December 20, 2008 – The perfect life is buried in more than a foot of snow, and another foot is coming tomorrow. It is tough to navigate the farm, and we have stuffed the feeders with hay. There is no help for the next few days, nobody can get here, except my friend Maria, who is an artist who works out of the Studio Barn, and I appreciated the help today, because it was rough. I like it though, , it reminds me of my first year here, when there was 80 inches of snow. I put the donkeys in the barn for the first time in two years.
  We shoveled out the gates, and the doors around the barn, stuffed the donkey room with hay and some grain, and I am glad they are inside tonight. We are expected 40 mile an hour winds, and bitter cold. The only weather I am concerned about with the donkeys is ice and high wind and cold. So I’m glad they are inside. Tomorrow will be rough also, and they are predicted 24 inches of snow by Christmas here. It is beautiful, but hard to navigate. I have to say letting the cows go to market was a good decision. If they were still here, they would be here all winter, and getting hay to them in this mess was a worsening problem. The dogs are troopers, charging up to their necks in the snow and running around gamely before the iceballs overwhelm them. I am tired from plowing through snow, walking and shoveling. I have all the wood stoves going at full tilt. It’s going to be a wild night.

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 “Out Of The Shadows,” my book about dealing with some emotional issues last year is available for pre-ordering from The Troy Bookmakers.