Fresh and changed are two of the first words that come to mind for me when I think of what makes a new snow so curious to look out at. There is nothing quite like that feeling of seeing a new blanket of snow on the ground outside. It brings a sense of excitement that must harken back to the more primitive days of humanity. It is easier to see where something has walked through, which would have made food easier to track, or predators easier to be aware of when they are in the area. There is such a change to how the world looks, and everything is so different, yet our sense is that it is the same world under the white fluffy blanket. Everything we know is hidden. The world looks anew, and everything we know is suddenly changed.
I still love the appearance of it, in spite of the many years now when it has been a big pain in the butt. It seems easier on this man this year because there just has not been much of it. We never got a true ground covering of snow till this morning. I woke at 4:30 and had to answer nature when I looked out and saw that there was a strong six inches of snow down.
The forecast indicates there is more snow to come both by the ten-day, and by the radar map. Our winter has been so dry that it is actually kind of exciting to see, though I have always thought in terms of what I call Springtime in the Rockies, which is punctuated with heavy snowfalls, and by heavy and punctuated, I am talking about something more like exclamation points. 2017 was a memorable year with its snow piling up high in front of the windows of the house. Nothing like those old photographs where the power poles are sticking up as tall as a man rather than high over his head, or the train or cars were in a canyon high over them, and a person could not even safely jump down to them. But it was a harder year than others. Still, those others were not without, either. It would be normal to have head high fences here barely taller than my elbow as I walk past, come this time of year. There was that year that stood out for being warm enough that the snow melted in the days to form ice overnight, and I walked out back and on one step put my boot down, and the next instant later it had already gone well over my head along with the other one, with my feet still in them, and my head had delivered a massive blow to the ice under me. I think I saw the afterlife that day. Ha! There was no health insurance there, either!
I may actually have to start the tractor this morning and put the snow away from the mailbox. Don’t like getting those little complaint letters from the mail carrier, who seems to have them pre-printed and with her every day, just in case. They want us to have seventy-feet of snow cleared on either side of the box, and our box is kept away from the road so the low does not knock the hell out of it when it throws snow as it goes by at a hundred miles per hour. Turns out our frontage is a lot of work to clear by hand, so those little complaints were one of the reasons I felt obligated to have a tractor on our little farm. But I doubt there are many people anywhere who have a tractor for only one use! And ours has many others.
I have a parcel to mail out today for Missus. It is exciting to see s a few things sell, and this will be the second one this week. A busy week for us! Sad, isn’t it? I’d like to be mailing multiple per day. But two a week is a step in that direction, so it’ll do. One was laser cut weaving tools, and the other was a hairpin lace loom that she had me make for her shop. It will be the second one of those to sell, and I am kind of excited that things I have made are making their way around the country. It is something when one’s own craftsmanship is getting into the hands of other people. There are plenty more out in the shop still, but I am already thinking ahead to the next batch I will make, and what I will do different, if anything. The current ones were pretty easy to make once I set up the tools and got at it. I finished them with hand planes and such, so they are truly hand finished. There is no point in hand tooling the cuts and drilling. Especially since the holes the downs are inserted into have to align with each other. If they don’t, it will be sloppy in fit and finish, so a drill press makes for a better tool for consistency aligning, and getting the dept the same. I wonder though, should I do a few with a fancy finish, for the kind of buyer who would pay extra for a classier looking tool? I should at least try it! What could it hurt?