It's hard to believe that we had 50 degree temps a week ago. This morning we woke up to -8. With blizzards blowing off Lake Ontario this last week, we hunker down and take care of business. Winter is the time to take care machinery, build tools and stancions for the coming season, and make plans for the coming year.
When we look out, the snow swirls about us in great waves of white. Conditions were so severe that at times the animal barn would appear and disappear behind the snow. One walks cautiously beside the buildings this time of year. Well aware that a load of snow could easily break and come sliding down, burying the unware passerby.
As suddenly as it came, the storms passed leaving 14, 16, 20, 24 inches of snow behind in its wake. We gradually clear paths with snowblowers and plows, pausing occasionally to breathe in the frosty air while wondering at the new world before us.
Deer and other wildlife now venture at twilight, pawing at the snow, hoping to find a bit of green grass hidden there. Mice and voles burrow underneath, creating grass lined highways leading from nest to cache to water to other hiding places. Those that come to the surface are soon discovered by Sparrow hawks and Owls.
The orchard and the garden sleep, as we wait for winter to pass.
Something lovely to listen while watching the snow: A Season of Silence (Winter Music) by Jesse John Wilson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5duFGwjE9Fs
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