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| The farmhouse, 2015 |
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| The farmhouse, 1920s |
We
had a wonderfully white Christmas at the homestead. If one of us watched a
little too much football to suit others, then perhaps the beautiful white
landscape and the sledding made up for it.
Despite
the football games, Mike is the unsung hero of our farm Christmas. I take care
of planning, shopping, and packing boxes, and then Mike packs it all into the
pick-up, knowing full well he's going to pack most of it back out. The responsibility of getting us to the house through the snow is his,
and once we’re there, he de-winterizes the already winterized house, which
he’ll have to winterize again when we leave. He also keeps the fire burning in
the insert.
During
our holiday week, the world was not only white but cold – mostly in the low 20s
with very little daytime variation. It snowed several days – not big floppy flakes but
a steady sleet. When it wasn't snowing, I watched for photo-ops.Over
the course of the week, I’ll bet I took a hundred pictures, a few of which I
selected for this post.
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| Moon on Christmas night |
Mike
and I didn’t go to the farm until Christmas Eve, and since we hadn’t been there
for a month, I had made very few on-site preparations. Mike helped me put three
strings of lights on our new slimline “pencil” tree, and then I tossed a few
decorations on it. I did some other “instant” decorating and called it good.
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| House from pond |
So,
Mike and I shared a quiet Christmas Day. Of course, Christmas Day has a special quietness of its own that reaches even the country where it’s always quiet.
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| South side of barn from pond |
On
Saturday, son Clint and his family – Elisha and Maycie – came for lunch. Elisha
and I baked cut-out sugar cookies while Mike and Clint went sledding. Maycie
took a couple of runs on the sled, then came in for a nap on the sofa.
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| Bess and Mike |
Hallie
and Nick came Sunday evening, the 27th. That was Christmas Eve for
us, and after breakfast the next morning we settled down to share our gifts.
Everyone was well-remembered, as Ina might say. Mike got books for his winter
reading enjoyment. I got a color book, and Nick gave me his wonderful sets of
colored pencils, apparently unused since his college days. (Ina would approve
this sort of gift.)
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| June's field toward lane |
Nick,
Hallie, and Mike enjoyed sledding. Bess loved to run beside the sled, barking
all the way. Nellie wasn’t interested in sled-chasing, but she did accompany us on walks to the mailbox. Once Hallie went for a run, and Bess went with her.
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| Stuck |
On
Tuesday, Ken and Ginny came for lunch. It commenced to snow more heavily and
they left about 3:00. Wednesday, Nick and Hallie drove to Orofino. Her Jetta
got stuck at the top of the lane, so they took the Dakota. Thursday, New Year’s
Eve, they left, after one last game of Dominoes. Mike and I stayed over Thursday
night and returned to town New Year’s Day. We’ll go back next week to complete
our winterization. KW
During
our holiday week, the world was not only white but cold – mostly in the low 20s
with very little daytime variation. It snowed several days – not big floppy flakes but
a steady sleet. When it wasn't snowing, I watched for photo-ops.Over
the course of the week, I’ll bet I took a hundred pictures, a few of which I
selected for this post. 
'Twas a lovely holiday!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a wonderfully white Christmas! As we were eating dinner, Kirsten looked at the falling snow and said, "It's like being inside a snow globe!" It doesn't happen often so we much enjoy.
ReplyDeleteLove the photos and knowing that you all had a wonderful time.