In the aftermath of all the
little ghosts, goblins, superheroes and villains who came to our door Monday
night (a group I collectively refer to as “the little Halloweeners”), I awoke
the next morning to a decidedly dull and winter-threatening sky. The clouds
appeared to be what my beloved and I always refer to as a “snow sky”. Well, it
is November, and that is usually the first month we get snow. I wondered, what
does the Farmer’s Almanac say about this season just technically one month and
20 days away? So of course, being at the keyboard, I decided to find
out.
Ugh. I wish I hadn’t looked. To
quote: Exceptionally cold–if
not downright frigid–winter weather will predominate over parts of the Rockies,
Prairies, Great Lakes, Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime
Provinces. Gee, thanks,
Farmer’s Almanac. Just what I didn’t want to hear. On the plus side of things, I
do have a not yet even one year old furnace. I tend to purchase my groceries so
that I likely have about a couple of months’ worth of provisions here—with the
exception of those highly perishable commodities like milk and eggs. Maybe I can
buy some milk in those cartons that don’t need refrigeration until you open
them. Do they still make those? And hey, I know the old timers used to store
eggs over the winter in buckets of oil (because chickens don’t lay eggs overmuch
in the reduced sunshine time of winter). A light oil, like mineral oil is
supposed to work. I’ve heard they also used to use lye. Not sure if I want to
put that theory to the test myself, but it is a possibility, I guess.
I’m grateful that at
this point in my life I don’t have to do anything I really don’t want to do.
When I was younger, I used to make fun of the old folks who liked to more or
less hibernate in the winter. Now, being older, I get it. I am trying not to
become too much of a hermit, but seriously, I am very happy and comfortable
within the walls of my very humble home. The Internet and television keep me
apprised of what’s going on in the wider world, I can sit out on my front porch
and ruminate if I want to, thus assuring myself of fresh air and sunshine, or,
on overcast days like today appears to be, just the fresh air.
I can’t stop the
winter from happening. I wouldn’t though, even if I could. The farmers need a
good snowfall and cold temperatures to help assure a bountiful planting in the
spring, and to provide a good crop of winter-wheat. People who spend the money
to have plows installed on the front of their pick-up trucks need some snowfall
to allow them to make additional income by plowing parking lots and neighborhood
driveways. Not to mention the snowmobile dealers, the ski resorts, and all the
others who make their bread and butter from the reality of winter
weather.
I can insulate myself against the worst of it,
and that I have been doing for the last few years. If it’s too terribly cold, I
don’t go outside. It’s not good for a person with heart disease to venture out
into the sub-zero conditions, anyway. If the car gets buried in snow, I know
that, if my beloved isn’t up to using the snow blower to dig it out, we have a
couple of grandsons who can come and do that.
It’s not entirely
comfortable for people like my husband and I to admit that we are no longer
self-sufficient. There are some things we can’t do, that we need others to do
for us. But really, that’s part of the grand scheme of life, don’t you
think?
You start out in
life as a baby, your every need and most of your wants seen to by another person
or two. Then you grow, and mature, and eventually, you have babies of your own.
Those babies receive your care and nurturing as you fill every need and most of
their wants.
Then you age, and
they grow to maturity…and give back. Well, hopefully they give back. There are
sadly a lot of elderly persons in assisted living centers who rarely even get a
visit from their kids and grandkids. But there are also many who are entering
their December years who are held within the loving heart of a caring
family.
Life is a movie on a
continuous loop. We just need to understand where, exactly, our part comes
in.
Love,
Morgan
