A case of "PPP"

I'm going to call last weeks post Winter Days a classic case of "PPP".

What is PPP?

Positively Premature Positivity

Only a short amount of time went by, after hitting the button to publish my post, before the wind began to howl, tossing snow across the wide expanse between mountains and filling in the roads in between the piles of snow that already existed. 

That night car lights lined up down the road, stuck in the drifts, nobody was getting out.  Even my husband got stuck on his way down our lane, having to walk home and get the snowplow to plow his way to retrieve the abandoned vehicle.

The wind howled all night, and with the addition of snow falling, we knew the morning could be an interesting one.

He was up early plowing, but when the side of the plow struck a bank of snow and caused the truck to turn into the drifts, he was done.  A neighbor with a tractor and a snow blower was our rescuer.  We made it to town for work and the kids were off to preschool, but I couldn't help but worry that the wind would start back up and our road would be blown in again.

In our part of Wyoming we are having a mild winter, no doubt.  As one lady in town put it,  "We'll get our snow this year, even if we get it two inches at a time until June."

Thus, PPP.

Winter days

For the most part our winter has been very mild.  We have still had -40 days and a couple of full weeks in the negative degree range, but I don't feel myself anticipating the dread that the winter will never end.  Perhaps it's because I've gotten used to the snowy landscape, the low light where everything is gray and wearing sunglasses is a must to see where you are going, I'm not sure.  Maybe my body is finally used to the long season of winter and has adjusted.  It could be that I have gotten used to driving on icy and snow packed roads and no longer find them as a deterrent to getting out.  Talking to an older gentleman while waiting for an appointment he mentioned how fast the years go by as you get older, this could be another very likely reason I feel the time of this winter going by quickly.

One thing is for sure, my husband and I both recognized the sun staying up longer into the evening as we were driving home the other night, and as the soft light still persisted on towards 6:00 p.m. our minds were triggered to the difference and the changes taking place around us in our "natural" world.

Maybe too the long winters where I live are still teaching me to enjoy each day for what it is and where it is in the seasons, keeping myself fully aware of today- the present- and not wishing the days away into the future.

Foto Friday: Winter and sage

My fascination with sage continues.

Even in the winter time sage is such a beautiful part of my landscape.  Although it is dormant and not as fragrant as in the spring or summer, in certain areas it still rises out of the snow and brushes the landscape with its existence. 

These plants are a larger type and a welcome site on my winter walks.

#15 Small Stone

I have enjoyed the project of writing "small stones" through the month of January.  Although I might not have shared each on here, I do have a wonderful notebook filling up.  The process of finding a "small stone" for each day has helped me to be aware of my surroundings- people, nature, weather- and keep my mind focused, leaving the negative out, and bring the most important moments in the light to be remembered and savored.  As the year goes on I plan on continuing to capture fully engaged moments in my life and share them here as a normal part of my blog.

As for now...#15

Stirring two cups of hot cocoa I realize,
though at times mundane and monotonous
with dishes, laundry, cooking, and cleaning,
that I am here where I want to be
and for this moment life is as it should be.