Winter Delight – Snow!

Snow-covered trees against a pale pink and blue sky. Text, "Winter Delight Snow! Petticoats & Pistols"

One winter delight I look forward to every year is snow. There’s something relaxing about sitting on the couch with a hot mug of coffee as snow falls down outside. I especially enjoy the large, intricate snow flakes. They tend to dance down from the sky. Now, the little pellets of snow are not my favorite. They usually come with a storm, and they make the roads slippery. Yuck.

The best is when I wake up and our backyard is covered in a white blanket and snow drips like frosting from the trees. So pretty!

Several years ago, we had a major winter storm. It was one where more snow accumulated each day. We’d shovel the drive. Then the county snow plow would leave a foot of snow and chunks of ice at the end of the drive. We’d shovel again. And repeat the process. I did NOT enjoy that snow experience. It lasted over a week. Here’s a picture of our mailbox from that storm.

Several feet of snow piled around a mailbox

Yes, too much snow can be a problem, but for the most part, I love the white stuff. I don’t even mind shoveling the driveway as long as it’s not too deep.

Winter Delight – Snow!

I recently read an article in the Cowboy State Daily, “What the Heck…Are Those Giant Snowballs that Seem to Roll Themselves?” by Greg Johnson (apologies for the slang in the article’s title). Intrigued, I checked out the photos (click on the above link to see them). Some of those snowballs look like rolled bales of hay. Apparently, the conditions have to be just right for them to form.

  • The surface must be wet, loose and relatively thin.
  • The layer below must be dry snow or ice that will detach easily from the top layer.
  • The wind has to be strong enough to move the roller, but not so strong to break it up.
  • It helps to be on a slope so the roller can be moved along by momentum.
Source ~ “What the Heck…Are Those Giant Snowballs that Seem to Roll Themselves?” by Greg Johnson via Cowboy State Daily

Have you ever seen a giant snowball that seemed to roll itself? I haven’t!

I always chuckle when a movie or commercial features people making snowmen, and it’s obvious these people have never made one in real life. When someone’s casually carrying a massive snowball like it weighs less than a pizza, I shake my head. Large snowballs are heavy–really heavy. It takes muscles to pick one up and plant it on another snowball to form a snowman. And they’re rarely perfectly round. Sometimes they have a little grass or dirt stuck in them. All part of the charm.

Before I wrap this up, I thought you’d like this picture. We had an ice storm years ago, and this tree bore the brunt of it in our backyard. We were blessed the ice didn’t break any of the branches. You can see how overcast and gray the sky was, too. Typical January day in Northwest Ohio.

Ice covered tree branch

I try to enjoy winter as much as possible. By March, though, I’m pretty much over it. I just want to burn my winter coat and feel the warmth of the sun on my bare arms. But for now? I’ll revel in the winter delight of snow.

Do you have snow where you live? Do you like snow? Why or why not?

Enjoy your day!

Winter on the Farm

Winter!!!!

It’s a whole other season when you’re the resident writer on a farm.

When the busyness of our crazy September-October selling season draws to a close, my life takes an abrupt turn, kind of like those country roads with the “Sharp Curve Ahead” signs.

Quick turns can be the lights or sorrows of life.

 

Come the first of November I trade my farm boots (most days) for a writing hat (not really, I’m inside, so I don’t wear a hat, sillies! But you get the gist.) 🙂 And holiday Grandma and Mom hat… and grandmother to track runners and basketball players and soccer cuties hat.  And honestly, it’s so much fun to go back to the other normal. You guys know what I mean, it’s like the end of summer vacation, how you’re just ready for some sort of schedule again.

I’ve learned to never schedule a deadline in December. I work all year, in the middle of the night, but after a couple of early career December deadlines, I realized two things:

  1. A lot of publishing kind of shuts down in December so everything takes longer, therefor why rush????
  2. I want my Christmas prep, my Advent season, to be focused on faith and family and if I have a deadline looming, I have to juggle a really important plate that can’t be dropped…. and I learned years ago to keep Christmas as simple and faith-filled as I could, so freeing up my schedule for just writing and blogging that month is plenty!

This way I don’t have to fret over changed schedules, flu outbreaks, kids that need watching, Grandmas that need help, (those older Grandmas, the “Gee-Gees” in a family) because that’s how it happens, right?  We did our Gingerbread House day in early January because everyone got sick on Christmas vacation! Oh, those germs!!!

A Gingerbread Village!!!!! With a train!!!

 

Gluing the houses together with frosting… So important!

And a darling girl with an artistic flare!

So we got that done in January…. and then there was this:

 

DEER VS. CHEVY CRUZE…

 

Needless to say, neither the car nor the deer came out of this well.

So the car went off to salvage land, the deer went to wherever deer go and Farmer Dave walked away from  it, so all is well!

A fun, at the farm birthday party for a five-year-old cutie, and a cute rainbow cookie cake!

Kitchen success with Jambalaya recipe… Available over at Yankee-Belle Cafe, a cooking and lifestyle blog with some great authors.

And then total Kitchen Fail with a new cheesecake recipe!

Look at this…. SIGH….. Little Lena was helping, and I think we seriously over-mixed the cheese mixture because this is a mess!!!!

BUT OUR DINOSAUR FOSSILS CAME OUT GREAT! Lena and I are working on a dino-themed preschool unit, and the “fossils” were a lot of fun.

And know those snow pics I love to share????????

Farm boys in the January rain!!!!!! Pouring rain…. but like 60 degrees, so where did that come from?

But throughout all of this I’ve been busily writing. I finished editing “Finding Peace in Wishing Bridge” and that will be released from Amazon (Kindle and paperback) on March 2nd!

 

And I got a mystery proposal approved, so that’s next on my agenda, to finish that mystery and get it polished this winter…

 

And then there’s this!!!! I just got copies of my 2nd Golden Grove book (and I forgot to pick a winner from last month’s post, totally my fault, so I’m going to pick three winners from that post… and they are:

  1.  Teresa!

     2.   Rosie!

     3.  Alice Haney

AND…. two winners of the April book, Golden Grove 2, “Learning to Trust”!!!

And this is mailing week, so if you get your addresses to me, I’m sending everything on my list out this coming week, so I can check those boxes off for now!  My email is loganherne@gmail.com!

 

 A second beautiful love story set in Central Washington state, a place I absolutely love!

So there you go. That’s how my January’s gone. All the aspects of normal crazy that we call life, but so many blessings, too.

So how has your January been?

Tell me below and I’ll put your names in for one of the “Learning to Trust” copies!

 

Three-Week Winter

I honestly thought we were not going to get winter this year. It happens. When February 2nd rolled around and the ranch still looked like this–

I had a bad feeling that it was not going to be a good water year. And then we had our first winter storm–three days before we were supposed to drive to Nevada for the Ranch Hand Rodeo, where I have a vendor booth. The highway was closed for two days, but when it opened we assumed the worst was over and headed south. While we were gone, the cold snap hit, and it was much colder than anticipated, or we would not have left. My mom texted on our first day at the rodeo to tell me that when they fed the cattle that morning, it was -38 degrees F. Cue really bad feelings.

When we got back to Montana, the first big question was, could we get to the ranch. My folks  spent hours on the tractor to open up a road across a field to give us access. The official driveway was too drifted to tackle.

We made it home and took over feeding. It was still well below zero and we had to suit up.

There was a lot of snow. We’re supposed to give vaccinations soon, but with the condition of the chute, that isn’t going to happen for a while.

We spread straw so that the cows had a comfy place to cozy up together and weather out the temperatures.

My husband and stepdad worked for days to open up the driveway, working against time because once the melt started, the field would turn into a bog and we would have no way out of the place. Finally they broke through and we had an escape route. 

Today’s temperature, 25 days after our first storm? Almost 50 degrees F. The cows, and the feed crew, are very happy.

Four Season Cowboys

I love northern cowboys.

It’s not that I’ve got anything against all those smokin’ hot Southern cowboys, or the rugged, Stetson-wearing men of the Southwest…

It’s snow.

And wind.

And avalanches.

Blizzards.

Calving.

Gathering animals or spreading hay to keep them strong in adverse conditions.

I love this series:

It’s the kind of grit and guts that either draws you in or sends you running!

I was totally drawn into the lives of the Stucky, Hughes and Galt families and their ranches.

 

Animals are survivors by nature. You’ve only got to look out your window at birds and squirrels and ants and rats and mice and snakes to realize that without any human intervention, animals survive.

But in a for-profit operation, it’s crucial for as many to survive as possible. And that’s where the true cowboy comes in. Or the rugged farmer, dedicated to his farm/ranch no matter what part of the country he hails from.

I’ve noticed distinct differences between Eastern and Western ranches. Eastern ranches tend to house cattle overwinter. Western ranches let the animals roam.

Western ranches use SUVs, utility vehicles and horses to gather and monitor their spreads, and their spreads often cover thousands of acres.

Eastern ranches tend to be in the hundreds of acres, marked with hedgerows spawned by being in Eastern woodlands.

The physical differences are notable, but the intrinsic love for their job, their animals, their stock, their families… that’s universal. Success arises from sacrifice, and that’s what we love about a cowboy story. The sacrificial component of their life, their choices, appeal to us!

Which then makes the cowboy the Almost Perfect Hero.

Of course he can’t be perfect.

Perfect is boring and gets old real quick.

But the profile of a cowboy, the hard-working sacrificial nature makes them great romance hero material.

Now here’s the REALITY: They get annoyed. Grumpy. Mad at the weather and forces of nature… Very few stay even-tempered when their livelihood, family, stock, homes are threatened.

But that’s normal. We wouldn’t want a hero to gloss off everything. We want him to buck up and stand strong and get back on the horse and keep on trying. Because that’s what a hero does.

They don’t give up.

Do you have favorite heroes? Who are they?

Name me your favorite hero to be tucked into a drawing for a copy of the second book of my Double S Ranch cowboy series… “Home on the Range”….

He doesn’t have to be a Western hero… any hero will do.

I want to know what appeals to you, like the northern cowboy appeals to me.

I brought coffee… and peach pie. I might be a Yankee… but I make an absolutely amazing peach pie!

 

RUTHY’S WINNER FROM AUGUST 31!!!!!  DEANNE, YOUR NAME CAME OUT OF THE COWBOY HAT FOR A COPY OF “HOME ON THE RANGE”! E-mail Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com and she’ll get your snail mail! 

Snow Homes

Linda pubpixFall is definitely here in Texas and winter is nipping on its heels. I’ve been busy picking up pecans from the huge tree in my backyard. I have intentions to make some luscious goodies for Thanksgiving and Christmas. My tree has produced a bumper crop this year and made the squirrels very happy. They’re feverishly working to stash enough to get them through the winter.

 

It’s supposed to snow here today but I doubt we’ll get much. It’s too early. Local weathermen have predicted a lot for us this winter though.

 

I’m reminded about the practice up north before school buses when kids had to walk many miles to school. Parents would designate a snow home along the route. It was a safe place where other families would give the child refuge in case the snow made it impossible for them to get home.

 

It was a great practice and showed the deep bond that existed between families in the community. It was kinda like the concept that it takes a village to raise a child.

 

The Snow Home was warm and always welcoming. The family would feed the boy or girl and give them a place to sleep. Come morning, they’d make sure the child got back to school.

snowhouse

 

Ten years when I was adrift and didn’t know where to turn, a very dear friend told me to think of her house as my snow home. No matter what, I’d always be welcome there. I still remember the feeling of gratitude and of having to turn away so she wouldn’t see my tears.

 

I’m sure children who had to take refuge in their snow home felt the same way. Having a place to go saved many from dying in the cold.

 

My heart breaks for the homeless who have nothing or no one. It’s so sad.

 

My wish is for everyone to always have a snow home, either a buffer from the frigid temps or from life.

 

Christmas boot ornamentWhen you sit down to the table on Thanksgiving next week, remember to give thanks for what you have. It might not be exactly what you want but there are a lot of people who’d give anything to be in your shoes.

 

Have you ever heard of the snow home practice? What do you think about it? Should we go back to it? Comment for a chance to win a western boot Christmas ornament!

 

FOREVER HIS TEXAS BRIDE will release on December 1st! I’ll blog about it in a few weeks.

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