Walking In A Winter Windy Land

Yesterday evening the wind picked up considerably. The rain turned into a warm oozing jello then hard sizable pellets of sleet. A bit of snow fell. Then a thick flurry of flakes commenced. Then it stopped. The stars came out. No snow for you I thought. It has passed.

This morning it was snowing hard when I woke up. The wind was howling its usual, "Here Comes the Cold" howl. The little bit on the ground meant it had only recently started. There will be snow for you after all, I thought. Yes there was plenty snow all day.

Around 2pm the clouds began to lift and separate, a little blue sky peaked through. Finally, it is time to go for a stroll.



It was a warm snow. Even the wicked wind didn't feel quite so vicious. Maybe I am getting acclimated. Nope, the rhododendron leaves aren't even the least bit curled. It is a warm snow, just barely below freezing.



The catalyst of a tall tale beckons. The layers of snow on an old foundation in a naked forest give weight to a time gone by. Typing the first word is always the hardest even if it is the third chapter. Focus has never been my strong point.



The vegetable garden rests. The frozen corpses of beets, turnips, lettuce, spinach and asian greens lie beneath the blanket of snow. The held on amazingly well until the 10 degrees right before I fled south. Upon my return it was all mush. Maybe they will surprise me and sprout back up in the early spring. I didn't look closely at the beets and turnips. I replaced Uncle Ernie's dangling baubles that had been ripped off in the howling winds and moved on.



The cozy cabin is close by. That is what I was more interested in. Is it still there and in one piece? Is there any snow inside? The plumbing vent isn't hooked to any plumbing and a small portion of the ridge cap on the roof is still not permanently sealed and fastened.



The cabin is fine and my dry stack stone walls are still there. Nothing has budged in all this wind and rain and sleet and snow and wind and rain and freezing and thawing and heaving and wind and snow and rain. It is a sturdy little cabin and those are mighty fine dry stack stone walls.



It waits patiently for the weather to improve, for a new layer of clothing, the window trim and siding to grace its exterior. Oh, sunny days where are you?