My first of the new year shall be to you, as Ina would say.We left the Gilbert farmhouse Friday morning, December 31. Mike must have made at least six round trips to the vehicles parked half a mile away -- out of this natural geographic bowl, as it were, to the flat at the neighbor's place. In the end we all agreed it had been the right thing to move the vehicles. Mike demonstrated for Nick and Hallie the house-closing routine.
Once Mike had taken their suitcases to their car, Nick and Hallie agreed that half mile was not too far to walk. After hugs good-bye, Nick donned his backpack and Hallie picked up her purse and the lunch they had packed. Off they went on foot, walking away. We've had some teary farewells but this wasn't one of them. Still, it tugged at my heart to watch them walk away. Such a slow way for leave-taking.
Finally it was my turn to be hauled to the pick-up, along with the last load of stuff. And while Mike took the 4-wheeler back to the house, I took pictures of the winter all around. I took a lot of pictures because, after all, we seldom see the place in winter finery. And then I scraped snow and ice off the Dakota. When Mike returned on foot, we were off. The Gilbert Grade was snow floor and slick, and in fact, we assisted in pulling a little pick-up out of the ditch on the uphill side of the road. However, at the highway, the road was okay and was finally free of all signs of snow as we approached Lewiston.
A phone call from Hallie Friday evening confirmed that they were safely at home. They had ordered a pizza for supper and were warming their house. They looked forward to playing "Jeopardy," the wii game she got for Christmas.
We are grateful for a memorable and safe holiday. The photos here are a sample of those I took on December 31. KW
I see a future Christmas card in the snow photos.
ReplyDeleteDid Ina ever mention big snows in her letters? It must have been hard on them to go through their normal routine when they had to dig out of snow like this.
I think you guys need a 4-wheel drive vehicle!
ReplyDeleteYes -- perhaps future Christmas cards. My original goal was that every Christmas card should be of the farm. Well, there weren't enough snowy photos and technology got ahead of me. There's a couple in Seattle who would help me, I'm sure . . .
ReplyDeleteIna does mention snow. That's a good subject for a future post or two.
The Dakota is 4-wheel drive, and the Subaru is all-wheel drive, but when the drifts are deep in our lane, it's not traversible. And should we get stuck, we don't have a tractor or heavy vehicle to pull us out.
Lovely, lovely photos. Winter-time is so pretty to look at, but so difficult to deal with, LOL.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Kathy and all the best for you & yours!
docM
Mmmm, love the pictures! Isn't this the most beautiful winter?? Even if it's COLD! :-)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you all had a wonderful time together. And I know about those "misty" good-bye's. It's funny how some leave-takings are harder than others. I was so glad I was able to leave Colorado without getting all teary. I did enough of that saying goodbye to them at Dulles and Reagan airports! It's a wonder they let me come visit again!!
I remember many trips to the farm when we got up to two feet of snow while we were there. At that time, we had the Cletrac, and then the D2 to pull the pickup up the hill to where it was plowed. Sometimes to the Plank place and sometimes to the top of the hill. The hardest part, of course, was the walking trip to the pickup from putting the tractor away. At least there were the tracks to walk in.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough to say good-bye to our children when they live far from us or when they are unhappy and we know it. But when they are happy and you know you can see them when you want to, leave-taking is not so traumatic.
ReplyDeleteChuck, I remember going to the farm with Mother and Daddy when we got stuck in the low part of the lane (now corrected with a culvert). Daddy walked to the farmyard for the D2 and pulled the pick-up up the lane. I remember that but nothing else about the trip.
Beautiful photos, Kathy! As Molly says, beautiful to look at but difficult to deal with.
ReplyDeleteAs you have probably heard, we've been getting rain and lots of it. Someone commented to me that they wished it were snow. I replied that if it had been snow, it would be blizzard conditions! (it DID snow in at my siblings' houses on Sunday 30-40 miles from here).
Glad to read that everyone is safe and sound.
My stomach lurched when I thought of you all on the Gilbert Grade in slick conditions. At least going down seems a little less scary than going up.
ReplyDelete