The Long, Slow Winter . . . Where?

Jane at Hard Work Homestead beat me to the punch this morning when she stated in her post that she has yet to notice a slowing down of time in the winter . . . you know, when we're all supposed to have more time and get to read a lot, stay in our jammies all day, watch as many movies as we want, sleep late . . . that sort of thing. Well, padiddlepoo! It seems to me that just the job of living in the winter takes more time than in the summer. At least for those of us who choose to live in the northern part of the country where we get to deal with the harsher side of Mother Nature.

Even though we've had a scarcity of snow this year, Papa Pea has to scamper up to our roof top frequently to clear this one section of snow.

Our garage roof comes into the house roof at a wonky angle and if we don't keep it snow-free, the sun melts the snow and we end up with a nasty ice dam that causes a leak around the skylight in our back entry porch roof.

Then there's the general snow removal to deal with: the driveway, paths to the wood sheds, animal pens, bird feeders, and keeping the deck clear for the dogs' private lounging area on sunny days.

Since we heat with wood, we need to bring the wood from the wood sheds to the wood box on the back porch, and finally into the house and storage by two stoves in the house and one in Papa Pea's workshop area of the garage.

Don't forget the frequent cleaning out of the ashes from same wood stoves.

Unfortunately, we don't yet have space to get all our vehicles under cover so after each snowfall, they all have to be cleaned of snow and sometimes ice.

Care of the critters takes more time and effort in the winter. They're confined most of the time so they make more of a mess in their living quarters. Water freezes and needs to be replaced a couple of times each day. Eggs tend to freeze, too, so more frequent gathering is needed.

Just getting ourselves dressed each and every time to go outside sure takes more time than in the summer when you maybe have to only change footwear before dashing outside.

Then, of course, we use the winter months to try to catch up indoors on all the odd little (okay, some big) jobs that go by the wayside when we spend so many of our waking hours outside in the nice weather.

When you think about it, it's no wonder there doesn't seem to be a lot of extra time to be had on the homestead in the winter. It's amazing we don't wise up and stop thinking there will be.

If you hear of anyone complaining of the long, slow winter who is bored and having difficulty filling their daylight hours, feel free to send them our way.