First Day of Spring!

It wasn't easy explaining to Mary that today is the first day of spring, and yet our house is half buried in snow!  We had two days of heavy winter weather.

Our mailbox is out there somewhere.

Do you see the trailer in the backyard?  Neither can we!

Beautiful Days

The last few days, we have been blessed with unusually beautiful weather. It is hard to believe that it is still late winter, and not yet early spring. The snow is completely melted back from our driveway and the roads. Last night, for the first night since probably November, we did not get below freezing. The old guys at the market keep saying not to count on spring yet; that we're bound to get more snow, and that March could still turn out to be a nasty month. My reply is that they are right, but that won't prevent me from appreciating every moment of these beautiful days.

In fact, I've been so inspired by the weather that I've decided to start updating my long-neglected Weather Blog again. Today I posted the snowfall report from this week's paper. Looking at March of last year, on the only day I recorded (March 2) we had a low of -22* and a high of 21. Contrast that with last night's low temperature of 33 and the high so far of 56.

Breaking news- Rain! As I'm writing this, Robert came in and said there is water falling from the sky in liquid form. There's something else we haven't seen since November. ;-)

Not to go on and on about the weather, but to quote Joseph: "Lord, thank you very much! I give you thanks for the rain, the stars, the moon, everything."

Amen.

God bless!

January Thaw in February

We haven't been UP here long enough to really know what is normal weather and what is not. But from what we understand, there is "always" a thaw in January.

We didn't see a single day in January even approach 30 degrees, much less get above freezing. But it's finally happened. Even our overnight low was above freezing last night, and we are in the 40's right now!

Needless to say, we will not even try to do lessons until the children get tired of sledding through the slush and playing baseball on our long-lost driveway. (There's gravel under there!)

I was talking to the nice lady at the post office (the one who knows EVERYBODY'S name and address off the top of her head- amazing!) and she said she even starts corn indoors around the end of February or by mid-March. I never knew you could do that. Of course, I do not have any growlights, but I might be able to at least set up a table under our large, south facing window in the living room. Hey, it might work.

I gotta say, this winter has seemed really long for me. It has not been easy to adjust to the climate up here, so very different from southern Alabama! Can't start thinking too much about spring yet... last year it was May before we finally saw the snow disappear...

Tomorrow's Forecast

Much warmer... highs around 30.

The funny thing? I'm excited!

Baby it's cold outside.

Do you see the porch swing in this picture? Not really? That's because it is practically buried in snow. Mind you, this three feet is in a relatively sheltered area. There is actually quite a bit more snow than that where the snow has drifted. Maybe it is because I'm not used to winters up here yet (this is only our third winter since moving) but I am amazed at the volume of snow. I never could have imagined it if I weren't actually here living in it. Amazing.

Yes, I'm going to join in the complaining and whine "It's coooold". It took until almost noon to warm up to zero today. We are supposed to get to 20 below tonight, not counting the wind chill.

But the good news is that the sun is staying up noticeably later in the evenings, so at least I can tell myself that at this point we are more than halfway through. Seems like February has a reputation for being dreary, but it is the shortest month of the year, so how bad can it be? Now when it is April and I'm still shoveling snow while the rest of the country is picking tulips and planting tomatoes... then I'll be really complaining.

Okay, enought of that. For now.

Chuck had a great week home last week, and now he is in Alabama for some testing. He hates taking tests, so please send up a prayer for his nerves! After that he might be going to California for a few weeks, but we really have to just wait and see. Meanwhile, we are all doing fine here at home; staying healthy, staying warm, and keeping busy with lessons and chores.

God bless!

Just Pitiful...

Our forecast for Friday: "Warmer... highs 4 to 9 above."

Our Forecast..

Tonight- snow showers
Tuesday- snow showers
Wednesday- chance of snow
Thursday- snow showers
Friday- snow showers
Saturday- chance of snow

Gee... do you see the pattern here?

I've caught myself singing or humming Christmas-y music all day long.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! ('Cuz you can't stop it anyway!)

Looks almost like winter out there...

Robert took this picture of the "snow clouds" yesterday before it started to snow.

The reason I say it looks "almost" like winter is because you can still see the ground in a few areas! We have a few more inches in the forecast and then it will warm back up a little (40's) early next week. So, this snow is nothing serious, but rather a sign of winter right around the corner.

God bless!

Another Sign of the Season

They were heading due south, and then turned SW right over our house. The kids were very excited to see them... Geese!
We were dismayed to hear a gunshot from the hunting camp next door! Thankfully, he missed; he may not have even been seriously trying to shoot one. The children are well aware of what hunting is all about, but to admire these beauties and their song and then witness one of them shot down may have been traumatic...

We are blessed with another beautiful early fall day. God bless!

On my desktop...

I took this picture either yesterday or the day before, from the back yard.

If you've wondered...

what it is looking like in the grand ol' UP these days, check out the picture I got for my Weather Log.

And you thought September was the end of summer! Up here, it is the beginning of fall...

Summer from a boy's POV

photo credit: Daniel and Thomas

This is July, right?

I'm asking because it got down to 45 degrees (7.2 C) last night. The kids are wearing sweatshirts this morning. The sun is hot, but the air is (relatively) cold. I was just getting reaquainted with my arms, thank-you-very-much, after months of wearing several long-sleeved layers. It is chilly in the house (to me at least) but I REFUSE to put on a sweater in July.

Am I ever going to get used to this weather?

Finally Summer!

The first day of summer for most of the United States is tomorrow, June 20. But we had our first "unofficial" summer day today.

We borrowed our neighbor's canoe and went to Courtney Lake. While out on the lake, Chuck and the younger boys saw a bald eagle swoop right past them to pluck a fish out of the water. We fed some bread to some sea gulls and a chipmunk. There were swarms of mosquitoes, but not too many biting flies, thankfully. Robert, Raechel, and Daniel caught a few fish while there, but none large enough to keep.

I'm sure Chuck will be putting some pictures up this evening. He's outside playing with the kids: they are playing baseball. What else?

God bless!

Finally it's gone.

Yesterday was the first day I noticed there is absolutely no snow anywhere to be found. Snow is gone and spring is here; we made it through our second UP winter. God is good!

It must be spring!

How do I know it is really, finally spring?

Because the kids went outside to play in the mud puddles created by the melting snow- barefoot!

The mother in me wanted to tell them to come inside right now and get dry socks and put on galoshes for goodness' sake before you catch a cold and what must the neighbors think of us as they drive by and see all these barefoot kids running amok down the driveway.

The part of me that still remembers being a child, however, understands that the only way to properly greet the unofficial first day of spring is with mud between your toes. The fashion of the day is pants that are splattered at least up to the knee. Jackets are optional.

As Thomas put it, "My feet are cold but I'm not cold!" A day like this, a beautiful day that ends with homemade bread fresh from the oven smothered in real peanut butter, can only make you feel warm inside. He doesn't even know the best news yet.

We go to pick up Daddy tomorrow!

God bless!

We're fitting right in....

It's another sure sign that we are acclimating to our new home. I not only bought two rutabagas, but I figured out how to turn them into a really simple but really good soup. And the kids and I love them.

But I suppose we're not official Yoopers until we learn how to grow them!

If you want to try my "recipe" this is what I did. Peel rutabagas and cut into bite size chunks. Scrub a bunch of carrots and cut into bite size chunks. Cut an onion into pieces. Potatoes would be good, too. Maybe peas or string beans or something green- broccoli perhaps. Cover in water (stock would be much better if you have it) and cook until veggies are tender. Add salt, pepper, and parsley or other herbs to taste. This was a thin soup, but the vegetables are delish. If anybody knows how to improve this soup please leave a comment!

God bless!

Gorgeous!

That's the only word for a day like today. It's early April and the birds are returning. Bugs are waking up, there's some bare patches of earth peeking from under the snow, and the kids are building mud "dams" in the runoff in the driveway.

Maybe, just maybe, it will soon be spring! There's still way too much snow for it to be official yet, but even the potential is exciting. And yes, I am intentionally ignoring the fact that we have a possibility of snow in the forecast for the next two days!

Chuck and I went to the auto parts store in Bruce Crossing this morning, and on the way home we saw a wolf standing out in a field. He would be the second wolf that I've actually seen myself in the last year. The first one we saw on the train tracks less than two miles from our house. That's plenty close enough, thank you. This one was just standing in the field about 300 feet from the road almost as if he was appreciating the warm sun and the gentle breeze; he, too, was convinced for that moment that the long dark winter is almost over.

Thank you, Lord, for the beauty and promise of spring!

It's Spring!!

APRIL FOOL'S!!!

Beautiful Days

It's too early to say that spring is right around the corner. So let's say just one more block to go and then around the corner!

Yesterday was a wonderful day. We went to visit our friends, and to see their beautiful new baby horse. She was just the cutest thing, only three days old! She has a sweet little face and the softest coat. I think even Chuck could have fallen in love with this little girl! We had such a nice visit, though.

Today was another warm and mostly sunny day. By warm, I mean it got up to 45 degrees. That's still a little cool, but it's a whole 70 degrees warmer than Saturday morning's low temperature. So yeah- it felt really comfortable! There is still a lot of snow on the ground even though we haven't gotten any new snow in a few days now. We're supposed to get a couple inches tonight, but that's nothing. It is really funny how my definition of "snow" has changed. Two years ago, if it had snowed an inch we would have been shut down. Now anything under six inches doesn't seem to even count!

Tomorrow I go to the eye doctor so he can check my new contacts and make sure they are fitting right before the warranty expires. This will require me to shut down the house, pack up all the children, drive about 20 miles to Ewen, all while maintaining my peace and sanity. The bonus is that for a few minutes I will be sitting in a quiet and darkened room while my children are under the watchful eyes of adults other than me. (I warned the office staff that I'd have to bring my crew with me. She said she'd schedule me for a time when the office would be otherwise empty!) Considering this is the closest thing to a babysitter I've had since we moved here, I'll take it!

God bless!