First Snow

Across the Fence #577


Winter arrived on Saturday night, just in time for the opening of the gun deer season in Wisconsin. We awoke to a winter wonderland of white. I’m sure the deer hunters were thrilled. You need some snow for tracking and to see where they’ve been. It’s also easier to see them silhouetted against a white background.

I hope all you hunters had a successful and safe opening weekend. I enjoyed the morning kicked back in my La-Z-Boy with my blanket covering me. It was made by the Sew N’ Sews- Cashton Library Quilters. They heard that I was ill and this is something they do for veterans. It’s a wonderful “Comfort Blanket” and I use it every day. I can’t thank them enough for their generosity. 

As I sit under my blanket, I can look out the windows in the sunroom where I do my writing and enjoy the view of new snow hanging in the trees and covering the ground. The birds were busy scratching in the snow under the bird feeder as they looked for seeds. It was cold outside but I was nice and toasty, not freezing my butt off like I’ve done on opening mornings many times in the past.

This was the opening round of winter and we got around 2 or 3 inches here. It wasn’t that much, but it turned everything white and it was cold. There was just enough that we could have made a fox and geese track at Smith School when I was in grade school. It was too cold and not enough snow to make a snowman or snowballs and have a snowball fight. 

What kind of winter do the wooly caterpillars predict for this year? I think we’re looking at a mild winter because the wooly caterpillars have a long reddish brown strip in the middle and smaller black areas at either end. Last year the wooly caterpillars predicted the same thing, and they were right, at least around here in Sherpeland. I could use another mild winter, since I’m not so steady on my feet and don’t have  the energy for shoveling snow or horsing my big snowblower around.

I was doing much better until I did something stupid. The evening of our first snow, I decided to move the riding lawn mower to  the front of the garage since I wouldn't need it until spring, and move my snowblower to the back, next to the door, so I could just open the door and attack the big drifts that always accumulate in the driveway. I was pushing, pulling, and lifting, trying  to horse them closer to the wall. That wasn’t a very smart move on my part. The next day, I realized I had pulled some muscles in my lower back, that also affected my left leg and my balance. So now I have two more pills in my bag of drugs; pain pills and a muscle relaxant. To think that at the beginning of May, I was walking 3-4 miles each day, and only took a blood pressure pill and a baby aspirin. Now I add two large-doze chemo pills, anti-nausea pills, and steroids to keep the brain inflammation down, Metamucil for chemo side affects, and a stomach coating pill. All this for someone who never liked taking any type of drugs.

Life is interesting, and we never know what we may encounter around the next bend in the road, but I’m doing good and still fighting a positive fight. If I could just keep from doing stupid things I know I shouldn’t be doing, but then I am a Sherpe and a Norwegian-American, and that adds up to a stubborn, I’ll do it my way type of attitude.

The snow reminded me that winter has arrived. It won’t officially arrive until December 22. It likes to set its own timetable, not have someone tell it when to arrive. It comes blowing in on the north winds, as early as October, and sometimes doesn’t leave until April or May.

The arrival of winter also brings the buildup of ice on lakes and streams.That brings out the ice fishermen too. I’ve never gotten into ice fishing, but I know how to catch fish because I’ve listened to Garrison Keillor telling how they ice fish in Lake Wobegon. The first thing you do is cut a hole in the ice. Then you take a can of peas and spread them all around the hole. When a fish comes up to take a pea, you grab it. That’s a pretty racy joke you should only tell in the company of other ice fishermen.                                                                                                                                                  

One final thought regarding the first snow. If you don’t like winter, think positive. Remember, every winter day brings us one day closer to spring.

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