Snow Day

The mountain that stands between our home and town had a thin sheet of ice this morning. 

It was ever so thin, but ice nonetheless. I had to turn back and come home.

I could have spent the day catching up on house cleaning, laundry, homework, 

but I decided to enjoy my snow day by being out in the snow, or what was left of it.

Savannah and I set out to the back of our property where the cliff side meets the creek.

 The snow gently fell as we climbed and sometimes slid down to the creek. 

Our summer swimming hole. 

 Coon tracks

Lola in her winter coat. I can't wait for spring and a groomed dog.

Deck The Halls

 We cut our tree every year. The last few Christmases we've chosen a pine. I love the bright green color and the sparse heavy boughs. And of course it smells great!

 The kids weren't very interested in the choosing of our tree.

 Silas was with us again this year. He brought along with him a broken candy cane decoration from our yard. It was a sword/weapon of some sort. 

 I can't seem to locate our tree decorations. No problem, the kids made some. The above is Darth Vader. Silas asked if he could make Star Wars ornaments. Of course!

Blake's snowman. With a light saber. 

Fire

I have an inborn affinity for fire. It’s not uncommon. I was grounded around the age of 9 for starting fires in our backyard and garage. Why are they so fascinating and beautiful?  

No one was grounded during or after the making of this fire.   

Woodstove

I love you, I really do. 

But I'm ready for you to take a break. 

I'm ready to throw open all the windows and feel the warm breeze. 

I'm ready to look out my windows and see green, 

to walk down rows of vegetables, 

and to hear those loud summer nights when the sound of chirping crickets and cicadas ring in my ears (Rex says they ring in his ears all the time anyway). 

Thank you for your warmth. 

See you in the fall.

Ready, Set, Garden

It’s finally here! The time to get back into the gardens and grow. Today we pulled the old plants and burned the grass. Rex is picking up the new tiller this week. It’s going to be a dandy. I couldn’t tell you about all the features, but I do know it has an electric start. 

Okra stalks

Yank em up.

Everybody had to play in the fire.

I don't know what Rexypoo is doing but Newts excited.

(Clicking on photos will make them full size.)

Stepping Out

Today I prescribed myself a walk outside. We've had the coldest and snowiest (is that a word?) winter since we moved here 5 1/2 years ago. I have loved it, until a week ago. So, although the temperature was hovering at 32 and the wind was biting out of the north, the skies were blue and I needed a reminder of the reasons why I love living in the Ozarks.

Because we can have free range chickens, that eat bugs, provide entertainment, and most importantly provide eggs.

Because there are four distinct seasons. Just when the current season has out lived it's charm the promises for change are found if you look carefully. 

Ice

We were very fortunate this past week. There were a few icicles, a few mornings with slick roads and we lost power for about a day and a half. Many are still without power. The above picture is of the Little Mulberry a few miles down the road. Notice the ice line on the mountain behind. We were just a few hundred feet shy of the ice.


To get to town from our home the road climbs up and over a mountain, I wish I knew the elevation, locally known as Yarbrough Mountain. Thankfully the roads were clear of ice, but the trees told a different story. It was quite a sight.
The power lines had icicles 3 and 4 inches long. Not quite as impressive as some I've seen on the news but pretty cool for this south Texas girl.
The sound of this sight was the sound of a gentle constant rain. As the ice was melting it dripped and occasionally dropped large chunks that hit the road and car. We all screamed and giggled when we would get nailed by an ice bomb.

Belated Christmas

After all the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season I can look back and honestly say, "I had fun." I do normally forget to enjoy the time and let the worries and stresses get to me. We had a fairly quiet Christmas. Our Eve and Day were spent here at home, just us, with a quick trip to town to visit Rex's parents. The day after we drove north to celebrate with his daughters and families. The following day we began to fill our home, as is the norm around here on the holidays. We had a full house for the next week, our population was at 12, with one bathroom. But we all survived and had fun. I wish I had pictures of the 3rd annual New Year's Eve pig roast, it was a great party. Full of music, laughs, and of course pig. My brother designed shirts for the event. Aren't they cool? (One day I will sit down with enough patience and figure out how to arrange pictures correctly on Blogger, for now please forgive my unorganized placement of my pictures.)

Snow Day?

The kids were out of school today. I have to admit it is an early snow but it didn't seem very treacherous. I hope this is a sign of things to come. I am still hoping for our first big snow. We haven't seen more than a few inches.