The farmers here say today’s will be a big one; it’s supposed to last two-and-a-half days.

I have a good record of making accurate snow predictions this season, and I’m saying 4-6 inches, but a messy storm with lots of snow, rain, and ice. The kind I most dread.

This storm has a big storm kind of feel; the donkeys get anxious, and the sheep cluster together.  The sky turns a soft shade of gray.

Lots of ice. Snow is a big part of life up here. As a lifelong city guy, it isn’t surprising that it unnerves me more than Maria or the locals. Where I grew up, the town or city plowed all the roads.

I do accept it. All one can do is be prepared.

It’s easier to handle a foot of snow than with cards, walks, driveways, and roads covered in crusts of ice. That’s when I can’t go outside right now with my foot in a surgical boot.

We are ready.

We have a new snowblower that I think I can handle if I cover the boot. We have a new generator that can run for up to 11 hours on a container of gasoline. We have two of those.

Maria knows how to set it up. I don’t.

I’m fond of my radar map (above) and trust it. Ours should start in the late afternoon.

Maria can do most of the clearing; I can help with the cars and gates. We can always call Mike if we are overwhelmed or over our heads (pardon the pun).

The biggest cause of power outages is ice-covered branches falling on power lines.

I look forward to taking pictures; this will be a good test of my eye and my Leica camera’s hardiness. I can imagine using the monochrome as well as the color Leica 2.

I will definitely get out there in the thick of things. Do me a favor and please don’t message about shoes with cleats and spikes. They don’t work on farms, or on my feet in my farm.

I love creative challenges, and the winter pasture can be beautiful. Storms like this can be very cozy and comfortable, but they can also be a nightmare.

After lunch, we’ll head into town for a final grocery (and popcorn) check.

We’ll bring some extra wood into the house, back the cars up so plows can get through, and lift the windshield wipers. Scraping ice off of them can be difficult.

The weather people say we’re facing a brutal arctic cold wave on the heels of the storm so the ice will be around for a while.

I’ve been dealing with these storms for 15 years now, and so has Maria, who loves shoveling snow in batteries, don’t ask me why.

I just married well.

I can’t do everything I once did alone in Hebron, but I can do many things.

I’ll cook, do dishes, haul in wood, blog,  and venture out to do what I can. I’m already thinking about pictures and warm lunches.