All the rough places are smooth....

 

Yesterday we had a blizzard with snow, sustained winds of 30 mph, and COLD!  With so much blowing snow on top of the snow we already had, all the rough places have become smooth and all of the dips and gullies are sifted over and leveled with snow.  It reminds me of the Bible verse from Isiah 40:4:  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.

Last night we hit -15* and the high for today was just -5*.  The sun was shining in all it's glory, the sky was cloudless, blue and clear but the temperature, along with the light wind of just 5 or 10 mph, made the wind chill a frigid -16 to -22*.  I just couldn't take my daily walk today.  All I could muster was a swift jaunt to the chicken coop to gather the eggs and then quickly home so they wouldn't freeze and crack.  After a bit of warming inside and fogging of glasses, I stepped back out the door to take the barn cats a bit of hot milk.  I had thoughts about a walk in My Woods with snowshoes on, but again, the wee bit of my face that peeped out from behind my hat and muffler just screamed with cold and sent me back inside.  It would be silly, after all, to get frostbite just for a few minutes of snowshoeing.  There will be nicer days, the weatherman promises.  For tonight, temps will hover around -15*.  Tomorrow will be a new day and perhaps we can get the mercury up above zero!  By week's end they say we'll be warming into the 40's which will feel balmy for January.  I'll be able to snowshoe in my sweatshirt by then!

There are just a few tracks in the snow now.  These are jackrabbit tracks.  Do you see the pattern?  Two front feet together followed by the back two feet in single file.  The dogs are in their glory chasing jack rabbits.

I'm into another wintry book, Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter.  I have realized now that the winter she describes in this book was called The Snow Winter by pioneers back in the winter of 1880-1881.  It began in October and continued  to snow and blizzard on and off through March.  Now that IS a long winter!  It's been years since I've read this book to my kids.  We enjoyed all of the Little House books together as read-alouds.  I appreciate the large print now more than ever!