Old Man Winter strikes again!

Winter storm #1 struck southeast Missouri this week, at least a month early, and I do not appreciate it one little bit!

I've been trucking in firewood, reorganizing my old, crumbling stacks of wood, and buying up the proper light bulbs to keep my dogs and my pump house warm.

I've added more straw to the multitude of doghouses on the old home place.

My BFF has been using his electrical expertise to replace several defunct baseboard heaters in the extra bedrooms, and I've had the chimney sweep out to fix the fireplace bricks.

We've repaired the latches on windows, dragged out the propane lantern, replaced the propane torch for starting fires in the fireplace, and stocked up on cat food, dog food, Kleenex, and soup.

My daughter and I have brought in the few deck plants that the cats won't eat and left the rest to die a slow, agonizing death on the porch and deck. Sad, but inevitable in this part of the country. I tried not to listen to their screams...

My husband never admitted that he liked winter, but I believe he must have. Why else would he decide to move to Alaska in '69?

I think he liked the challenge. There's something "hardening" about coping with winter. You have to get your car winterized. I think he liked all that stuff.

Of course, in Fairbanks, we had to have the studded snow tires put on our vehicles by September, and the heavy-duty extension cords all had to be in good shape, so we could plug our cars in when the temps got to thirty below zero and colder.

One year, we came back to Fairbanks in January after Christmas vacation, when it was sixty below zero. One of us accidentally bumped against the cord that plugged my car into the electrical outlet. I was shocked to see the extension cord break like hard candy!

Oh, yes--you're asking why we did not build a garage, when we built the house in Fairbanks, aren't you?? My answer is--I don't know. I guess it's the same reason my husband built a basement in Missouri without installing a sump pump...

I think it's called "cutting corners"!

This recent cold snap has reminded me a good deal of Fairbanks. This morning my new thermometer told me the outside temp was 13 degrees. By Missouri standards (which involve moisture--something Fairbanks did not have) the temperature would be the Alaskan equivalent of about twenty below zero. Missouri winters involve WIND, another factor totally missing in Fairbanks.

So, you see? It's not all fun and games down here in Swamp East Missouri.

I have one more month to get things battened down for winter here on the farm--and then, it's "Goodbye, Missouri! Hello, Florida!"

Your friendly North Stoddard Countian will be transformed into the Naples News edition!

Never fear, we will find SOME way to continue the local news, even if it IS long distance!