Even though it technically is not winter for another month and ten days if there is snow on the ground it is winter to me. Since it has to be cold for it to snow and winter is the coldest season of the year then if there is snow it has to be winter!
Two nights ago it snowed. Not a lot but enough to cover the grass and the driveway. I got up Sunday morning to a winter scene right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Red barn, white snow, grey sky. I was like a kid on Christmas morning!! I can't tell you how excited I was to see snow. I have been living in Florida for 25 years so that's how long it has been since I saw that fluffy white stuff.
As the day went on the snow melted and everything returned to the drab grey and brown of winter. I put on my sneakers and walked out to the mail box and realized there was still some patches of snow in the woods along the driveway. There was still a hint of magic amid the trees. It was COLD, not Alaska cold but cold for anyone from Florida. It felt wonderful !! My nose was red and running, my hand were cold even inside my gloves and I could see my breath. It felt awesome. I got the mail and returned to the house feeling like I needed to make hot chocolate and popcorn. (A traditional snow day ritual from our New York days. I did make some hot chocolate but held back on the popcorn. )
Later that evening or in the early hours of Monday morning it began to snow again. It snowed ALL DAY off and on. Some times it looked like a blizzard and other times there was just a tiny bit of snow blowing around. I knew I HAD to get out there and experience this first hand. There was about an inch and a half covering everything. The trees were heavy with snowy branches and the woods were all white. It was beautiful!
I decided that with an inch of snow I didn't want to get my sneakers wet so I went in search of my hiking boots that I had brought to Michigan about 6 years ago. (No need for heavy boots in Florida.). These are heavy, ankle high boots that I had bought a zillion years ago when our family took month long trips out west in our pop up camper. I used them on Girl Scout camping adventures and many other occasions. They were well broken in and quite comfortable. Perfect for a snowy day in the UP. I knew exactly where I had put them so I headed into the second bed room and sure enough there they were on the bottom shelf of my shoe stand. They looked just like when I had left them all those years ago. I pulled them out and stuck my hand into one to see if I needed to put my orthotics into them.
YIKES !!!!!!!!
There inside my shoe was a mouse nest. (Thank goodness the mouse had vacated the property a while ago.). Stuart Little did leave behind a mess of chewed up paper and a handful of seeds. Apparently my boot made for a nice warm home during the winters that The Man and I were in Florida. The second boot was fine, no evidence of little critters homesteading in there. Once I cleaned out the boot and put in my orthotics we were good to go. ALMOST . . . It seems that over the years not only has my belly grown in girth but my feet have splayed out and elongated. My toes are now crammed into a space much too small for my big, flat feet. But I was determined to go for a walk in the snow so cram I did !!!! Wool socks made things even tighter but I got those boots on and out I went into the winter wonderland. No one had walked in the snow except for some animals. I found rabbit tracks, deer tracks and either a dog or more likely coyote tracks. The turkeys must be hunkered down trying to stay warm. I walked all over the property enjoying all the changes in the landscape thanks to the snow. I walked out to see if the pond was starting to freeze and sure enough there is a film of ice covering the water.
Heading back to the house my boots kept my feet nice and dry. My scarf that my friend Jeanne had knitted for me kept my neck warm and my hat that I crocheted years ago had my ears and head staying nice and toasty. My winter coat, like my boots, is a zillion years old, bought years and years ago from REI. That coat has seen most of the US and has been amazing. It has pockets all over it, is light weight yet is so very warm even on the coldest of days. (And if I remember correctly it was on sale when I bought it.).
I will leave those boots here when I return to Florida. #1. They really don't fit anymore. #2. I still have no need for hiking boots in Florida. And #3. Where will the mice live if I take my boots away??
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