February

Well, it’s snowing here again and it isn’t supposed to stop until Monday night or Tuesday. By the time it is done, we should have over a foot of snow. In just the last two weeks, we have gotten three feet of snow and this storm will put us in the four-foot range.

And we aren’t even halfway through February yet.

As depressing as this is for some, having a good layer of snow is actually important up here in the northeast. Farmers will tell you that more snow means less chance of drought over the summer. With our mountains, as the snow melts, the water will slowly make its way down streams, brooks and rivers until it reaches and in some cases floods the valley. Add spring rains into the mix and we will have an abundance of water for collection and use over the dryer summer months.

The snow also insulates the ground protecting tender roots from the extreme cold and keeps bulbs and flowers incubated until the earth warms and they sprout their lovely flowers again.

Outdoor enthusiasts love this time of year. They flock to our state’s many ski areas or are out on the snowmobile trails that crisscross the countryside. Some just enjoy snowshoeing through the quiet woods enjoying nature.

While some creatures hibernate through the winter, we still have a variety of wildlife that cross our fields. We see plenty of deer and often hear the coyotes in the early evenings. Once in a while you hear the deep hoot of a great horned owl. There are plenty of birds that stay all winter and visit our feeders along with a few squirrels and chipmunks.

This year Dennis and I are busy planning our vegetable garden for the spring and deciding which seeds to start early. We have ordered a few baby chicks, but have received so much interest from others wanting to buy eggs from us, we may have to increase our order. There are a couple of sheep clinics coming up that we are interested in attending and I know Dennis is interested in visiting a couple of goat farms this year.

Building plans are taking shape as we decide what size coop we need and what type of barn we need for the sheep as Dennis finishes work on the new rabbit hutch.

So, while the snow gently falls and makes travel messy, we’ll hunker down and make our spring plans. It is just a matter of weeks until spring is here and by this time next month we will see the local maple syrup makers collecting their sap. That is the surest sign of spring.

I know, I know. I shouldn’t wish away time. I get that. But January has truly put me in my place this year.

It started out hectic and crazy. We had some wild and crazy whether the first part of January with warm temps and lots of rain that caused our basement to flood, then sub-zero freezing whether that may or may not have contributed to our well pump dying.

January is my birthday month so there were car inspections and oil changes and registrations at a small town office that is only open six hours per day, from nine to three and one night a week from three to nine.

There were a couple of auctions we attended that did not turn out to be eventful and there was the visiting of parents both near and not so near. Don’t even get me started on my “day” job. I was asked to attend a continuous improvement team meeting to provide some “expertise” input (that is how they sucker you in to these things) and was then locked away for two and half days only being let out to pee once or twice and grab a free lunch.

It wasn’t until the second half of the month that not only did the whether seem to settle into a rhythmic pattern, but so did my life.

Then all too soon our Zero to Hero challenge came to end. I truly enjoyed this little challenge and I feel I have learned so much. There are so many things I didn’t know how to do and while I’m not there yet, I can see at least a semblance of direction that I want to go in.

I was very intrigued by which of my posts received the most attention. They weren’t necessarily the ones I would have thought. But the dialogue has been great and I have found many new blogs to follow and received some great advice.

Right now February is looking like it might still be a bit hectic. I am hoping not, though. I have lots of things on my mind, plus I need to get caught up on my antiques blog. (My boyfriend is getting a bit peeved that I spend more time on my personal blog than on our business blog.)

I am also working on my novel, which may never see the light of day, but I am having some fun just writing and seeing where it all goes.

February will already start off busy. We have tons of running around to do this weekend. Next weekend is my boyfriend’s parent’s fiftieth wedding anniversary and they will be coming over for dinner and I am expected to make a cake. You see, I bought myself one of those super powerful KitchenAid mixers and have made some amazing desserts. Now, it has become “expected” that I will make the cake. Not to worry, as I love to bake, LOVE my new mixer and, as I have said before, I love to eat. So we’re good.

There are at least two or more antique auctions we want to attend in February and since we had a fairly good month in sales for January we can almost afford to go to some of them. And there are a couple of places I want to check out this month and maybe do some write ups for this blog. I was able to finish reading a couple of books and have started a third. I would love to have a reading goal of at least two books per month. That may be optimistic.

This time of year is suppose to be that quiet reprieve before the hectic summer months, but this year it’s just not shaping up to be that way.

So I will leave off with a wish to all my fellow Zero to Hero bloggers out there that you all have a great and prosperous year and I look forward to reading your blogs on a daily basis. I hope you all will stop back here from time to time and check out what’s going on and maybe check out my “new” antiques blog that will now be posted on our business website at www.stonebridge-antiques.com.

Cheers!

Cindy