It is far too early for the rooster to crow, and truth be told too early for my eyes to be focused on this glowing screen, but my husband headed to Connecticut for the day and sometimes his 3am departure sets my own day into gear. Slowly. Writing a few things down is a good way to ease in.
Tomorrow we welcome November, which for us means packing away our simple collection of autumn decor. Once upon a time I wouldn’t think of doing such a thing until after Thanksgiving in late November, but here, things quickly begin to feel wintry. Not quite ready for Christmas magic and whimsy, but something in between. Window candles, extra twinkly lights, fresh greenery.
I’d intended to have materials delivered for the remaining four raised beds we’d like to add, but the sawmill never returned my call, and honestly I started to lose enthusiasm for the project this late in the season. Even if we didn’t get them built before snow, it would have been nice for them to overwinter alongside the existing garden beds. I bet their new coloring would have caught up to the patina of our current beds. Oh well, springtime it is.
There is something about that point in the season when you surrender. Maybe that’s what I love most of all. It’s not a feeling of defeat for me. I didn’t lose because every item on our winter prep list is not checked off. We simply give it our all until snow arrives, then the decision to stop is made for us. We don’t decide when the pace of our working season ends, snow does.
I let Scout out at 4:30. Normally the dogs know it’s not time to go out until light is in the sky, but elder privileges and all. Barefoot, I followed him. He went straight to the porch water bowl (indoor water is inferior in dog world), and I noticed he wasn’t able to drink the water despite his efforts. Frozen solid! My toes felt cold but not water-bowl-is-frozen cold. I checked the outdoor thermometer and it read 22ºF. Now he’s tucked onto his porch sheepskin and Mason is curled around my shoulders on the back of the couch. All 75 pounds of him. If you walked into the room right now, you’d think he was one of those full-animal fur stoles ladies once wore. Toasty, I suppose.
Well, I best get going. Need to add a few logs to the fire, then I’ll see what else the day might bring. Soon enough, the sun will crest over the eastern ridge.
10 Responses
Such a lovely morning! Its cold here as well on the Front Range (snow on the ground), though a little warm up is in the forecast. Today, all the special Halloween things will be prepared for the Grandkids; chili, corn bread, mac&cheese- leading up to the grand finale of Trick or Treating. Hopefully to be tucked into bed shortly afterwards.
This sounds so lovely! I hope you all had a nice time.
We, too, were frozen this morning. I maybe procrastinated on digging potatoes too long. Eek!
Enjoy the toasty doggie cuddles. We have a cat keeping the throw blankets extra warm.
Sounds like a lovely morning
Funny you got 22 degrees and here in central Ohio we weren’t much warmer at 26, the bird bath frozen, frost on the fields. Thanks for always reminding us to slow down and take it all in.
This morning it was 29 degrees in Memphis, Tennessee yet a week ago it was still in the 80’s each day. Our temps will soon creep back up into the 70’s but I am enjoying this small sampling of proper Autumn. I love this time of year so much.
Can you share how you store fresh eggs in the colder months. I’ve heard once the eggs are cold they should be stored in the fridge even if not washed…meaning in the colder months when we collect eggs from nesting boxes- before freezing hopefully!, they should not stay on the counter as they do in warmer months but should go to the fridge as they have been made cold by being outside. Is this true? is it unsafe to leave unwashed cold eggs on the counter for storage? We get through them in 1-2 weeks and are not producing enough to warrant water glassing at this point.
I’ve never heard that! We always store them on the counter and have never had a problem. If an eggs is frozen and cracked, we’ll give those to the dogs but try to always get them from the coop before that happens.
Finally catching up on my blog reading! I’ve put my candles in my windows- I just love seeing the candles glowing now that it gets dark so soon (I’m not mad about that!) I wanted to say my family loved your pumpkin bars. Also, you are missed on IG. xo
I’m so glad they were a hit at your house! I was just thinking I want to get candles in the windows. It’s time!
I’m missing all my IG pals, too. The break is adding so much time to my days which is very nice and much needed. ☺️