The snow started early this year. We have had regular snow, some periods of below zero temperatures, and some balmy days. Yesterday we had one of our more spectacular storms.

Walking in the weather. All the more fun shared with Zeke and his love of sealing through drifts.

This meant Michael and I spent the majority of our day shoveling.

Clearing the dooryard is the most tedious part of the job.

600 feet of driveway cleared. Yayayayay!

This was pre-storm. You can see the snow coming in. You can also see that the corn is still standing. The deer and pheasants are making good use of what corn there is. I fear the farmer who rents our land is on hard financial times. Late springs and… — This was pre-storm. You can see the snow coming in. You can also see that the corn is still standing. The deer and pheasants are making good use of what corn there is. I fear the farmer who rents our land is on hard financial times. Late springs and early winters make for a short growing season.

Irene would love to escape the snow as it represents just another barrier for her. Michael and I are both sore all over, but we wanted to make sure Irene will be able to make her weekly trek to Sunday morning breakfast tomorrow. She leaves by 6 am. I think she has only missed going to Sunday breakfast once since we’ve been here.

The squirrels were up early for breakfast too.

It is lovely to shovel the driveway by hand. It allows you to be warm while enjoying the shooshing rhythm of scootching snow around. Having the time and resources to enjoy the weather rather than to battle it is luxurious indeed. Sparkle!