The world has plenty of troubles, and our country is a hot mess right now, but there are always beautiful things to do, look at, and think about. I won’t let one drown out the other. I try to face reality but never leave joy too far behind. It’s possible, I’m doing it today.
St. Christoper, our saint of the weather, is poised and ready for a storm. He knows that storms can be cozy and beautiful, something the news and weather channels help us forget.
This row of trees is among my favorite photos. They separate two pastures and mark boundaries. They are especially beautiful in the snow.
The pasture is iconic and beautiful in a storm. Pastures need to rest, just like humans. I can feel the quiet and the rest.
Zip is a snowcat; Zinnia is a snow dog. They both love the snow and roll and run in it. They both remind me to love the winter pasture.
Maria and I have a system. She does most of the work, but we go out periodically to shove and keep up with the storm. When it is over this evening, the paths will be clear.
The Raven looks at home in the snow. He lives by the apple tree.
We went out for breakfast this morning an old milk truck he keeps in his yard. Americana.
My relationship with weather forecasting:
I have determined that it’s going to be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I disregard all long term forecasts such as “El Nino may bring hotter/colder/wetter/drier than normal in the coming summer/winter.” They don’t know and are mostly guessing. I mostly disregard the apocalyptic forecasts except I do keep track of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico since I live 60 miles inland from the coast. What I want from the forecast for tomorrow is the high and low temperatures and if it is going to rain or not. No drama required.
I love the clothesline in the black and white! You just know each piece is full of color(s), but I zooming in to see the detail of each item’s pattern, uniformly indiscriminate, I was especially drawn to the lattice squares and roses.
You are right about living in the country there is always something to surprise you when you least expect it. Going out or our driveway we have a large maple tree. I stopped to check for traffic and there in the tree was a screech owl looking at. me. I had never seen one but we do hear them. This past summer there was a doe with twin fawns in our pasture. The doe disappeared or killed in the road but the fawns stayed between our neighbors and us all summer into early fall. It was a joy to watch them and every day we would look for them in our fields. In fall they jumped the fence and were gone.