The Quiet of Winter

Day 242 of 365

Tonight, Ron was chopping wood in the dark, and I went out to check on him. It was beautiful out there tonight. The porch light was shining on the snow, and it was so sparkly. I walked down our long driveway to our mailbox to check the mail, and I loved seeing the trees that line our driveway in the snow.

It was all so quiet. I could hear the periodic chop of the wood but then silence all around in between. I walked back to the house and checked Ruby’s crate. Ron had already put up the chickens, but he forgets to check for Ruby. She will just hide out in the crate all night if you let her, but it’s not safe or warm enough. So I had to crawl into her crate and drag her out, which she hated. She fussed and fussed. But I put her up and told all the chickens good night.

It was snowing just a little bit, and standing in the warm porch light, the snowflakes looked just like sparkles falling all around me.

I thought about how much I have changed about how I feel about winter since becoming a homesteader. I used to really struggle with seasonal affective disorder, but being in nature–even in the cold and dark that used to haunt me–helped me.

I thought about how grateful I am. I also thought about how much I love Ruby.

I’ll never forget Ruby.

photo credit: Mira Kemppainen, Unsplash