Well! For Once They Were Right

25°f/-3.9°C, clear after snow squalls all day yesterday.

Larry checking the package box. Poor box has been tumbled over the hill a few times by strong winds, even though it is anchored to the ground. It makes life easier for mail and delivery services, as they don't have to come down our long-ish driveway.

A bit more snow than expected! We ended up with a couple inches, but the eastern WV mountains had over a foot. This is early for us; we don't usually see measureable snow until late November, if then. The old folklore says that the date of the first measureable snowfall is the number of measureable snows you will have that winter. I have seen this to be true, but I doubt it holds up further north, where snow is a more frequent visitor!

We went ahead with our plans anyway, and worked about 4 hours at our Ripley booth. Still more to do there today, and then we will start on Ravenswood.  Most of that time was spent putting up lights. The booth really needs them because it is dim back there, but I swear they look like some crazed old woman put them up. Not far from the truth, actually. Still, the space does look brighter, and the glass really sparkles. No photos yet, but I will post some later on.

I took lots of snow pics, though! Here's a few:

The youngest mulberry was beginning to shed its  leaves when we got home yesterday.  They stay green longer than any other tree, I think, only turning yellow the other day.

And then, this morning, naked! And a beautiful golden puddle on the ground. I look forward to this every year. 

Along our driveway. 

At the top of the hill, Larry gets the mail.

On our road, Joe'sRun: Ernie's homeplace.

Earlier in the day, as we were going out. The snow had just started an hour or so before. To the right is where Larry was brushhogging just last week.

I love these old trees. One is completely hollow but still alive. Years ago I watched a black snake crawl in at the bottom and out at the top.

Our neighbor Dave's hay bales. He lives a couple miles away but this is the back end of his land,up on our ridge 

And down this hill to where our driveway turns right. Larry once slid down this and crashed into two Ford trucks owned by the gas drilling company. They were shoveling sand on the hill and had blocked the road. Poor guys were from Texas, and had no idea how to deal with this icy hill--- you stop at the top, pick your best route, and let 'er roll. Works beautifully. Best to hug one side of the hi or the other, depending on where the snow/ice hasn't been too packed down.  Larry jokes that his old Chevy took out two Fords.

These are out of order:they are on the oaved part of Joe's Run. 

Isaac and Grace's house, one of my favorites along our road.

Today, of course, is Veterans Day. My family is full of vets, dating back at least to the Revolutionary War. If you are fairly new to my blog, you might be interested in this post and photos about our vets.  My Dad, my husband, four of our 5 sons...and even today we have a few in service.

Snowy Morning

33°f/1°C, snowing.

Well, this was unexpected! The forecast did say snow flurries, but I rarely believe them when it comes to the year's first snowfall. This time they were spot on. Our eastern mountains here in WV are expected to get 4-7", which I am sure makes the ski resorts ecstatic. 

It is still snowing heavily, but I doubt it will amount to much on the ground. After all it was in the 60s Friday and Saturday, so the ground is still quite warm. And it rained yesterday, so the soil is saturated too. 

I suppose this weather must have triggered my "time for winter food" hormones, because yesterday I made a venison roast, with gravy, mashed potatoes and turnips, and a green bean/kidney beans medley. I did reduce the calories a little by using oil instead of grease for the gravy, and cooked the beans in chicken broth, so no butter. The turnips cut the carbs in the potatoes too, but still, a pretty heavy meal---and delicious. There is enough left for today too.  

Barb's post about her doctor visit and the need to make more dietary changes got me to thinking about how difficult menu planning can be as we age and our bodies start giving us issues. When we were young, we ate whatever,  whenever, and never thought much about it. Well, girls did, because girls, no matter how slim,  worry about their weight. Still, we would eat the burgers, fries, milkshakes (after all, that meal was only 45 cents!), but not eat anything else all day. Boys ate anything and everything with not a care in the world about it.

Now, we have to think, starting early in the day: should I put sugar in my tea? Butter the toast or not? Or even make toast? What about jam? Maybe not. Larry's health issues make it tricky to figure out what he should eat. Diabetes (courtesy of Agent Orange), high blood pressure, and partially blocked arteries mean little sugar, little fat, keep the carbs down---which leaves,  basically, proteins and veggies. Fortunately he is very physically active, which helps a lot, and his diabetes is controlled with meds instead of insulin, thank goodness. But it does impact what I cook, and is constantly on my mind as I plan meals. (Larry, however, rarely considers the issue of what he should eat and is always surprised when we are out and I have to guide him to the better choices.) 

Pip and Daisy, enjoying the fire

Pip, the 6 month old puppy we adopted from the shelter last month,  is slowly settling in here. He is still not Buddy's best friend, but they are playing well together and I think the relationship developing. It takes time for a new dog to be part of the pack. Right now I am working on making sure he understands that I am the alpha and that he must obey commands. He does pretty well, but we have a ways to go. He still has inexplicable fear of some things---like sometimes when I am putting the dogs out, ge will run to one of his "safe" places, and i have to catch him and lead him out by his halter. He goes docilely enough then, but why that sudden fear? He is also getting more trusting of Larry, but will not go out the door if Larry is standing by it. I wonder what goes through his mind at such times? 

Pip loves to lay his head on my lap to be petted. I still see insecurity in his eyes, so he gets lots and lots of loving and petting.

Pip is also amazed by the snow. This is the first time he has seen it, and he came in with his face covered,  because he had been plowing his nose through the snow-covered leaves on the ground! Such a puppy he still is!

The snow is letting up now, but we will probably have flurries all day. We will be going to one of our booths later to put in the Christmas stock. At least we are not likely to have to work around too many customers, with this weather!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Winter Morning Walks

Just wanted to mention this book, my favorite poetry book, actually: Winter Morning Walks, by the former US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser. 

The book begins on November 9, and the poem is so fitting for the day we are having here, rainy and cold. The first line grabs me: "the sky hangs thin and wet on its clothesline..." Exactly how our sky looks today. 

Mr. Kooser wrote these poems as postcards to his friend Jim Harrison, a poem each day for 100 days, usually written after his walk in the early mornings of a Midwest winter. He was being treated for cancer at the time, and I think this added deeper import to his words and thoughts as he walked and observed and absorbed the world around him. 

Each year, I pick up this book on November 9, and read a poem each day, following in Kooser's footsteps on his uncertain, hopeful, determined journey through the winter and his treatments. The poems are short, most not even a full page, but each is like a sudden, surprising sparkle of sun on an icicle. It is a pleasure I look forward to every year.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.