Still Winter

Another snow storm and more cold weather. It's still winter here on the farm! But it is beautiful. We have had more snow this year than we've had in a long time. The total amount of precipitation this winter is 2nd most on record. We've had lots of rain alternating with the snow. We even had a snowstorm with thunder, lightning, and tornadoes!
But, spring will come - we plant corn in six weeks.

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: Matt.24:20

snowdog

Our dog Hank ( aka Dufus) usually spends his winter safely tucked in the garage on his old couch cushion. But every once in a while he ventures out and enjoys the great outdoors. On a recent snowday he just parked himself out on the patio during the snow as if he were a black polar bear. He was a stray that just showed up in our yard late one fall and we couldn't get him to sleep in a dog house for anything. He spent most of his first winter on the farm sleeping out under a tree. The next several years he would sleep in his dog house, sometimes sharing it with the cats. He has turned into a wimp in his old age, and rarely leaves the "comfort" of the garage. He is a handsome beast, fat though he is!

Golden Slippers

In the winter of 1978 I ordered a pair of shoes from a Bass Pro Shops catalog. I was planning a trip out west with my buddies and I needed a pair of casual/hiking shoes. We were going to spend a week skiing in Colorado, then a week sightseeing and visiting in California, followed by a week in Arizona and Texas. The shoes I ordered were Rocky Gore-Tex Walking Shoes. They were comfortable, waterproof, and had lightweight Vibram soles. And they were very durable! So durable in fact that we still wear them today. I say we because the whole family wears them! I wore them for years as my casual shoes. They've been coast to coast, Alaska to Mexico, and scaled mountains and toured caves. When they got too scruffy and worn for wearing in public, I only wore them for non-public errands and to ag businesses (farmers don't care what your shoes look like). When they became too tattered for that they became the family chore shoes. They sit on the rug inside the back door and every morning I slip them on to bring in the paper. They slip on and off without untying. They are worn by others to feed the dog and cats, take out the garbage, fill the car with gas, bring in the mail, go up to the attic, get something from the garage, and other assorted activities. The biggest problem with them, are the cracked soles - - you can't wear them in the rain or you will get wet socks. They have become legend in our house. I've thought about throwing them away, but they are still too useful. And they don't make this style anymore. So we still use them.
Our "Golden Slippers."

Daughter #2 modeling the "golden slippers"

GOLDEN SLIPPERS

Oh, my golden slippers am laid away
'Cause I don't spect to wear 'em til my wedding day
And my long tailed coat, that I love so well
I will wear up in the chariot in the morn.
And my long white robe that I bought last June
I'm goin' to get changed 'cause it fits too soon
And the old grey hoss that I used to drive
I will hitch him to the chariot in the morn.

Oh, dem golden slippers
Oh, dem golden slippers
Golden slippers I'se goin' to wear
Because they look so neat.
Oh, dem golden slippers
Oh, dem golden slippers
Golden slippers I'se goin' to wear
To walk the golden street.

Oh, my old banjo hangs on the wall
'Cause it ain't been tuned since way last fall
But the darks all say we'll have a good time
When we ride up in the chariot in the morn.
There's ol' brother Ben and his sister, Luce
They will telegraph the news to uncle Bacco Juice
What a great camp meetin' there will be that day
When we ride up in the chariot in the morn.

So, it's good-bye, children I will have to go
Where the rain don't fall and the wind don't blow
And yer ulster coats, why, you will not need
When you ride up in the chariot in the morn.
But yer golden slippers must be nice and clean
And yer age must be just sweet sixteen
And yer white kid gloves you will have to wear
When you ride up in the chariot in the morn.


And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. Deuteronomy 29:5

Sows in Snow

A winter scene last week in our farmyard after the Thursday night snow. Fresh, clean, new snow that doesn't blow around is definitely beautiful. Especially if followed by a sunny day.

On a sunny day last week I snapped this picture of a group of our sows enjoying the snow and waiting their turn at the feeder. The bare spot is where I dumped some shelled corn on the ground as an appetizer and they cleaned up the corn and the snow! The current warm, drizzley, foggy weather we are experiencing is melting our pretty snow. We have enjoyed regular snows this winter, but they only last a week or so and then they melt and we have to start all over again.