Oh, but the wind did rattle our window panes.
Morning dawned with several inches of snow on the ground, clinging to the trees, and making a slushy mess out of morning traffic. I write this with the day drawing to an end and temperatures dropping into the teens. Cold. Bitter. Not unusual for this time of year. What is unusual is the balmy weather we had last week and the mild New Year’s Eve, luring us into a false sense of winter security and making the onset of frigid temperatures seem dramatic when it is seasonably the norm for our area.
It is funny how easily we can be lulled into thinking something unusual is common, isn’t it?
Coming home around dusk I found myself feeling relieved that there was no mail delivery. I really didn’t want to get out of the car to retrieve it from our mailbox. Now, that’s four or five steps out of a heated car, my friends, then right back in. How easily I soften when the weather is calm.
As I turned the car into the drive, shadows crept across the neighboring lot. So well camouflaged were they that I almost missed them. They noticed me, however, stopped and stared, as deer do. I drove slowly inward, all eyes upon me.
They were still grazing when I went to turn on the lights to our Christmas tree once I settled myself indoors. The doe and yearlings now wear coats of brownish gray and their steps in the snow have a certain rhythm and grace as they move. As I viewed them along the periphery of the acreage, their frozen stance was akin to a hunting dog, their noses all pointing west to something I couldn’t see. Deer can be such silent sentinels. But for the snow, I might not have noticed them in between the barren trees.
They turned, suddenly, and darted, leaping, their white flags waving a warning to others hidden from view. It was then that I noticed the walkers, braced against the wind, their dogs leading the way.
I watched for a few seconds more, comforted in the midst of a frigid day by the ordinary execution of my routine errands. I was comforted, too, by the presence of the deer. Though they give me reason for consternation much of the time as they decimate my plants, I haven’t noticed them around lately, and I worried for them. Neighbors out walking their dogs, and the extra calories they likely needed to burn, brought a sense of structure after the hectic busy-ness of the holidays. Comfort in the return of normal.
All seemed right with the world as I know it for those few moments in time. A reassurance, I suppose, that the earth was still spinning, the days were slowly growing longer, and that nature was still taking its due course.
It has been really windy here too. I tried to go out to play with Celeste and Donald but it made my face hurt. I just wasn’t dressed for it after letting them have my extra sweatshirts, coat, scarves and gloves. They found a valley where the wind was blocked and took videos of each other rolling down the hill. There were no wild animals any where near with two kids whose giggles were traveling with the wind and three dogs barking and dancing along with them. I was proud of my “city kid” grandchildren for braving the cold and having fun. I went in and out to watch them and was ready with the hot cocoa when they came back inside.
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What brave little city kids they are, all bundled up and full of adventure. My chubby cheeks are frozen smiling and thinking about them out there rolling down the hill with the dogs. Yea! Won’t those videos be fun to watch, Janet? Off I go to make some hot cocoa.
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What a vivid and poetic post about the changing weather. I love the way you introduce the deer, so gently, as they stand still in the snow. We don’t get those extreme temperatures here in Auckland. The wind and cold together sound numbing.
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Thank you, Juliet. Today was another very cold day, but, the wind settled down, so it wasn’t as bad. The combination can be quite numbing, indeed.
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I think the deer must be one of God’s gracious gifts to you to engage and delight when the landscape is so harsh! I shivered a bit just reading. There are definite trade-offs to regional temperature differences. We have the warm weather, but don’t experience some of the beautiful winter landscapes that must be quite magical at times. They’re undoubtedly more magical if you’re looking out your window and not requiring too much outdoor time, but maybe you’ll get a little return of the more moderate temperatures once in awhile this winter! I’m glad you have such an expansive reading list–good snowbound activity! Debra
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The are beautiful creatures, Debra. I love the changing seasons, but, with that comes dramatic weather conditions at times. The beauty of the snow is so lovely, I must admit, though this year we are glad, so far, to not have deal with cleaning it. I”m so glad to have my books.
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I so miss my deer and wild turkeys. I don’t know if winter is keeping them in the woods or Buddy is. Perhaps both. I’m hoping all will get used to each other soon.
Stay warm!
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We’ve actually not been seeing the deer as often here as we usually do, Teresa. We know they are around as there’s been some plant damage, but, we’re not seeing them most days. I wonder if it is mild enough that they are finding enough to eat in the woods. Last winter was filled with such drama, especially late at night, when we would have 16 or so, including bucks, in the yard. This has been an odd year in many ways.
You too.
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Penny, this is so beautifully written! I love all the imagery you painted for us with your words. What a lovely winter scene, it feels a world away from the 80 degree temperatures we have today in Los Angeles. I really would prefer your snowy scene at this time of the year, though I know I would get tired of it after a while. But growing up in western Pennsylvania and with memories of cozy days in the winter I often crave your weather. Thanks again for your beautiful vignette!
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Thank you, Sunday. I appreciate your kind words. It is cold, but, we’ve very fortunate to have had mild weather thus far this winter. I did miss having a white Christmas this year, however. I’m sure you miss some of those cozy moments of Pennsylvania from time to time.
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Lovely essay Penny. It is nice to return to normal after the Holidays and I look forward to your January warm-and-cozy posts.
I had to laugh at “..how easily we soften..” We are in the midst of a cold snap here in FL — freezing temps last night . It’s a serious (b/c of worry about the citrus crops for one thing), but it’s pretty funny how miserable all of us transplants are. . Talk about softening!
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Thank you, Sallie. I hope I can deliver a few.
I know. We really haven’t had a bad winter at all, yet, and we whine. Oh well. It is, of course, quite serious in FL with the citrus crops. I do remember last year’s strawberries being so sweet, however, and it had something to do with a freeze. Or, maybe it’s just the balmy 40Ā° temperatures that have me a little batty.
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Very funny about being glad you didn’t have to get out to pick up mail! And the deer. We really think of them as magical. We have three who stop by twice a day to have a bit of deer food. Most of their time, and that of their buddies, is spent at our next neighbors. He has been feeding for years, and I think has quite a few. Why these three choose to come over here for dessert is a mystery. When they come at dusk, it is such a wonder to see them suddenly appear in the woods, and then disappear the same way. It feels like those magic eye pictures a little. You have to look really hard to see them amongst the trees.
I believe the three who come are the mother and her babies we saw this summer frolicking in the pasture. So glad they are alive and well.
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Ha! Thanks. They are magical, especially at dusk, aren’t they, Nan? They are almost like ghosts, wandering to and fro. I love to watch them. It probably was the doe and her fawns. We have fences around everything we don’t want damaged, and fret when they get into things, then worry so much when we don’t see them.
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THAT’S MY PENNY . . . . . SO ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! M.A. OX
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You always make me feel so special, Mary Anne. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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Thank you for this well written post Penny! I could feel the bitter cold wind, even as it is beginning to get unseasonably mild again!
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Isn’t this weather amazing and strange, Janet? That bitter wind and now into the 40’s. At least we aren’t plowing out snow and slipping on ice.
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What a beautifully written and evocative post, Penny. I could feel the cold and see the deer so clearly. It’s been very windy indeed in the UK over the past few days, with a lot of storm damage in many places, especially Scotland, but still not cold like the past few winters, thank goodness.
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Thank you so much, Perpetua. I appreciate such kind words. I’ll hope the wind and storms die down there. We are having the oddest of winters here. On Tuesday, it was in the teens. Today, Thursday, it hit 50 degrees.
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