Hello!
Today the weather
warmed up enough (close to 60 degrees) that I am hanging clothes out on the
line. I love to see clean wash flapping in the breeze and sunshine. The wind
still has the arctic chill to it reminding one that winter is not over yet.
We've had a couple
skiffs of snow to whiten the landscape and one bad ice storm in January with
temperatures below freezing that had me housebound for over a week. Dwight with
his 4-wheel drive truck brought in Dana's meds, milk and bread for me as I couldn't
get out. The snowplow doesn't come down
our dead end road and the hill out to the main road faces north so it is slow
to melt off here in the forest of the Big South Fork.
My daffodils are
already poking their heads out of the ground. It's so exciting to see tiny
green shoots appear on the barren ground because it lets me know that spring is
coming. Meanwhile I'll keep my wood-stoves going on rainy cold days.
We didn't get in as
much wood as we would have liked for the winter and with January being colder
our wood supply was running low. So a couple of weekends, Dwight cut up some
dead trees in our woods to help tide us over. Case and I helped carry wood and
stack it in the wood shed as well as replace wood on the porch and inside for
me, which is such a blessing as I wear out quicker than I used to do. Meanwhile
toting wood, cleaning out the ashes in the stoves, and carting water to the
animals each day keeps me in shape. Cold days finds me cooking up mash as well
to pamper the dear hens.
I
also love to bake, do up a batch of homemade bread, and make a huge pot of soup
when wintry winds are blowing outside. I hate to leave the warmth inside and
double up on my clothing to brave the frigid temperatures outside when it’s
time to go feed my animals. But what joy to come back inside and toast my body
beside a crackling fire with a cup of hot tea as a fat lazy cat curls up on the
rug at my feet.
During
cold days I’ve been doing some much needed cleaning inside. One week I cleaned
out my closet in the master bedroom. I couldn’t believe all the stuff I had
stuck in there that needed sorting out. Doing a room each month helps me to
keep more on top of things- at least that is my goal. It’s amazing how dirt and everything piles
up.
This
winter I decided not to start tomatoes etc on my dining room table. It takes a
lot of work to set it up and then keep up with the growing plants. So I chose
to take a year off of my indoor greenhouse. In the meantime I am enjoying the
bright blossoms of my geranium and impatiens that I brought inside and are
sitting on a sunny windowsill beside my computer along with the other blooming
plants that I have indoors while freezing winds howl outside.
Stay
warm on your end and have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
Dorcas
