WINTER CHORES

Made by a farmgirl friend from felted wool sweater, the green is lining and the thumbs are worn out!

Obviously been overworked!

Have had these for many years, used to be waterproof, warm and good for snow and slush.  They now leak,, if you look close you can see the seam coming undone on the left side of the toe of the left boot.  The inside of the heels are worn badly too

Keen leather hikers . . . have had them a long time and they used to be waterproof . . not any more.  They are cracked around the toes and look at the inside of the heels.  Tried to reinforce with moleskin patches

 

 

Winter is hard on a lot of things and chores are hard on outwear and shoes/boots.  I prefer mittens to gloves as they keep my hands warmer.  I did buy a nice new pair of waterproof, snowmobiler mittens but used these knit ones mostly for feeding cows.  However, I decided to hold out for a new pair of winter boots, trying to make it through this season with what I have.  What I have are old, worn out, leaky boots . . all the way around.  I'm managing to make it but now I'm on the hunt for new ones.  Since it's the end of the season I thought, perhaps, I'd find some on sale . . . still looking.

We have a hobby herd of seven Longhorn cows, two of which are steers who will be butchered.  They probably won't be ready until 2018 however, so that means another winter of feeding them.  We have one heifer that we gave to our neighbor and she just hangs out with the crowd.  The other four are two "mommas" with their last offspring, one of which was two years old in December and the other will be two in May.  

We NEED to get out of the cow business!!!   It's getting to be too much and costing too much to buy winter feed and they take ALL of your time! We also have to irrigate their summer pasture and that gets really old! My hubby and I haven't been camping together in years!  It's time to be done with this! 

We have butchered four animals over the last three years, giving one to another neighbor in exchange for the pasture we use.  The meat is VERY TASTY!!  We have also been able to sell some which helps.  We have been grateful for the opportunity to raise them and are grateful for the yummy beef.  However, it's time to move on . . . we're bonafide Medicare card carrying senior citizens!

GRIT and GRACE

The Colorado Columbine is our state flower and my very favorite flower.  It just speaks to me of "grit" and "grace" as it grows in our Colorado Rocky mountains.  Its beauty is delicate and intricate and it can grow in very adverse circumstances.  I've seen them in the shadows under the spruce or aspen trees and I've seen them growing up through cracks in rocks above timberline where it could be cold and windblown.

One definition of "grit" means strength of character, courage and resolve, especially in the face of difficult or painful situations.  A definition of "grace" would be elegance, poise, dignity, refinement, and finesse.

Our character is molded by the way we respond to situations, particularly those that are difficult, such as health challenges, financial struggles, family difficulties, etc.  I believe the Lord has purpose for everything we are faced with.  I believe that, even though it's painful, unwanted and a difficult journey, my health challenges of the past few years have the Lord's purpose.  I don't know what that is and I may never know but I want to face it with "GRIT" and "GRACE as only the Lord Jesus Christ can give me.  I KNOW HE IS FAITHFUL and HE LOVES ME!!!

SNOW, SNOW and MORE SNOW

Winter of 2015-2016 brought us major snow but it was about a month earlier than this January 2017.  For most of January we had warmer temperatures, snow every now and then of 3-4 inches and the rain in between.  This repeated itself over and over and it was WET, SOGGY, MUCKY and MUDDY!  

Then Friday night, January 20th it snowed about  four inches and then on Saturday the 21st proceeded to cover that up with another eight inches!  Things didn't change much for a couple of days except for a flurry or two and then on Tuesday the 24th it just kept snowing and snowing and laid down another approximate 12 inches.  Sooooooo, then the plows, brooms, shovels and tall boots had to come out.  I shoveled hundreds of pound of snow last week!  And with that insulating cover of snow, the ground hasn't frozen, so it's still soggy under there.  But we need the water for summer irrigation!!  I think I heard that our mountain snowpack is 135% of normal!!