Winter Wonderland

***Please note that there are a few graphic photos at the end of this blog entry showing the butchering of our cow and I just want to let you know in case you would rather not view them. ~ Rosina***

I am absolutely smitten with the beauty of winter :)
The snowy weather has continued here all week. While it hasn't amounted to much more than 5 or 6 inches it has tried awful hard and the temperatures dipped as low as -14 freezing our back door permanently shut for 4 days!! Thankfully we have another door so we didn't have to try to hard to get it unthawed *grin*.

I had been holding off heading into the city for groceries and errands since the highway has been covered with slush and hard packed snow but the fridge was mighty bare and hubby has been home from work due to all the wind up this way so we bundled up and ventured out with the truck.

Normally the trip takes us just under an hour but it was over an hour this time before we got into town as we slowly made our way over the mountain, through the fog and sometimes rather slippery conditions.

The trees covered in snow and the silence that it brings made the trip so enjoyable though that I could have gazed out the window for much longer. You just can't beat a the winter wonderland that snow brings :)

The cold weather has also brought with it the perfect temperature for killing our beef cow. We raised him from a little calf on our own pasture and it will be so nice to have yummy homegrown beef in the freezer again since I never buy any from the supermarket.

We didn't have a cow for butchering last winter so we were behind. We always try to have one cow ready every second winter so that we don't run out of meat but it didn't quite work out that way this time.

With the hide removed Hubby and my dad worked on taking out the gut and all of the organs so that they could cover the meat and raise it up high where it will hang for 2 weeks before we do the big job of finishing the butchering and all of the wrapping.

My daughter was really interested in watching the men work and was not squeamish about it at all which was great and we got to have a really good look at the heart, lungs, kidneys and liver.

I should have thought of it sooner but it would have been really cool to have done a biology block for our homeschool courses so I'm going to have to think ahead next time and get a bunch of materials ready so that we can do a full dissection class. Every moment can be a learning moment *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Hello King Winter

Winter has finally come to our little neck of the woods bringing with it breathtaking beauty.

It started snowing yesterday evening, with the snowflakes falling quite heavily and this morning we awoke to a little over 4 inches of snow on the ground :)

I could hear the squeals of delight from the family room as I lay all cozy in bed and I knew that I was going to have to officially designate today a snow day because there was no way that I was going to get the children to focus on school work with all that snow beckoning them to come out and play.



With their snowsuits on and their gloves cinched up tight they were all gone by 8:30. Not long after there was a knock on the family room window letting me know that they had made paths around the house to the chicken house, the woodshed and around the front yard :) The snow is so light and fluffy that they even shovelled half of the driveway and that is no small feat!

There were no snowmen built today because the snow refused to stick together but there was a whole lot of snow angels, sledding, snow eating and the occasional face plant *grin*. All I can say is BRRRR!!! The temperature was around -6 today and with the wind chill it was more like -15 making our little jaunt to the mail boxes down by the main road a little nippy so we really had to do some speed walking to get the old blood pumping and create some internal heat :)

More snow is forecasted for tomorrow so I can just imagine what filled their prayers tonight at bedtime *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

right now, I AM

...thankful to be home with my backseat full of precious kid cargo.
236 kilometers (roughly 146 miles) later we have made a round trip to the city through heavy morning fog and icy conditions this evening. Everything is glistening outside tonight and we are sure to awake to a carpet of prickly white in the morning. What a pretty sight it will be :)

Hugs,
Rosina

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