Yes...I Still Like Winter

A Snowy Winter
A snow covered mulberry tree
Emma and Jake
The Red Dalmatians
"Mom, play in the snow with us!"
Hungry pigs lined up in a row!
Max giving me a kiss
A beautiful morning out front
The Farm House
Deer tracks in the back field
Curious Cats
With another snowstorm behind us, I have to say...yes, I still like winter. I woke up to a beautiful morning. Before I grabbed my first cup of coffee, I went out to the shop to let Trixie, our Great Pyrenees, back outside. The scenery was breathtaking. I rushed right back in to get my camera so I could take advantage of the morning sun bouncing off the snow. I guess I should apologize to Scott. I told him I'd be right back with coffee. I was surprised to see that it was 17 degrees. I was only out with flannel jammy pants, a fleece pull-over and snow boots. No hat, no gloves. It felt invigorating to be outside. The only sound I could hear in the peacefulness was my roosters.

Let's take this back to Friday morning...

All week the weather guys were preparing us for an "epic" snowstorm. The prepping began with chopping wood. We had to make sure we had enough for a few days just in case the electricity went out. Next was to make sure we had enough hog and chicken feed and while I was at the co-op I got more bales of straw to make sure the young guys and gals would be warm. Fortunately, it didn't really start snowing until later in the morning. Once it started it didn't lay on the roads for some time. I was able to go out one last time to purchase anything we may need. I enjoyed being out with everyone getting ready. The lines were long, however that made for great conversations. The number one item I noticed being bought was wild bird food. How kind it is to think of our wild feathered friends!

So...another bag of dog food, more chips and salsa, candles and two oil lamps finished out my shopping. Scott was able to go into Fairfax for work and be home in time to get the farm and farm house ready. We checked things off the list that Scott had written the night before. By the time we retired for the evening, the snow was in full force.

It's funny the order of thoughts that goes through one's sleepy mind when told the electricity has been out since midnight.

"What? No coffee?!!!"

"Oh no! I forgot to put MY clothes in the dryer. I don't have any jeans!"

"Hope we have enough water for the animals."

and lastly...

"The kids have plenty of snow pants. How come WE don't own any?!"

After making the fires and assessing the situation, I put a pot of water on top of the woodstove. Thank goodness I had Celestial Seasonings "Morning Thunder" tea. With caffeine! We put on our gear and headed outside in the "still snowing" morning. Chickens get so irritated when they can't leave the coop. They won't go outside in any bad weather. The hogs didn't do too badly. They were able to make trails around their huts or they just decided to stay inside. It took a good part of the day to feed and water. We wound up needing to melt snow in big stock pots on the woodstove all day long so we could have enough water for them. We weren't sure how long it would take to get our power back.

The snow finally stopped just before dark. As Scott and I were walking towards the chickens to close them up for the night, we noticed deer out in the back field. The snow was totally covering their legs. They were so beautiful. It was dark when we made it inside so we all got the candles and oil lamps and made our light. The kids found some old games in the attic. I was greeted by the familiar popping sound of "Trouble". Scott and I each had a pot of hot melted snow for washing up with a washcloth. That was very much appreciated! Food wasn't an issue. We were able to heat up leftover spaghetti and some homemade chicken soup. Scott, Jonah, Emma and I played a card game and finally we were ready for bed. Everyone layered up and grabbed extra blankets because we knew it would be frigid by morning if we didn't have electricity yet. Sometime during the night Scott woke me up and said the lights were on. So it wound up being 24 hours without electricity. We felt lucky because we didn't think we would get it back so soon. Many others still don't have it. We have a generator but we really didn't need to set it up.

I really didn't mind it for the day. I actually think we need to use the oil lamps more and the light switches less. And now....getting ready for yet another snowstorm!