Winter Walk

I just walked around the farm and have come back inside to warm my toes. It is a sunny day here in Idaho with the sky almost a Colorado Blue.  The moon hangs low in the sky, just above the mountains behind us, not quite full, but beautiful against the cloudless sky.

As I was walking, I thought back to when I first walked this land a year ago.  I laughed when I saw that the post I was thinking of was exactly one year ago today.  It was quite a different walk this time.  This walk, I know the land and am not exploring it for the very first time.  I know where the wild currants grow, which tree bears plums by the bushel, that all the apple trees are buggy.  I know to avoid the hole out halfway through the pasture that I have tripped upon too many times.  I know now where the roses are.  And that yes, there were rosebushes that I discovered on my walk that day.  Sadly, most of the bushes in question are thornberries, and not very good ones at that.

The other change is that today's walk was a walk, last year's was a hike.  I remember post-holing through thigh high snow and longing for my snowshoes that weren't here yet.  This year, I have the snowshoes, but not enough snow to use them!  Today I walked in just my regular boots with no snow above my ankles and bare ground in spots.  I enjoyed today's walk more for that reason.

As I walked, I left the chickens running around behind me and passed Buttercup lounging around.  I walked around the pond and up the back pasture, eying where I hope to install the wall tent this summer.  I crossed over the irrigation ditch, now empty and dry and glanced through my grove so bare I could see the other side.  So different than the summer hideout it becomes.

As I walked down the south pasture towards the house, I saw the smoke rising from the chimney lazily twisting grey against the blue.  I know I'll need to add a few logs and get it going again.  It has been warm enough today to just use it to take off the chill.  I am grateful for that.

Now I am inside, thinking about dinner knowing I need to get back on track with my meal planning.   The grocery situation around here is so different.  I still don't feel like that is an area that's working for me, but I know I need to figure out a solution.

Sweetheart has been inside working upstairs while I've been walking and the boys are playing together in their room while Cupcake naps, so it is pretty quiet here in my kitchen. Sweetheart just came downstairs to go fill Buttercup's water tank and bring in more firewood. Everyone will be up and running around any minutes I am sure.  I'd best get a move on for dinner.

I am thinking about dinnertime.  I want to declare a Bonus Movie Night and watch an episode of Lark Rise to Candleford.  I am now hooked!  What a delight it is!  So fun.  The boys think it is funny to see people they know from Cranford and North and South in it, though they did express a bit of disappointment that there was no sword fighting in the episode they watched.  They saw Errol Flynn's Robin Hood a few weeks ago and are longing for more "squash-buckling" (Pumpkin's term) adventures.

And, in spite of the total lack of recent pictures of them, they are loving life here.  The light in most of the house is simply too dim for pictures even though I am experimenting with the various settings possible on my camera.  Plus, they are often too busy to what to stop long enough for a picture.  I have taken hundreds of pictures that, alas, are too blurry.  I will keep trying.

Our craft project for this week is making Valentines!  I got out my Valentines supplies yesterday.  It made me sad as most of it was left from a Cupid's Tea I had a few years ago.  It was such a fun time and the ladies there so dear to me.  It makes me homesick to think about it!  (I miss you all!)  We'll just have to make our own fun as a family this time.

Time to go now.  Hope you are enjoying a beautiful weekend as well.  Hoping my Denver friends are able to dig out soon!

Linking up to My Simple Country Living:  The Country Homemaker Hop.