I don't know if there is any such word as arriveth; Winter has arrived, however, and with considerable determination. This is my eightieth Winter [I will be eighty on January 24th], so I have seen Winter's arrival in all different forms. Last Winter was one of the longest and most miserable Winters I experienced. Yet, we had plenty of warning, there were several one to three inch snowstorms, that fell and melted, before the final blast, in early December, that made Winter permanent.
When we have sudden Winter, this time of year, people recall the great Armistice Day blizzard of 1940. I was five years old and attending first grade [I skipped kindergarten]. When we got up in the Morning it was warm 40F. We resisted wearing heavy coats, if we didn't have to, and my Mother let us go to school in sweaters. We had a long walk. We called it a mile, in those days, but it was eight city blocks. It started snowing about nine o'clock. By Noon, they decided to send the kids home. I remember walking through raging snow to get home. It was probably in the 20sF by then, it got much colder that night. I can't separate my childhood memory from all I have heard since. The folks who were old enough, to have first hand reliable memories, would be pretty old. I know many people were stuck downtown as the streetcars quit running, my Grandfather was one of them.
I don't know how they forecast weather in those days. I know they had telecommunications and the AM radio stations fed information to each other. Our severe weather, generally, originates West of us and often we would hear broadcast that would be tracing a storm across Montana and the Dakotas. I don't know why the 1940's storm was not predicted. I know that several duck hunters lost their lives because they couldn't get off the lakes or reach shelter.
Now we know about a storm's coming days before it arrives. It still has an element of surprise. Yesterday was quite pleasant. The temperature must have been close to 40F. We bustled around, getting things done, we didn't want to do in the snow. We had a chicken roost, in the barn, that we moved for the new chicken coop. I raised broilers in the barn, in the past, and we are reusing the door and the roost.
No matter how much we prepare, a sudden change in the weather is a surprise. I haven't been out to see my animals yet. The chickens are fine. They have plenty of food and water and they wouldn't go out if I invited them. There is probably six inches of snow on the ground now and we will probably get six more. I need to look through my old bales of hay to find something suitable for the sheep. I haven't got any new hay for them yet. The pasture is still in excellent condition and I was hoping I could keep them on pasture for a few weeks yet.
We have canned goods on the shelf and three freezers full of food. We could survive for a long, long time if we got snowed in. Unfortunately, one member of the family has a job to go to. Naomi is a nurse and she is working nights. Hopefully, she will be able to get out of our driveway and then find that the roads have been plowed.
For us folks who don't have to go anywhere, it is kind of cozy. It is a lesson in peace. When we stay in the moment, and don't agonize over what may be in the future, it is wonderful {filled with wonder}. The snow is beautiful. We have a shelter belt of pines, spruces and firs about 200ft from my window. I have watched the trees slowly change to their Winter garb.
No matter, the storm we go through, there will always be love and beauty to focus on. The world is going through a storm, as the consciousness of humanity is pulled by the tsunami of love, yet is reluctant to give up the old ways of seeing. Those, who have been in power don't want us to see anything new. They don't want us to contemplate oneness. They don't want us to see a world without war. They don't want us to see a world of peace. They don't want us to recognize we are all brothers and sisters. They don't want us to see that all is love.
We can't resist it! The world of love is pulling us in. We all need to give up our little fears and give up our resistance to seeing love everywhere. Love cannot fail. Let us turn our faces to love.
Love and Peace, Gregg
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