And what kind of winter will it be?

We are just now experiencing the weather  November usually brings....cool temperatures, rain, fog, frosty mornings and cloudy days.  A far cry from highs in the 80's, blue skies and balmy breezes that started out this month.  I have finally gotten out my heavier coat and actually had to wear it as I walk down the road in the morning.  Grass, summer-green, covered with frost.  And the poor spider webs wearing an icy coat.  But I do feel more in tune with the season now.

Christmas is coming soon.  Colored lights twinkle on the night horizon, decorations are appearing on lawns all over the county, and children are busy writing their requests to the jolly man who lives up North.

What kind of winter will it be?  Mild with hardly a hint of snow and ice, much like last year?  Or will it be like the one pictured above....snow, blowing snow, roads closed, slippery conditions that cancelled celebrations and kept people inside, warming their feet by the fire?  This was our first winter on the hill...and it was one to remember.  The snow was so deep.  We didn't have a garage built yet.  Our car and pickup sat outside on the driveway, covered with tarps. tape covering the keyholes so ice wouldn't make it impossible to open the doors if we were able to get out and drive.  Snowbound for over a week.  The wind blowing constantly, so much that the wintery mix on our roof cascaded off the eave and made a wintry wave, daring us to stand under it.

We had grips for our boots and were able to get around when it stopped snowing.  I slipped and slid a lot...thankful that I had plenty of padding to cushion the falls.

That memory has stayed with me.  And now we are prepared with all we might need in case we are snowbound again.  Of course, with the last few winters being mild we  haven't needed that extra food, fuel and water.  And perhaps not this winter.

One thing I know about Missouri weather.  Never, ever count on it being what you think.  Always be prepared.  It may be the kind of winter that everyone will talk about...good or bad. But be ready to meet what comes.  That is the only way.

Surviving

For two nights we have had frost here on my hill.  We picked the still green tomatoes, said good-bye to the late blooming flowers in the garden with a sigh and a thank-you for being so brave and hardy...to the very end.  But last night, as I was walking down the road, I spied a glimpse of white among the withered foliage.  A blackberry bush, covered with white buds and one solitary bloom, facing the setting sun.

I marveled at the wonder of nature.  It was not difficult to see how this flower had survived.  It had been sheltered by the brown leaves and branches of a roadside bush.  All through that freezing night the bloom huddled there and when the sun came up it could feel the warmth of the day returning.

A survivor.  I don't know if it will still be there when I take my walk this afternoon.  And if it isn't, that will be okay.  I have this picture of one of its cousins that I picked a few days before the frost.  And that image will stay with me in the days ahead.

Standing when others have wilted.  Not because of any special powers or dispensation.  But merely because it wasn't time for it to go.  It brightened my day as I stood there.   It's amazing what you can learn from just one little bloom, bravely shining in the setting sun. Something I will remember during the weeks of winter that lie ahead.  

Survive.  And live to bloom again.

The Simple Life

Once upon a time when we were young we lived our dream.  Log house.  Woods.  Near a river.  No phone.  No TV.  Just him and me and peace and quiet.

We bought 80 acres in the Irish Wilderness in Oregon County.  It came with a bonus....the long-ago owner had built his barn around an old log house that had been brought up from Brawley Spring years before.  How fortunate!

We didn't know much.  But we had strong backs and the will to learn what we needed to make a life for ourselves, there in the woods, near a river with no phone, no TV, just him and me and peace and quiet.

For a time we lived in a tent.  We drove the long road back to work and the world, spending vacations and free time working on our dream.   Hauling those logs up the incline, him pulling, me pushing, until they were all in place.  No electric.  Just saws and hammers and shear stubborness.

We built our home and put in windows and doors and left our everyday jobs behind.  Packed up the truck, tucked the baby in the front seat, said good-bye to the life we knew.

It takes courage to start over.  We had plenty of it.  Snow coming in the gable end and dusting us all with fine white flakes that first winter.  But we made the changes that we had to make.

Lamplight.  Sitting with my little girl on my lap and singing her to sleep.  Him coming in with wood for the fire, stamping  the snow off his boots at the door.  Wind sighing in the pines.  Starlight twinkling outside.  And a million wishes came true. 

We were living the simple life.  It was all we needed.  Just him and me and the little one.  Alone in that log house, there in the woods, near the river with no phone, no TV....peace and quiet....living our dream.