Thursday, February 27, 2014

Winter is not forever

Around here we have had so much snow this winter! It has been staggering at times. More then one Sunday we woke to find that, although there had been no snowfall during the night, the driveway was packed deep with snow from blowing and drifting and we were snowed in until late in the day when we finally had it shoveled it out. It has been one snowstorm after the next and I have loved it! I enjoy snow, it is so beautiful and peaceful. We started out the year by going tobogganing with friends. And there has also been much shoveling, gorgeous sunsets, pink sunrises and crystal clear mornings, frosty photo shoots, and milking out in the barn during sub-zero temos. Which brings me to what I have not enjoyed about this winter: the bitter cold and the extreme windchills. A drafty farmhouse is not the ideal place to ride out a frigid winter. Over the years the house has shifted and settled, and there are new cracks and crevices for the wind to creep in. The house is also made of cinder block, without any insulation, so keeping warm is always an adventure. Thick socks (sometimes doubled) leggings, legwarmers, and multiple shawls are the usual attire on the especially cold days. 
It is at times like these when I wonder how it is I only own one pair of handknit socks. Yes, I do have ten shawls as they are my favorite thing to knit, but shawls do not keep one's toes warm. 
So this year I have decided to work on socks. I'm joining the other knitters who are participating in Operation Sock Drawer. Unlike many knitters I did not have a sock yarn stash to begin with (yes, I know, sock yarn isn't technically stash...) so I set about to remedy that. Nothing extreme, mind you, just a skein here and a skein there so I can knit several pairs this year. Thus far I have enough yarn on hand for three pairs, with one of those pairs on the needles. I would like to spin yarn for a pair or two as well. I'll keep you all posted on my sock adventures along the way. 

Late Autumn Snapshots from 2013: Part Two

There are still photos that I never got around to sharing with all of you. Winter arrived and has had us in it's icy grip for so long now. So for a change from winter here is a few late-autumn photos from last fall for you all. Lots of yellow and brown, but, oh so pretty.

There was a good harvest this past Autumn. Thinking back on it, I feel like it was so far away, yet at the same time, not so far away. Spring is just around the corner and there is a new planting season coming up. I am ddefinitely looking forward to the arrival of warm weather!