Welcome Friends. I
wonder what your life is like…as spring emerges.
I was at an outdoor Auction this past weekend (up north, not
far from the Mackinac Bridge) when I felt like I had emerged from a long
winter. Call me “Ursa” (Latin word for Bear). I don’t travel in the winter, so my outings
are few and far between over the long winter months, with only local travel. Even so, the winter went by fast... until a
week ago.
Excited to spend time with my beloved visiting son and his
sweet sweet girlfriend last week, I
“poo poo’ed” the warnings of a storm.
Everyone was talking about it, but I didn’t hear it. It even escalated
to Severe
warnings on my weather radio, but I showed casual interest…as my calendar
showed mid-April. J But late Friday night when I stoked my
woodstove and laid my head down to peer at the moon out my small “south” window,
I drifted off to sleep with warm thoughts of a day well spent with my loved
ones. Then…it happened. I woke to a “rush of heavy snow” sliding
crashing off the metal roof to the ground.
Oh my…I haven’t heard anything quite like that all winter. I reached over to stoke the stove, and
slipped back down deep into my sleeping bag. Then it happened again. Woosh! THUMP.
All night long it continued…Woosh…THUMP, and again….Woosh,
THUMP. Upon awakening Saturday morning,
I thought “this can’t be good”. The
night before, I had pulled my truck deep
into the woods, not heeding the warnings of the impending storm. The truck was now “buried” – going nowhere,
no time soon. In the next 24-36 hours we
would have 22” of snow. (Actually, I
believe that is a conservative figure.)
Short story is…I couldn’t get out of the woods, with the truck, OR on foot. I tried…but the snow was SO DEEP I couldn’t
walk in it without snow shoes. It didn’t
help that the snow had the consistency of sugar/sand. This had landed on previous snow, and so far
this month alone we have had 39”. (A local record was said to be broken…) I headed back to the cabin, struggling
through the snow, and settled in. The
classical story of the boy with his grandfather and the goat...buried in their cabin…came to mind. "Buried in the Snow" by Franz Hoffmann.
It was later in the day that Russ showed up to “rescue
me”. Good thing…as I was low on H20 and
“substantial” food. (I usually head up
mid-day to tend to the dogs and when I didn’t that day, he knew there was a
problem.) We don’t use phones for such things. Wouldn’t work anyway, since only one of us has one. But I’m only ½ mile away… {And yes...I could have melted snow...)
On the way out to the main lane, which was also sketchy, I
stepped off the narrow path and went down nearly to my hip on one leg. Unless a friend, or tree, {or a
thick-coated-eager-to-please canine} is near to grab hold of, it’s difficult to
get free as the snow holds you firm. Like
quicksand. {Sidebar: I had just watched Pilgrim’s Progress several
days prior, and know full well the dangers of straying from “the narrow path”. During the movie, I kept thinking…Christian…don’t
get
off
the
path
again!! Isn’t that how life is…we can see it so
clearly when it’s someone else who is “in trouble”…or making wrong choices.}
Well, the next five days were rough. I won’t bore you with the details, but after
five days, an angel was finally dispatched to come and plow me out, at what I
felt was minimal cost. {When one is
desperate, you are willing to pay dearly.}
This was in addition to the usual front-end loader driver who had tried
on Sunday night, but couldn’t get in the woods due to too much snow. My truck finally got out, and I felt such a
relief. It still isn’t easy getting around, a week later. But having the wind stop blowing, and the sun
shining brightly…sure makes trudging through a wintery slop in my knee-high
MUCK boots bearable.
But the best thing of all was the “wake up call” I received
in this storm. Some of the plans I had
for next year, including moving the sled dogs deep in the woods, are
scratched. Bottom line, I need them near
the water source. I truly would have had
an impossible
time getting water for that many critters, plus me.
And I know one thing…I’m getting a new-fangled pair of
snowshoes. I do treasure the old ones, but need something lightweight to skitter over the snow. {Catching your tips and falling in snowshoes
is no picnic either…}
So in a week’s time, the weather went from deadly
to drop-dead gorgeous. At the Auction, exactly
one week later, the sun glistened off the remaining snow on the auctioned-off property. Temps climbed into the 50’s. You saw sheer enjoyment in all you came in
contact with – people came out in droves to enjoy the sounds of the auction rings
and announcers and visit with their neighbors.
Spring is near! I even ended up with a sunburn! My Amish
friends did too…as they were working the food booth at the Auction. (YUM…I headed home with a pan of cinnamon
rolls, a groaningly delicious loaf of
bread, and chocolate-ty whoopee pies…YUM indeed.) I also loaded up a couple of newly
constructed Bluebird houses, sold by the bright-eyed smiling Amish boys at the Auction. Perfect timing, as I plan to
set up a Bluebird trail on my “ten”.
(Days before the big storm I saw a bright blue male BB checking out an
old BB house, near the Wee.)
In addition, it was so good to be up in my “old stomping grounds”
and view Little Traverse Bay (Lake Michigan) half open, half covered with
ice. Beautiful country…northern lower
Michigan.
As I headed south at the end of a long day of auction and
errands (oil change for my truck/critter feed at Tractor Supply, etc.) I felt
renewed. I had survived the
winter. I was looking forward to getting
back to my little cabin in the woods.
In addition, I am looking forward to the summer and
preparation for another winter (firewood, etc.). Twelve cord served me well this year. This morning, “Woody”, my Pileated Woodpecker
was thrilled to find 2 new suet cakes right outside my window in the cake
feeder. He is such a fixture – visits
daily. One of my many “day brighteners”.
This morning I enjoyed my morning cabin coffee (with water
heated with a foldable Sterno Camp stove) while watching the riotous antics at
my bird feeder. Besides Woody, I have
goldfinches, a bevy of other woodpeckers, 3 black squirrels, several red
squirrels, emerging chipmunks, chickadees (of course) and more. I’ve also had a tall red fox visit several
times, one time almost crossing paths with me!
Who can blame him for wanting to check out the flurry of activity? Of course there are more critters, such as
the raccoon that raided my birdfeeder one moonlit evening. And I look forward to the return of the deer,
(and yes, even porkies and skunks…)
How about you? Did
you survive the winter? I hope so…J
Until next time…Lord willing,
Sherry
P.S. If you are
wondering why I moved out to my little cabin on April 23, 2017, a year
ago, here’s the beginning of the
story back in April of 2015... The SEEKER.
The
rest of the story, my story… is forthcoming. Woosh…THUMP.
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