Optimism

If you think your road is bad try mine on for size : )

Today is the day that we all load up and go to the city. Baby O has won a state essay contest award and we are off to the capitol city of Missouri. Our bags are packed and our reservations made. O Wise One has resigned himself to the fact that he must don a suit and leave his bib overalls at home. I have packed my fancy duds and we feel like the Clampetts headed to Beverly Hills. We hope we can make it out of our county !   Everyone pray for our safety as we will probably need all the help we can get. They are calling for more snow on Sunday.....just what we need.

See everyone on Monday if not send out the search parties!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

They Shall Always Come

I have always said that even if I were on another planet my kids would find a way to find me.

No matter what.

This is proof.........

In the aftermath of a blizzard.....we have not left home in 4 days......

the county road maintainer is broke down.

We can see it out the upstairs window.

Alas we hear a sound coming up the driveway.

Indeed that is my son in law there.

Coming up what used to be my driveway.

Good babysitters are hard to find : )

Winter Woes

Many times in winter we get a gentle covering of snow. An accumulation over a period of time gently settling on the land. A quiet, peaceful almost serene event.  

Leaving behind a world of white, a crisp silence highlighted by the sparkle of frost. Everything glows and glimmers. A world of prisms and light.

This storm was not one of those. This was a violent combination of wind and ice. An assault on the landscape leaving behind drifts and dunes. A desert of deadly subzero cold.

A bit of perspective .......this is that same view in June

I find it miraculous almost that those plants come back year after year after being blanketed in that heavy snow for so long.

Below are pictures off the upper deck. 

                            

You can barely see the top of the flowering almond bushes. You can see the pink bushes in the picture below.

Another perspective of that same sidewalk overrun with roses, purple cone flower and altheas.

And these are actually 7 foot tall Althea trees above. Underneath 5 foot of snow is a side walk.

On the upswing I just heard on the radio that the groundhog didn't see his shadow today so that means an early spring.  Yeah right!!

It is Wednesday about noon. As of yet we have not heard the road grader. It may take several days for the road to be passable. The temperature is hovering at a balmy 14 with a wind chill of about 7 below. O Wise One, Baby O and I take turns at shoveling to at least be able to get out of the house and go take care of the animals. 

See ya all again about June or when it thaws.

Shoveling in The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Wanted: Strong Backs and Big Shovels

Monday morning Baby O went to school and we started hearing rumblings about a storm moving in. By noon the schools were closed and the students deposited back at home. O Wise One immediately started stocking up on animal food and making sure all the animals were in their shelters with plenty of straw, food and water in anticipation of this storm. I started cooking. If we lost electricity I wanted to make sure I had plenty of food already prepared for several days. I also made sure we had plenty of batteries, gas in the cars, candles and oil lamps. By Monday night we were all ready to ride out this storm or so we thought. Tuesday morning about 9 am it started to snow. We snuggled in to a warm house that smelled of beef vegetable soup and snickerdoodles.

At first it was just a light snow. Nothing we had not seen before.

Quickly that light snow picked up to a harder snowfall.

Soon there were total white out conditions. For 15 hours it snowed. We watched movies and read books and listened to the wind howl and the snow hit the windows. 

 It is midnight as I write this. The temperatures are steady dropping down to almost zero with a wind chill well below zero. It is hard to tell if it is still snowing because the wind is blowing on an average of about thirty miles an hour and the snow is still blowing around so much. 

It wil take days to be able to get out or anyone to get in to us. I am not sure how long it will take to get out of the house. This is the view of my front porch.

Mother nature has indeed unleashed her fury today. For now we are going to bed. Tomorrow we will start digging out. Blizzard conditions are supposed to continue to about midday. By the time we get up tomorrow morning I don't know how we will get out the doors. We are thankful that we are all safe and together. We have plenty of food, water, heat, quilts and a sturdy roof over our heads. We are indeed blessed. We pray for all those who are not as fortunate tonight!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Cold Dog!

Mighty Dog!

Must Catch Birds!

Where did they go ?

Gotta watch for birds!

Not up there......

Mama's gonna make me go in and get toweled off. But atleast I get a venison dog biscuit and some food. Guess I will have to watch for birds from the window!

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Winter Solitude

I am writing this on Wednesday morning as a winter storm has hit Hickery Holler. A quiet has descended upon us as a thick blanket of new snow settles in and temperatures drop to below zero. The landscape has turned into a winter wonderland, the snow is still pristine as the temperatures are too low for much to be moving to track it up. A light snow continues to sporadically fall this morning.

                        

                          

                                 

School has been cancelled for the second day in a row and Baby O enjoys sleeping late,  watching movies and playing on the computer. O Wise One tracks out twice daily to top off the bird feeders, give the chickens water and food and pick up any eggs that might freeze. He makes sure that the rabbits, turkeys and guineas have lots of thick straw bedding and food and water also. Yesterday Baby Hank stayed at home as his mother was not able to get out here to drop him off and therefore wasn't able to go to work. The roads are better today but drift closed as fast as they can plow them open. Baby Hank's dad did manage to get out here today in his big four wheel drive truck to drop him off.   

Sadie the Wonder Pup is now bedded down in a large kennel in the laundry room to stay warm and Riley snoozes regularly on the couch overseeing all activity and watching that Baby Hank. After all he just might drop something edible that a little black dog might like.

                            

As for me I try to keep everyone in food and work on various projects inside.

                               

There is always mending and ironing.

And old T shirts to be cut into strips for a rag rug that I am collecting rags to make .

And a new quilt block to make and experiment with how I will set it. Them little black Scottie dogs sure do hold a special place in this old ladies heart. 

And we can't forget those seed catalogs to dream over.

I have also discovered a new series on Netflix called Rosemary and Thyme. It is kind of like Murder She Wrote with a gardening twist. I love them BBC Series.

After months of gardening, weeding, harvesting and preserving that harvest I must admit that I do enjoy a few months of solitude that winter provides before that cycle of food production starts again.  About the end of February I will again get the urge to think of planting seeds again. The grow lights will be cranked up and a new season of seedlings started. But for now I enjoy the season and thank God that I do not have to get out every morning at my age and fight snow to go to a job in town. Hopefully those days are over as I live frugally and enjoy my husband, my last child at home, my grandchildren and my farm.  

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

A White Christmas

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter