Saturday Musings...Already?

Trying to get out of town--this is when stupid seems to come out in people the worst--just as the roads start getting some accumulation.

What a good weekend to be 'snowed in' with my critter family. It's been a draining and sad week and I'm glad to remove myself to my little homestead and try not to think of the evil that lives in the world. (No, nothing has happened to me, but there has been a terrible family murder/suicide that has deeply affected the community where I work. As much as we try to 'understand' there is often just no way to comprehend something of this nature.)

The weather people had been predicting 'maybe heap big snows' for our area all week. They waffled back and forth on the inches accumulated and whether we would get ice or snow. They predicted this big storm system (the same one that slammed Oklahoma) to move in Thursday night. By the time we would wake up Friday we would probably have six to twelve inches. Thursday in amongst all the other things going on at work, I attempted to get everything done that needed to be done for Sunday, 'just in case' I couldn't make it in Friday.

Friday morning there were many angry and dismayed people-most of them little critters. No snow! No ice! That meant no 'snow day'. No long weekend. Sigh. My philosophy is--if it snows, let it be a nice gentle one where the roads stay clear OR one deep enough so I don't even have to 'try' and go to work. So off to work I went, just as the clouds opened and snow began to fall...hard.

By the time I got to work the roads were covered. I only work four hours on Friday, so I planned to stay til then. We also had another funeral that I wanted to attend. (We had three funerals in a row this week at work---one for the above mentioned tragedy) This funeral was a very joyous one for a 90+ year old flamboyant Christian lady who lived her life to the absolute fullest. Her favorite color was pink (with purple a close second) and I've never seen so many pink flowers at a funeral. Even the funeral director wore a pink tie. It was really one of the most uplifting homegoings I've been to. I needed the perspective.

Leaving plenty of room between me and 'them'.

However once out of work, it was back to the reality of winter. It had been snowing in earnest and I was ready to head home. First I wanted to pick up lunch (my Friday treat--veggie Stromboli this time!), then it was homeward bound.

Headed down 'The Hill' --once I get past this valley and it's giant hills on each side, it's usually home free.

Really the roads were decent, but people are so stupid sometimes. Just slow down! Yikes. You are going to spend more time digging yourself out of the ditch than if you just reduce to a reasonable speed. The further away from town I got, the snowier the roads were, but also the less traffic.

Weekly weather report...what happened to the mud?

Once home, I did some chores, and then let the dogs in for awhile. They were thrilled. The temperature had dropped considerably and it was getting quite cold. We had a quiet afternoon, then it was chore time. It had been snowing steadily all day. The sheep were quite chipper and seemed to be enjoying it, as they were either laying outside or playing or eating hay. Most had a couple inches of snow on their backs and snow all over their faces--you could tell a few had been having some fun.

Hauling a sack of feed to the chicken house...Yes, there is something wrong with this picture (besides the big dog wearing a sweat shirt...) Why aren't the DOGS pulling the sled??)

I carried in piles of wood and stoked the fire, as it was getting colder in the house too. This morning the sun came out, and I think we have about six inches of the white stuff. It's a light dry snow, so it's easy to move around.

I left the chickens up today, as they won't venture out into the white stuff anymore anyway. I've gotten two eggs from the old girls this week and when I fixed them for breakfast I was once again amazed at how much richer and tastier they are than store bought. Even in the dead of winter.

Boone supervising. This old sled is from my childhood. It's pretty old, could even be an antique, if you wanted to put it that way...I use it sometimes to haul feed around.

Yesterday when I got home, Boone was cold, Tibby was cold (outside kitty), and so I had to take 'action'. Boone got to come in the house for awhile but I knew he'd be cold in the night. I fashioned him a new vest to wear (his other one needs to be washed). A little trimming here and there on an old 'March of Dimes' sweatshirt and some duct tape and he was in business. He seems quite proud of his wardrobe. Tibby got her heated disc put in her bed, of which she was profoundly grateful!

Ashley--farm collie in progress. Here she is feet freezing up because I was mean and made her go with us to the garage. She hates rain, mud, snow.... but I have hope that she'll soon be more interested in 'missing out' than disliking the weather. She does manage to look beautiful though, no matter what she is doing! ha..

The kittens have finally wound down and it's now peaceful and quiet. I'm enjoying the day of just puttering around and doing as I please. Enjoying being 'snowed in'.

Hope you all have a great week.