There are moments in the cold when you learn how much bite just air can have.
You learn that skin loses feeling just before it freezes.
There are moments in the cold when you wonder why you live in such a place.
When you look back in awe at those who came before you and wonder how they made it through.
There are moments in the cold when you just can’t believe it will ever be warm again.
And then … when the sun returns and the world around you glitters, you smile.
You smile because the air is crisp, clean, and refreshing. There’s not a bug in sight. There’s no chance of sweating.
And you remember why.
Why it is that you love winter.
heading the girls home; a SK winter scene *(photo by my brother in law, Ken) (click to enlarge)
Now that’s a COLD-looking scene. (I couldn’t see the snow until I enlarged the picture.)
BRR – it was a cold day here yesterday!
Stay warm, MJ!
yes indeed. He and a few others “drove” the cattle home from their summer pasture, about 11 miles. 4 hours vs. multiple truck/trailer trips. He said once the “girls” got close to home, they could smell the hay he’d put out for them & picked up their pace
.
18F here right now …. brrr!
MJ
First couple of days of biting cold here…but that picture puts my versions of “run from the house to the car” cold in perspective! Great shot! (and I love winter too!) We haven’t had any snow here yet…I’m so ready for our first pretty blanket of white!
Winter’s come late here in west MI; we had our first measurable snow this past weekend … and the frosty air is keeping it around. But there’s a warming trend coming and the pretty white stuff will soon be gone.
Crazy weather
I remember mornings in SK when the bus couldn’t run – too cold – at (minus) -44F.
Dad spent a lot of time clearing ice from the water troughs for the livestock.
MJ
Brrrr….. Beautiful, but brrrrrr…
definitely heavy on the brrr side
MJ
How rugged those men and cattle are. Really Awesome to do 11 m. in 4 hrs.
Oh you know it! I can’t help but think “Marlboro Man” when I look at that photo, MJ
I love this post, MJ–especially since I have just in the past few days experienced that bite of winter–a season that I truly love. You have captured that exactly!
Great photo, as well!
Kathy
I missed northern Winters when we lived in Houston; people thought we were crazy to move back to it. I don’t think there are many things prettier than Hoar frost or a morning sunrise across a crusty winter field.
Thank you for visiting … and commenting! MJ
Wellllll….. “Love” might be a bit strong. “Appreciate” is probably more like it for me!
Ice I can do without (driving in it) but the cold bite of winter I actually like
MJ
is it spring yet?????
Not quite yet although last weekend sure felt like it here! MJ
Love the new banner photo with the hay bales. When he was about 5, my son Jacob asked what they were. My husband, a sci-fi lover, promptly told Jacob that they are “alien pods.” Jacob thought it was hilarious, and that’s what they will always be called!
When my son was small, he saw a long line of those hay bales in a field, and said they looked like a worm. He’s 31, and we still call them worms!
worms – ha!
MJ
outstanding answer! I was a kid when that became popular where I live; we’d always had traditional square bales. I remember watching with wonder the first time I ever saw such a machine spit out a big round bundle of hay of that size – amazing!
MJ
Beautiful picture.
thank you, I thought so as well,
MJ
Now thats a real cowboy…
Absolutely!
MJ
Oooh – looks so cold. It’s turned bitter here as well and we took extra hay to the horses then supplemented it with some alfalfa and – on my insistence – lots of treats. Did they ever appreciate it! Sloppy horsey sugar all over my face. Yum!
Oh yeah, they appreciated it! I remember making a warm mash for some of our elder horses; horsey sugar abounds!
Cheers Renee
MJ
beautiful and amen amen.
there’s something about that picture that I just love … and I love winter and it’s beauty, too.
MJ
Great pictures and description of the cold winter. I was watching Little House on the Prairie with Sophie and it was a winter episode. I wondered how they handled the cold without heating. Makes me think I’m a huge wimp!
I think the same when I watch a show like that or read a book set in that time (I’m now reading “The Heretic’s Daughter” – set in Puritan NE near Salem, MA … great read).
That photo makes me cold just looking at it!
MJ