Winter Weather

Well, today was one of the few days this winter that has actually been stormy. We couldn't even see across the field for all the snow that was blowing. Jim prayed about where we would build our house for quite some time before making the decision, and it was so right. The front here is calm, but go up to the field and you can't see anything! We probably won't get out of our driveway unless the township grader comes through and cleans out our road. It's amazing to me that the grader will plough out everyone's driveways! We are the last one on this road, so it takes a while before he gets to us. Makes for a very pleasant day with the family. Even if the power would go off we have lots of hot water (which is heated on top of our wood stove inside an old water heater) and plenty of heat. Add a little bluegrass music, and we are set for the day!

I never knew what the night sky actually looked like until we moved out here ... We have nothing to dim the stars since we have no yard light. I remember when we were first living in the pop up camper there would be nights when someone in the middle of the night needed to "use the bathroom," and the process of opening the door would wake everyone up. I don't exactly know how it happened, but someone outside must have commented on how brilliant the stars were, so we all climbed out of our sleeping bags and took a look. That must have been the first time I had ever seen a shooting star. No mistaking the Big Dipper up here, it's so huge. I have kept an eye on 3 stars that are all in a row, and move with the seasons. Some day I'm going to get out an astronomy book and check out what I am seeing in the night skies.

Another thing that amazes me is how light it is outside for the whole night, even when the moon is not visible. I guess for this season it's because of the snow, but even without light a person can easily make their way around outside. We haven't seen much this winter of the Northern Lights, but occasionally they will be dancing and someone will notice them.

This photo of sun dogs was taken in early December. My son Andrew pasted the 2 photos together to show how beautiful it was.