Snow - Do I Really Have to be Included in This?

I think I've mentioned before that I'm not a cold weather person. I really just don't care for cold weather. Not only do I really dislike bundling up in clothing, cold weather is.... well... cold. Not a big fan of cold.

But it's cold on the homestead today. And it's snowing. Snow is really pretty if you are on the inside looking out. But I don't like actually being in the snow. Not only is it wet, it's.... well.... cold.

Everyone in this house handled this snowy day differently. Elvis handled it like this:




Priscilla handled it like this:




And Bernie handled it like this:



Bernie's always showing all of us up by gathering firewood and stuff.

And I handled it by taking pictures in the house and out the windows. The truth is, I did actually venture out. In keeping with my vow to make it outside at least one time a day during this winter, I decided to get all brave and stuff and wander down to the mailbox to check the mail.

Our mailbox is at the bottom of our driveway - which is about 1/4 of a mile. It's ordinarily a nice walk, so I decided I would bundle up and head on down there. All by myself. I was in a pretty good mood as I put on my snow boots. By the time I got them laced up, I was starting to get a little annoyed. The are bulky and cumbersome, and as I tried to put my snow suit on over top of the boots, my mood was deteriorating. By the time that ordeal was over, I was starting to sweat and get pretty irritated. I finally managed to cram my hands in my gloves and get the stinkin' top of them over my sleeves. As I put my hat on, it got hung up on my pony tail. I squished it on and loudly announced "Well THIS is fun!!" as I stormed out the door.

As I walked along in the winter wonderland, looking at beauty of our woods covered in a white blanket, and listening to snow gently hitting the tree limbs as it floated to the ground, I couldn't help but wonder why the hell I was outside in this mess! But in truth, my spirit lifted with each step and pretty soon I was skipping right along with a song in my heart. OK, maybe I wasn't skipping, and the song was likely me wheezing as I huffed it up the hilly drive, but still, I did get in a better mood.

Our mailman is unpredictable and unreliable on a good day, so I have no idea why I expected a snowy day like today would be any different. He had not shown up yet. I closed the mailbox and started back to the house. About halfway up the drive, I saw Bernie walking down towards me. He probably figured I was in such a foul weather mood that I would throw myself in front of the first car that passed down our desolate road and he came to check on me. We stood and watched the snow for a few minutes and then headed back to the house. I threw a snowball at him and ran in to the comfort of our fireplace. Which is where I plan to stay until all this snow melts.

Bernie did head out early this morning to do a little turkey hunting. But apparently the turkeys don't like snow either, and stayed holed up the whole time he was out there. He came in looking like the Abominable Snowman, but he looked happy, if not a little disappointed.

Hey - here's a picture of the cheese we're making. It's been sitting for about three days growing it's rind. In a day or so we'll dip it in wax and get it started curing. You can't really tell in this picture, but it weighs about two pounds:




That's a good looking cheese right there now!

We're safe and sound on our homestead and watching the snow from the windows right now. We have a nice fire going and are hunkered down for the evening. I can't wait until spring.

Bee Free,
Penny