' wood furnace is going full tilt, and if it weren't for the wind, I'd get the fireplace roaring along with it! On nights like this, the cold shivers through any crevice it can find, and settles down upon one's shoulders and back like a damp and heavy unwanted cloak. I attached some thick felt weatherstripping to the door casings a few weeks ago, and it makes a big difference when it's so cold and windy. It was not unusual to sit in the kitchen or stand in the mudroom and see fine snow sift in between the door and the casing!

It seems to me that this winter is not unlike the winters of my childhood. We've had several snowstorms in a short span, and there has not been any melt-off and barren ground in between them as in the past few years. The trails out in the fields and woods are thickly blanketed with firm, packed snow allowing for skiing and snowshoeing. (I believe the deer and coyotes think these highways have been tramped down just for them)! The dooryard is full of deep, powdery snow... plenty for sledding and playing in! Yet even though we are in the grip of winter, the mornings are brightening earlier, and the daylight lingers ever longer before the night comes and chases her away.

Days have less urgency about them in the thick of winter. There is enough time for cooking and baking, and I suppose housekeeping! I've been finding time to hoe out the attic and various closets and storage spots. I've even snuck in time to read a few books! These are luxuries I do not take for granted. It seems once spring comes along, more demands are placed on my time. Barns need cleaning out and re-organizing, baby chicks need tending to, gardens need to be planted and trimmed; turned and weeded, fencing needs mending, and so on til one is lost in the whirr of what needs to be done next. Not to mention the longer hours to do them in.

So I will be content in winter's lull, and appreciate the time at hand, and accomplish what I will. I wish the same for you!