January 28, 2009
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…yesterday we hunkered down and waited.
On Monday, with a virtual promise of impending bad weather, company arrived. Daddy is gone to school in Kansas, so Sus and kiddies came to be with us, just in case.
The ice and sleet and snow came late that afternoon, just as the weatherman said it would, and we watched from inside as the world changed outside. We thought we would lose power, but we were among the fortunate ones…it remained on, and we stayed warm and snug and so very thankful for our shelter from the storm.
We found plenty of ways to fill the hours.
Dominoes on the floor was one afternoon favorite.
Napping was also a pastime of choice, especially after a cold, blustery morning outdoors (by Pops, not Addie, although they both have rosy cheeks.)
It was a good afternoon to get all the ‘quipment out and get it serviced before the busy spring season arrives. Did you know that some of the tractors have special “metachments” that do amazing things?
We kept plenty of seed out for the hungry birds, and in return, they kept us entertained.
The birds had help from the acrobatic squirrel who had no trouble figuring out the best way to grab corn.
Some people have only to smile to entertain their adoring fans.
When someone lost a game piece, there was an intense search. The big basket of longleaf pinecones was pulled out from under the table, and what do you suppose turned up from deep inside?
A long-lost Easter egg! (Yikes…is this an indictment of my house-keeping skills???)Wyatt couldn’t believe it….and, against our protests, couldn’t wait to crack it…and we all held our noses and rushed it down the garbage disposal. Yuck!
After more than 36 hours of continuous sleet, freezing rain and then an icing of snow, the sun came out this morning.
It revealed a winter wonderland (although those who listened to ice-laden limbs come crashing down during the night would not name it that!) And after 48 hours of being housebound, a certain little lad needed to get outdoors.
Meems (that’s his new name for me, shortened from Mimi) and Wyatt bundled up and took a look around. The horses were happy to see us.
We found these nandina berries encased in a solid covering, but they are still pretty.
The steep hill in our yard is the perfect place for man and beast to give the sled a run. We were happy to see that Chip still has his good form.
After checking out the tracks around the yard, we decided to go for a walk.
The country lane was so pretty.
We saw a pileated woodpecker (Pops always calls them “Indian-head woodpeckers”) darting through the woods in front of us.
When we came to this dead tree, we knew who had been working on it.
With thousands of our neighbors without electricity, we feel humble that we have not had to make that sacrifice. Winter can be brutal, but it has its pleasures, too. Being cooped up inside gave us a memory-making time….time to cook together, read together, knit or just talk and plan. We’ll remember these few days of “intense fellowship” during the icy January of 2009 and see it as a special gift.
Comments (12)
Great pics and the kids are so cute. Everyone looks so cozy inside a nice warm house. Beautiful!
Great pictures. It looks a bit like our area – and we are states apart.
I love your beautiful pictures. Yes, it’s these kinds of storms that cause us to stay inside for a few days and make memories. I have wonderful memories of snow days as a kid on the farm, sledding down the hill in front of our house, the neighbor kids coming over to sled with us and then Mom making hot chocolate for us afterwards. Dad would get on the tractor to make tracks in the driveway and go get our mail, IF the mail person was able to make it through the roads. We were about an hour away from St. Louis then, and he worked in St. Louis. I can’t remember if he usually made it out the roads, or if he had to call in to say he couldn’t make it to work. Thanks for sharing those wonderful pictures, and your days with the kids.
Love the pictures, expecially the sledding ones, ahhh ….. that brings back memories of my childhood at my grandparents’ farm in PA – thanks for sharing them with us
God Bless ~Gretchen~
We were so blessed that this all went south of us for the most part. I did wonder about you and several others down that way. I’m sure the ones down around Harrison are without power. Thinking of the ones that grow chickens with the huge houses. Guess they will have back up surely. One over near West Plains didn’t lose her power either…just couldn’t get out.
OH HOW DECEIVING SOME BEAUTY CAN BE!!!! I feel so sorry for you folks who will have to clean up the tree-remains of that storm. Just this past fall, I finally finished up in my yard, after the ice storm, here, in Dec. of 2006!!! Trees broken with ice. Had them trimmed or removed, which-ever had to be done, then another fellow came in and ground out the stumps….18 of the, …..then a different fellow with a front-end loader to fill all the holes and smooth them out, so I could plant grass, just before our snows started this winter.
By the way, your ‘little one’ has the right brand of quipment. (o; John Deere. YES!!!! (o;
The ice storms are so pretty, but so destructive. I wondered about you as we had over a foot of snow…also beautiful, but no ice. -April
I sure wish i could walk in those pictures. I miss the change of seasons so much. I love seeing Cardinals against a snowy background.
Yes, a sunny, blue sky morning after an ice storm is beautiful, but destructive. Glad to hear that you didn’t loose power. We’ve had all kinds of weather, just coming off of 2 weeks of fog and air stagnation….now down to just cloudy days and 1 skiff of snow. Central Washington State generally doesn’t have fog for days on end. That is reseved for western Washington especially the Puget Sound area. I calculate only 4 more weeks of winter, then the temps will moderate and probably will be warmer days. Now we hover around 25-35 degrees (maybe) Just loved your pictures.
What a beautiful post. We only lost power for a few hrs. beginning at 11pm. We just hunkered down under blankets after using the cell phone to call in the outage (phones were out as well). We have gas heat, but electric thermostats. So……no heat for us! We were startled awake at 4:30am by a phone call from the power company wanting to verify our power was back on. One of the most wonderful calls we ever received. Humorous note here. When power 1st went it was completely dark. You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. My husband and I were stumbling around looking for flashlights and candles. Our son walks calmly out of his room using the light from his cell phone. We used that cell phone to find candles, matches and flashlights, and then to call in the outage. Difference in the generations. We would never have thought of that!
I missed this wonderful post while our power was out. So glad y’all didn’t have to lose yours, and that Sus and Co. were able to be with y’all. I know having Wyatt and Addie to play with made the hours go by faster (and kept Mimi even busier!)
Sweet, sweet, sweet….from the sleeping with Pops to the adorable Addie smile to Wyatt’s pride in finding the egg to the sliding and the cardinal. What a treasure for you to have your grands living so close.