Winter Sets In...

As winter sets in late in December, we find ourselves relishing the days that come warm and sunny. While they are few, they do come. We turn on the radio where we can hear it outside, we build a fire in the pot bellied stove and put bones in the smoker for the dogs to chomp on. The cloudy and damp days are more frequent so when the sun comes out, we go outside.

I never thought I would say that 40 degrees was a nice temperature to be outside but low and behold, it has happened. Compared to 24 or 34 degrees, 40 isn't so bad especially with the sun shining down on us. Don't get me wrong, 40 is cold to be sure. Indeed, I'm not about to go out without my coat but the fire in the stove warms me along with the heat the sun provides.

My clothes and my hair smell of campfire but I like it that way. It reminds me that we were able to get outside. In the last few days of December, this is truly a rare treat. Another rare treat is marshmallows roasted over that fire in the stove which is exactly what I did yesterday. I load two marshmallows on the end of a wire coat hanger and let them hover over the flame until they catch fire. I like them burnt on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. As they brown I'm taken back to the days when we were young and our parents took us camping.

I've no idea how old we all were but we did a lot of camping. It was inexpensive and with four young kids, our parents needed everything to be inexpensive. Mom would have us load basically everything but the kitchen sink and we packed our own clothes, pillows and blankets. Everything went into the pop up camper or the back of dad's truck and off we went.

Jellystone Park was usually where we ended up although there were a few other places we would camp, one place in Deltona stands out but the name escapes me now. I remember it because there was a huge recreation hall that we were allowed to go to without mom and dad in attendance. They probably liked it because of that too... LOL

Jellystone Park was ideal for us. Yogi bear could sometimes be spotted and a nightly hayride was the highlight. The hayride drove through the entire park picking up kids all along the way. It took us to the movie screen where we sat on boards held up by cement blocks. We watched Yogi and Boo Boo cartoons until it was time to go back to our camp and by then, believe me, we were worn out.

Camping weather was typically cool even for Florida so it was fun to get our jammies on and climb into our camper beds already piled up with covers.  The sides of the camper had zipper flaps that we closed up at bedtime and opened upon awakening in the morning. There was nothing I didn't love about camping. It makes sense that I would love living in the woods though this style is far from camping.

So with my marshmallows roasted to the point of being burnt, I slip them into my mouth and savor the sweet, crunchy feel of them in my mouth. The second one is always harder to get to but it's been on the stick longer and the insides are gooey-er so it's really the best. It's still a bit warm from the fire but not so hot I can't eat it whole and so I do. I don't know how many I ate but it was enough to satisfy my tastes knowing a day like this won't come around again until spring.

Ahhhh spring...can't help but remember it and look forward to its coming.

Our travels are usually in the morning hours when the dew is crystallized on the ground and sparkling like glitter when the sun hits it. I find I can't look away. Like springtime flowers fading in fall, this glittery dew will be gone with winter's end so I etch it in my memory for when the 90 degree days of summer come.

The sky is bright blue and looking at it fools you into thinking it's warm out there. Ha! Even a trip to feed the horses can make your hands and face numb in no time. Now that there are chickens to feed as well, it adds a little more time to the trip. Still it's a pleasure for me to see them every day. The horses with their winter coats and warm noses waiting at the fence, not so patiently, and the chickens bock, bock, bocking at me make me feel special. Of course, all they want is food but hey, who doesn't????

It's cold but it's nice. It's different and it's short lived. It's a season that came in slowly this year but promises to uphold the "Old Man Winter" namesake. It's a time that makes you want to have a pot of beans on the stove and cornbread in the oven. It makes you pull soft, warm blankets from their summer storage and it lends free time to write (hence this posting) and to read the books and magazines that there was no time for during busy summer harvesting months.

As for me, I still feel like I was born in the wrong century. I would be fine with living a pioneer life. Farming, raising cattle, harvesting, canning, preserving, soap making and all that goes with it. I haven't tried the soap making yet but winter is young and there's plenty of time for it. I haven't tried raising cattle yet either but it's on the list.

I would love to have a root cellar and a smoke house. Both have a long history born out of necessity. Not only can root vegetables be stored in the root cellar but so can all those many, many jars of vegetables I put up. Storage is always at a premium. The smoke house too was a form of storage prior to refrigeration. The hams and bacon and jowls and an assortment of other pig parts could be cured and smoked and left to hang until needed. The scent of a smoked ham comes quickly as I write because I have a piece of one in a pot of beans that we'll share for supper tonight. It could be a perfume or a candle scent and I'd buy it! LOL

As I close this post, I'm watching a squirrel eat the seeds that the birds drop on the porch. No need to sweep that floor...those little guys tidy it right up for me!

Happy Birthday to Neccy and a Very Happy New Year to all of you.  My wish for the New Year is for everyone I know to be happy and especially healthy. I know I'll keep working towards that myself!  Ring it in right but be careful by all means. Love to all xoxoxox