As the snow flies

 

I'm sure most of you are well aware, particularly those of you who live in my neck of the woods, but this is Day 5 of Snowmeggedon 2025.  

Many of us are still "snowed in", with no end in sight to the days forecasted to be filled with snow, ice and very cold temperatures. 

Snow has been flying here most of the day.  The wind is carrying it sideways at this moment, but at other times, the breeze subsides and flurries simply float in circular patterns: drifting up, down, around, all rather aimlessly.  

Perhaps you, too, are feeling rather aimless.  I've had moments like that in the past few days.

Currently, going anywhere requires a bit more thought and preparation. There's extra clothing to put on or take with us--that's assuming we've carefully surveyed our driveways to see if we can even make it out of them.  

If we do, can we make it back in without getting stuck? 

I'm cautiously optimistic that I could get out, but there's no real reason that I should, so I think I'll stay put.  

The steep drive to our cottage on the hill is snow and ice-covered, so I have only been up there on foot to check on things.  Even if someone wanted to book a few nights, I'd have to turn them away because the hill is unnavigable right now.  

The woods are dark and deep this week, stark and beautiful in their own way.  This was my view as I hiked back from checking on the cabin.  I had to be careful with my steps, because there's ice under that snow!  

So how does one entertain herself when she's snowed in, staying close to the fire, and all that?  

Well, I read, and I make an effort to resist wasting time on social media.  I try to get outside for an hour or so each afternoon to help with the feeding or just tromp around in the snow.  

The cows are always waiting when feed time approaches, but their hungry looks are more longing than ever when the snow flies!

I make slow food.  Yesterday, I roasted a pumpkin and three small butternut squashes. The oven warmed the house, and the butternut was soooo sweet and good.  I ate most of one with nothing but a little butter on it.  It was buttery in multiple ways--and yummy! 

I packaged most of the pumpkin in small portions to add to my breakfast smoothies.  Blended with some almond milk, protein powder, banana or avocado--or both, and pumpkin pie spice, it's tasty and filling, not to mention full of vitamins and fiber. 

Honestly, it's a bit of a transition to go from the busy-ness of the holiday season to the sudden stripping away of our "normal" routine.  

But isn't this the time we've been craving?  Time to reset, as we look forward to the seasons ahead, as well as time to reflect, to take a long glance back at the seasons past?  

In January, I typically tackle some of those most tedious little tasks of organizing, sorting, and cleaning forgotten little corners where dust has settled most thick. 

If I don't visit those dusty corners in January or February, I most likely won't the rest of the year, because our lives get very busy outside in the spring and throughout the rest of the year. 

Today, I've been cleaning out my largest bookshelf.  I have a lot of books, so cleaning these shelves takes me the better part of a day.  I've emptied one shelf at a time, dusted it, and given it a quick polish, then I've dusted each book with a small brush, wiped it off, and made a decision as to where it should go back in my bookcase.  

Infrequently, I will get rid of a book that I don't love or that doesn't have some sentimental meaning to me.  

Looking through all these books brings back a lot of memories.  

I'll call this my own "Eras tour." 

I found old yearbooks from my middle and high school years.  

There are Bible study books and books about child-rearing.  I have oodles of devotional books and thumbing through them brings to mind different stages of my life when I read them. 

I came across plenty of books about farming and gardening.  

There are lots of textbooks and assigned readings from my college classes.  What a different world that was to me, attending college as a 40-something year old, having all my biases challenged, being forced to consider ideas that I ordinarily wouldn't have.   

I came across a response I'd written to an assigned reading, and I smiled at my "academic" voice.  It is no longer a voice I use very often.  But I could reason and reflect with the best of them back then.  :)

I have a lot of books about writing. I began to read and collect those long before I went to college, because it's something I have always wanted to do. 

I've often read those books then waited for a bolt of inspiration to strike.  But if there's one thing I learned at the paper, you don't wait for inspiration to strike.  You park your butt in a chair and start tapping at the keys.  Only then you will get "in the flow."  

Looking at my shelves, I've noticed a circular nature to my eras.  

Soaking up the Word of God, learning about gardening and farming, raising children, being a "trad-wife," then stepping into the academic world and the working world.  

Now I'm back home on the farm, a business owner, a grandmother, still growing things, and still meditating on the Word.  

I have come to the conclusion that we may sometimes wonder, wander, feel as aimless and unmoored as a January snow flurry, but there's a purpose even to that.   

Even if it's only to get us to slow down long enough to remember where we came from, to think about the direction we are headed, or just to be still and rest every now and then.  

Snowmeggedon 2025 seems like a good time for all of that.  

Stay warm, folks!  💛

My quick tip for roasting pumpkin.  DO NOT attempt to peel it, and there's really no need to gut it either.  I simply washed this one thoroughly, placed some parchment paper on a cookie sheet, plunked the whole pumpkin on it, stabbed it a couple of times to allow steam to escape, then baked it at 350 for about an hour.    Once the pumpkin had cooled a bit, I very easily sliced it, peeled it, and threw out the peelings and seeds for the dogs, birds and chickens to enjoy.  Yes, dogs enjoy roast pumpkin or butternut!  And it's really good for them!