Surprises

35 and snowing after a day in the 70's. 

This was our surprise this morning:

Well, well. And Larry just put out 4 tomato plants yesterday. He covered them last night with milk jugs so they'll be all right, but what about the more tender plants now coming up? It will get colder tonight, so I'm afraid we're going to lose a few things.

April weather, like March, can be so capricious in these mountains. We've had snow in May in the past, although usually just lasting for a few hours. And if it's 35 here on the hill, it will be at least 5 degrees colder at lower elevations. I sure feel for my neighbors who also have gardens and fruit trees. I also have small tomato and pepper plants in the little greenhouse--we may have to provide some heat for them today and tonight. A lamp would be enough, I think.

The other surprise news: I started training yesterday to work at the Riverbend Antique Mall where I have some booths. I'll basically be backup to the backup to the backup, as there are a few others who fill in when the owner is off. But there have been times when she's been in a crunch, so I will hopefully be able to cover those times. I honestly never thought I'd work in a place where I have to be there at a certain time, but here I am. The good side is that I can work on my own booth in slow times, and bring some items to list on eBay while I'm there too. This is volunteer work--it will be a nice change of pace from time to time, I bet I will hear some good stories too.

Yesterday I took in these two pieces, just finished. We'd sold a small chair and a dresser, so I just filled in the gaps. 

Monday Larry went up our driveway to cut down a big stump, and was surprised to find morel mushrooms growing around it. He'd been hunting for them all over the hills and had found enough for a couple meals but these were right in full view, and we'd almost missed them. He checked our ramp patch too. We planted some wild ones on a cool, dark holler on our place, and have been waiting 10 years for them to spread enough for us to harvest. He got enough for a nice miss of ramps and fried potatoes. If you've never heard of ramps, they're a wild onion/garlic cross that grows only in certain areas of the Appalachians and are considered a spring tonic by mountain people, and a delicacy by chefs in big cities like New York and Philadelphia--I remember a delicious meal in Philly some years ago that featured trout "with ramp". Sounded so funny because they are never called in the singular here. 

And the last surprise is a terribly sad one. My friend and poet Susan Shepherd passed away Monday in the early morning hours. She fought a brave fight, but in the end killer cancer won. Her voice will be so missed; her presence was magical, down-to-earth and yet ethereal at the same time. A medium, seer, poet, writer, actress, and so much more. Her obituary surprised me with all she accomplished in her life; although we were friends as members writing and poetry groups, and with a common interest in ghost stories, I found that I knew little about all the other aspects of her life. She was the inspiration for the ghost walk I lead, as she led such walks for years in Parkersburg, WV. I will miss her smile, her voice, her presence. 

Life and death--so inexricably linked. Small plants growing, while death stalked my friend. This path we walk is no easy one.

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

Covid Journal, Day 340: Drip, Drip, Drip

34 and cloudy. We had rain showers overnight. More rain or snow or sleet predicted for today.

It's getting messy out there. The beautiful, dangerous ice is gone from the trees. The snow has melted quite a bit, but turned to ice in places where it's been packed down, like on paths and the driveway. The melting continues, however, and we hope it will be enough today to get rid of the worst of the ice. I am sad to see the beauty being turned to the mundane--dirty snow replacing the pristine white and sparkle. 

Then again, people are posting photos of flowers in bloom--crocus in my nephew's garden in Richmond, Virginia, daffodils in the Carolinas. It would be nice to see a little green again, and maybe a few of the early blossoms. But I am patient. I'd rather wait and not have them killed off by a freeze.

Larry took my camera for a walk yesterday afternoon, the dogs keeping him company. I considered going, but honestly I feel no motivation to get out in this weather. Am I getting old? I used to love to take walks in the snow, often being out for hours when I was younger. Now I am content to just look at it. My man can't stand being cooped up, as he calls it--I call it being snug and warm. So off he went, and came back with these photos. 

Apparently his first stop was the henhouse. The chickens have been literally cooped up for a week, so they were happy to see him open their trapdoor to the outside. Until they saw the snow. Larry said the birds just hovered in the opening, but none went out. I understand completely. 

Looking across the field we call "the flat" although as you can see it's not really flat, just more level than most of our land.

A drift almost always forms in this area. The snow hangs around here longer too, as this is a sheltered spot. The small trees have certainly taken a beating.

He had some happy companions. These two love it when we go out for walks. This is one our driveway.

Up on the ridge, you can just see the ice glinting on this poor bent tree.

And our old stalwart oaks, still standing though both are quite hollow in their centers. They've withstood so many storms, yet here they still are.

This is Day 340 of our Covid journey. We locked down a little earlier than some people, a little later than others. I began my count the day we decided that we'd have to hole up. Since then we've loosened up a little. We go into the grocery store now a couple times a month, have been to Wal-Mart a few times in the past year--a very few times. We shop at the thrifts when we go out, and have made a few road trips. What we haven't done is eat out, gone to any music or theater event or any other public event. We haven't made any overnight trips, and I've done no storytelling. We see only a handful of people, usually outside and for short periods of time. We've gone to only 5 or 6 doctor appointments between the two of us. 

I have to wonder, what will change for us now that the vaccine is becoming more available? I think that we won't change the way we're doing now, except that we will visit family, and maybe go to some outdoor live music events. We might make more road trips, but will probably continue to pack our own meals. Eating out will be rare, and only in open or outdoor settings. But maybe I'm wrong, and we will go back to the way we were? It's hard to imagine.

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

Covid Journal, Day 335: Back in Power

19 this morning with new snow on the ground, covering the ice. The sun was out for some of the day though, and melted a bit of the ice, even though the temperature never got over 29.

And we're back online this evening, thanks to those hard workers at the power company. It was kinda funny, though-- I was heating water to wash dishes, and we'd just put jugs out to freeze for the fridge, and had shoveled up two pans of snow to chill the fridge overnight--and two big buckets to melt for toilet flushing. So there we were, all in pioneer mode when the lights came on. We had to stop a minute and think, wait, what...

We were quite ready to be off for a few more days, so it is a nice surprise to have lights and internet and water again. We will wait a while though, before we put all the things we were using back in storage, because another storm is expected this evening with additional snowfall. Still, we'll have our showers, watch a movie, refill the water jugs, etc, so we're well prepared again in any case.

I've been busy this evening catching up on eBay because wouldn't you know there was a little buying frenzy while I was offline? I could get a quick look on my phone to see what sold, and I spent this morning getting it all packed, so this evening all I needed to do was print the labels. One more thing checked off the list. I also took photos of more things to list, so I'll be ready to get to work on those tomorrow morning. Assuming the electric stays on, that is. There were so many trees down, and many more leaning badly, and broken branches hanging in them, that it's likely there will be more outages. Many of my friends in different areas along the Ohio River are still waiting for repairs to their lines, so I feel grateful and blessed to be back on so quickly.

A few pics from this week:

Larry keeps a path shoveled to the bird feeder on the deck. It was knocked down by a big limb and the support was broken so it's on the table for now.

These limbs will stay right where they are until things thaw out a little. They're doing no damage where they are.

Dad and his dogs, walking to the mailbox. He wanted to be sure it was clear, which surprisingly it was, just a few branches to be moved out of the way. The van travels up and down with no trouble at all.

This morning the sun made an appearance, quite a treat after so long without it.

Sun on ice, so pretty.

The snow last night stuck to the ice which was stuck to the snow which was stuck to the trees. Just piling it on.

My little redbud tree has a pretty heavy coating now.

Mr. Titmouse looks all hunkered up. We've gone through a lot of birdseed and seedcakes this week, as the poor little things try to keep warm.

It's nice to be back to something like normal again. Tomorrow, who knows? I hope all is well with all of you too.

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

Covid Journal, Day 331: Snow on Snow on Ice

Foggy, 28 degrees, overcast this morning. The temperature rose slightly but not above freezing. A funny mist hangs in the air, and it's very foggy. More snow or ice or rain predicted but no one seems to know which it will be.

The main topic of conversation today is weather. It seems that almost the entire country is experiencing some form of precipitation. We still have about 3 inches on the ground, and the ice has remained on trees and bushes since Thursday. It's incredibly beautiful, almost ethereal. And slippery underfoot. I have been filling my phone and camera with photos, as you can imagine.

Otis may look contented, but he hates snow now. He's 13 and feeling his age now, especially since that snakebite last August. So he spends a lot of time inside by the fire.

I left Christmas greenery up outside; here's a bit of holly stuck into a planter, and weighted down with the ice.

We had not planned to go anywhere until all this mess passed by, but a surprise call Thursday evening sent us out the door Friday morning. It was our turn for the Covid vaccine, and we were not about to miss it. So off we went, very carefully and slowly, on our snow-and-ice covered roads, to get the shot in the arm that might eventually lead to something like a more normal life. My arm was sore today, yes indeed, but wasn't too bad yesterday, surprisingly. The lady giving the shots was great, very quick and almost painless. I am one big wuss when it comes to shots, so I was thrilled. This is on our road, one of my favorite places to photograph.

But this really made me laugh. The guy who lives here has a lot of cats--who apparently have no trouble walking around on his roof.

Icicles on a cliff along our road. I look forward to these every year.

Another section of our road yesterday, before the State came through with the snowplow. This was on our way home, when the road had had a lot more traffic than when we went out.

And the upper part of our driveway, where of course the State does not plow, unfortunately. We probably won't either, unless we get snow deeper than 5". It's actually better not to--once plowed and a little thaw and it's a sheet of ice.

Middle part of the driveway, a fairly steep hill that doesn't look that way in photos.

And then the flatter stretch...

and finally home.

In the front yard, a spirea shows its red nicely coated in ice.

Poor birdies. No one is in residence at the moment, fortunately.

The grapevines look so beautiful in their icy jacket.

I cuss this barberry regularly when working in this flowerbed. But in winter, I love it, and the birds like its red berries, apparently, because they are all gone.

This is the redbud tree I started from seed.

The distant hills are hidden by the fog today.

I can't help it--I just love the way the ice makes everything look. I am just very, very glad we didn't get ice like that terrible time in 2003, when huge trees broke, lines were down everywhere and the power was off for about 9 days.

Then this morning, a neighbor called and told us about the forecast for the coming week, and it didn't sound good. We took stock, and realized we needed some things in case we got snowed or iced in, or if the power goes off: more water, more milk for the freezer, kerosene, gas for the generator, and a stockpile of feed for the chickens. I also wanted to get one of those extra battery thingies that can charge a cell phone a few times if there's no power source available. 

So two days in a row, we had to go out. Today was better--the roads had been scraped and cindered, which made for much safer travel. The stores, as you can imagine, were pretty busy, but we got in and out as fast as we could, and came home with everything on our list, plus some extra batteries for lights and fresh fruit. Once I got home, I made a big pot of tea and just sat down for a while. That kind of shopping, with the added stress of trying to avoid people, is tiring. 

When we got home, this is what I did:

Flowers courtesy of Larry, a Valentine's gift. And a big pot of tea for me. Put my feet up and gave thanks to be home.

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

Covid Journal, Day 329: Snow and Ice

29 and cloudy. 

The snow did finally arrive during the night, after an evening of cold, cold rain. I can't remember when I've seen it rain at 33 degrees, but that's what we had. So naturally, it all turned to ice under the later snow.

It is a beautiful, if treacherous, world out there this morning. Larry is out clearing walks, but I will not be going out there. He has the Yak Trax on his boots, which makes it much safer, but still it's slippery. 

I don't feel like taking a tumble, so I will play it safe and stay indoors. Still, from this vantage point I can still take photos of the beauty outside.

He is almost finished, and I bet he'll want coffee so I better go and get the pot on. Meantime, have a read through this post from 2019. all about ice superstitions and such. 

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