Winter Time 2020

Winter in NY

Winter time finds so many people complaining about the cold weather and snow. When I moved to my apartment in May of 2018, I swore to myself that I would never do that. I have always loved the beauty of the snow before it is cleaned up. Before the plows or snowblowers push it into piles. At my house I used to take pictures of it from my door or deck. I was in awe of its beauty. It seemed that no one but me ever appreciated it. Southerners who have never traveled to a snowy climate in the winter have never experienced it. I imagine they would not like it for long. Maybe they couldn't take the temperatures.

The view from my apartment windows

Now I live downtown in the small city of Norwich, NY. The population in 2017 was 6,718. So no walking in the forest after an early morning snowfall. Though to be completely honest, I hadn't been able to do that in the last couple of years before I moved. I was having serious mobility issues and walking was difficult. It is still hard, but I manage. I don't have a lot of work to do. Simple housecleaning tasks can be difficult, but I am not in a rush to finish by a certain time. I do what I can and then sit down. I am able to put my legs up for an hour or so during the afternoon. That helps.

Sonny's snow covered deck

My boyfriend lives in the country so going to his house gives me that shot of country life. I am not out walking around in the snow there either. I am careful of falling, so I don't take any unnecessary chances. We took a ride out in the forest to cut blackberry brambles for Rabbit. He needs to chew on sticks and he really enjoys the ones I get from the woods. I need to get more now. That ride was very enjoyable to me, as it was along my old road. That is another thing I miss, going outside to pick stuff for Rabbit. He had a more varied diet back then. Even in the middle of winter, I was able to pick grass and dandelions that grew in the barn. I was able to dig down under the snow and find kale that got left in the garden beds in fall. Now I mostly buy his food from the store.

On our way to pick brambles for Rabbit!

The change from wood heat to electric heat didn't really affect me much. This old school building I live in is very well insulated and my electric bill for the year is less than $500.00. I keep my heat down because I am always hot. Nothing to do with the electric bill. Has my power ever been out? Not since I have lived here. I asked my neighbor across the hall since she has lived here for years and she could not remember it being out. I have some 115 hour liquid candles I bought from Emergency Essentials, just in case. I am planning on getting some of those light bulbs that will stay lit even if the power goes out. I have heard good things about those. I still love the smell of wood smoke in the air. But I do not miss the work and dust from it. The worry of a chimney fire or from the wood stove in general. One time the insulation in the wall near the wood stove in my house fell down on the wood stove. If it hadn't been caught in time, we'd have gone up in smoke for sure, because I think I was sleeping.

Norwich, NY

I am looking forward to spring, but not because I hate winter. In spring after they clean the sidewalks and roads up, I will be driving around on "Jazzy" my mobility chair. I had so much fun on it last year. I can't wait to get back out on it again. I have some new places to explore and new activities to try!

Copyright © 2020 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2020  Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2021

 

Winter Time In New York

Winter in NY state

Living in a snowy, cold climate is no longer depressing to me. When I lived on my off-the-grid homestead, I would say or write that I couldn’t wait for winter to end. When it snowed more, I hated it. I did not actually hate the snow. Or the cold weather. I just hated the fact that I lived with someone who would become enraged with anger over snow and cold weather. Truthfully, the winter was just beautiful there! I loved seeing the trees with snow covered branches. I loved seeing the dirt road completely hidden under the snow. I loved the silence of the snow, the first thing in the morning, I’d sit on my porch with a cup of coffee to just take in the wonder of it all. It was an amazing view to me every time it snowed. 

The beauty of a fresh snowfall

I was sad that I was not allowed to enjoy it due to someone else not liking it and putting him in a bad mood. Especially when you have lived in NY state  your whole life and you know what to expect when winter comes. I really loved it. Now here I am in the city and winter seems far away to me from my apartment window. I have no forest nearby, in the distance yes, but not close enough to feel it. The person that hated it is still living there in the forest and probably still hating it. Yet what could be more amazing than a forest around you covered with snow? Hearing the chickadees as they fly around you asking for a handout? As I get older, those memories are cherished forever. I can hear them in my mind as I watch the snow falling from my apartment window.

No trees around my apartment building

My apartment building has no trees close by. At least not where I can see them close up. The downtown area has trees in the parks and along the streets. All the trees I see from my windows are in the forests in the distance. I am not complaining though. At least I can see them. I love my home here so I will not ever complain about it. My promise to myself is to never look back at what was or might have been. I look ahead to each and every day. If it snows, I love it. If it rains, I love it too. The only thing I so not love is thunder and lightning. I never will, though I am not as frightened by it as I once was. Not here.

A daily visitor to my house in St. Petersburg, FL

I have lived in the hot climate of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina (for a short time). Florida mostly. I say I grew up in Florida because those were the years as a child and teenager, when you do most of your growing up. I loved it back then. In 1994, I went back to Florida as an adult and I could not deal with the hot weather any longer. Tropical climates are not for me. I guess that is a good thing. Too many people are living in those states already. I believe you should choose to live where and how you want. Life is short. Make the best of it by living with the climate you enjoy, not dread every year.

The view outside my window

I admit to not having to do snow clean up like a lot of people have to do. I think that is why they do not like the cold weather and snow. Actually the one thing I hated about winter was having to drive on the snowy, icy roads. I hated that. Now living where and how I do, I do not have to deal with that. I do not own a car and have no plans of ever owning one. I never thought I would say this, but I never want to have one again. I like not having to drive anywhere, let alone the expense. It is one of the headaches of people living in a downtown apartment. Their cars. They have to move them from the parking lots of their buildings when the threat of snow is in the news. Why? So it can be plowed. The parking lot for my building is plowed several times during the night as long as it keeps snowing. But where to park? There is a city lot nearby and it allows parking at night there for all the surrounding apartment residents. Good thing because it would be a big problem. Especially for people in my building who are not able to get around well enough to park a distance away.

Home!

I may not be able to hear the silence of the snow, but I enjoy this time of year just the same. I miss using Jazzy, my mobility chair to go shopping or the park, but I have it to look forward to in the spring. In the meantime, I have a lot of projects I am working on this winter. Enjoy every minute of your life while you have it. That is what I intend to do. Wherever you live, have an awesome winter!

Copyright © 2019 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2019  Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2021

Outdoors in Winter

Peaceful Forest Homestead Barn

Winter brings a lot of work around here, every year I always expect it to get cold, to need heat and firewood to fuel it. Snow is expected and the clean up work is a part of it. What else can you do? I have written many many times on all my blogs (Homesteading on the Internet, Solar Baby and Lupe Shop), that preparing in advance is the best thing you can do. So if you are stockpiling wood, food and any fuels you will need if you are snowed in then you should be fine. Not having those things stored will make your winter season pretty tough indeed. Living in an area where you may get snowed in or flooded roads means you better prepare even more. I am not talking about "prepping" just because you think the world is going to change and we are headed for disaster. In any case, preparing now, would help in that situation also. 

Shoveling and snow clean up is probably one of the jobs everyone hates who lives in a cold climate. It is harder as you get older and some people just cannot do it (like me). I believe it is one of the main reasons why people move to a warm climate. They will always say it is pretty but I don't want to live in it. I can understand completely, even though it is not and never has been a chore I have had to do. Having a snowplow on your truck would make the driveway easier to clear. All these years my husband has hand shoveled it until he got the Snow Wolf. The paths though, can not be plowed with a snowplow. They have to be shoveled. This is a lot of work when you have a heavy snowfall. I never mean to make light of it since I recognize that fact, even though I have never had to do it. It is part of living in a cold climate and especially in the country. In the city, it depends on whether you live in a house or an apartment. 

Owning horses also make the chores tough in winter. Our horses have the freedom to go in or out of the barn on their own. We have three mares and they share one big stall that has a big open door leading to the paddock. So if they want to go outside in the winter that is their own choice. Now actually, they love winter and cold weather. They are not crazy about cold rain or strong winds. Having been in a pretty bad tornado some years ago, has made two of them skittish when the winds start. Hot weather means they choose to only go outside in the evening when they get their night hay. They forage around for it since it is distributed in many piles around their paddock. That way one horse, the boss mare, cannot claim it all for herself. Which she would certainly do. The bugs is the main reason they do not like to go outside in the warm weather. I know, the bugs are inside the barn as well, but they don't believe me when I tell them that. Bringing in hay for them in the winter is also a job and the area to the barn needs to be cleared so the truck can be backed up to load the upstairs of the barn with the hay. This is a once a month job at least. And a hard one as my husband has gotten older.

Firewood is needed for fuel and for cooking. Cooking, not so much this year. Since I lost my cook stove and we replaced it with a little heating stove I do not do my cooking on one anymore. Our little piece of property is barely an acre but when that tornado hit us it took down over 300 trees! I stopped counting after that. It was heavily wooded and the house had a very tiny back yard. All trees and big ones at that. Recent years, after having burned all those other trees that came down in the tornado, the trees around in our yard have been slowly harvested for fuel. Now people will ask why those trees were cut down. The main reason is that most of them were old and dying. That means they were beginning to fall and when a tree falls on its own, you do not know where it will land. Like on our house, barn, shed or truck. Best to do it yourself. Just within the last few years, we have started buying firewood. My husband prefers log lengths but sometimes that is just not doable for us. Stocking wood would be a good idea, though we have never done that here. Not my department so I will not say more on that subject.

Winter is hard and so is life here. But this is what I have at this time and this is an idea of how you would have to work hard to prepare and survive to live in a cold climate. At least this is the way it is here on my homestead. Everybody is different so your needs may vary. Best to be prepared the best you can wherever you live.

Copyright © 2018 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2018 Kathleen G. Lupole

Snowdrifts Everywhere I Look

Snowdrifts everywhere I look,

white, pure white snow,

pretty to look at.

Fun to play in.

Just one of those things,

a pretty sight,

beneath my view,

hard work.

Pretty white snow today,

means ice, slush, then mud

will be in its place

for days to come.

Just like life.

Life looks pretty, 

my life included.

Others say, 

"I look up to you."

I politely thank them.

Deep down I cry.

I know I am no one to look up to.

I know my life is not true.

It is sad,

it is lonely.

I am sad,

I am lonely,

crying into my pillow nightly.

Wishing for an escape,

that never seems to come.

Death does not seem so bad,

if it frees me from the ropes,

that keep me in a place I despise.

Is that the only choice?

Finding a new life is my dream,

a dream that seems out of reach.

Imagining a whole new me,

in a whole new life.

It consumes me day after day,

and yes, year after year.

Why can't I find my way,

my way to happiness?

I had it once a very long time ago,

but now, it has been too long to remember it.

Why does everybody else have it, 

but not me?

Why?

What did I do that was so bad,

that I can never in my whole life,

find it again? 

Copyright © 2018 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2018 Kathleen G. Lupole

Winter Time Blues Known As Snow

We have had our share of snow now, even though we had very little in the beginning of winter. I am pretty much used to snow every winter, but I do not have to work in it or shovel it. In the country snow is a big job. My husband is able to do this time consuming job much faster and easier on him since he bought the Snow Wolf. It is a great tool and using no gas or batteries you can be pretty well started on your job before your neighbor has started his snowblower. My husband likes it a lot and that is saying a lot for this tool since he HATES snow shoveling.

We had a few days of reprieve with warmer temps and no snow. This morning we woke up to hearing the snow plow going by. Back to the endless snow clean up for my husband. I can usually count on him being in a bad mood most of the morning till he is finished. I don't blame him since I feel the same way about my kitchen work. I used to love the kitchen and didn't even mind the cleaning up afterwards. Now I try to come up with food that doesn't use many pots and pans or bowls or dishes. I just don't feel like doing it anymore. Must be my age. I want to be retired and do the things I really like doing. Not cleaning. 

Even our cat, Hobo, is depressed over the weather. She is normally an outside more than an indoor cat. This winter though, my son and his cat are here and she hates his cat. Being an old lady, she does not care to play with him and he chases her and causes her to scream like a bobcat. So she is staying inside and using the litter box, which she never liked to do. I always had to get up during the night and let her out if she had to go. Not this winter. Must be her age has caught up to her. The other cat is locked in a kennel when he is in the house. I can't have him chasing after her, after all, it IS HER house. If I let her outside during the day when it is sunny, I put him in the kennel till she comes back. I feel bad about him in the kennel, but I have no choice. She is old and she is our loved cat. So we are trying to keep her happy.

I hope spring comes early but I am not counting on it. I think my winter has been the worst I have ever had, but not due to the weather. Personal things going on are having a big effect on me, which has me stressed out. Little things that never seemed to bother me now are irritating. I suppose I am like Hobo.

All Text and Photographs Copyright © 2018 Kathleen G. Lupole

What Is This? Springter!

It seems March is as bad as February and January were. More snow yesterday afternoon and through the night. We woke up to snow covering everything once again. I was so looking forward to seeing grass! And the raised beds were poking their faces out from under the snow. This morning all I saw was white snow.

This little bridge, called High Bridge, is near our house. It lives up to its name, because it is up pretty high. A one lane bridge over a creek. It is over Ludlow Creek which flows from Lake Ludlow and is one of the cleanest lakes and creeks in our area.

Our road was not plowed due to the mud underneath. The highway department is trying to keep big trucks, especially the logging trucks, from driving on it right now. So I think they didn't want to damage it any further.

This is a little church not far from our house. It is historical and has been here since the 1800's. A lot of people in the area attend this church.

New York is anything but flat. As you can see, lots of hills and mountains in the distance. I love it. And I guess that is why I am still here, suffering through the cold winters.

Another one lane bridge we have to drive across quite often. It is over the Chenango River which is up pretty high today. Spring time flooding is common here due to the rivers in our area. I hope it doesn't flood this year, even though it does not affect us. But friends and family live in those areas.

Have a good homesteading day!

Copyright © 2014 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2014 Kathleen G. Lupole

Winter Time Means Keeping Warm

Cold weather means trying to keep warm!

Cutting and splitting wood for wood stoves is a constant job!

It is an easier job when you have help!

Keeping paths and driveway cleared are essential!

Snow, snow, snow............everywhere!

Copyright © 2013 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2012  Kathleen G. Lupole

Working Or Playing In Snow

Shoveling the driveway

This morning was a mixture of thunder, lightning, rain and snow. I guess it gave us a little bit of everything. When I was awakened by a big crack of thunder during the night, I quickly said a prayer to protect my horses, who are out in their paddock during the night. I have learned that you are not safe from it no matter where you are, even in your house.

Georgie Girl was energized by the snow!

Horses are afraid of many sounds and circumstances if they are new to them. Our horses are used to many different things now. Things that used to scare them, do not any longer. They are not afraid of thunder and lightning, but are afraid of wind, since they survived a tornado. They love snow though! I am not sure if other horses love snow the way our girls do.

Dark Shadow & Georgie Girl

This year we did not get as much snow as usual. Maybe we will make up for that now. March 6th and 7th of last year, is when we had our blizzard. It never crosses my mind to think winter is over before mid April. We have had heavy snow in April in past years. So we stay prepared for more snow. If we do not get it that is fine with us. I can't honestly say I hate it. I love its beauty and the sheer quiet it brings to the forest. Of course, I am not the one outside shoveling it. My husband does not like it one bit. 

Plowing our road this morning

How you perceive snow, depends on what it means to you. When it snows, do you have to do extra work? Work, such as, shoveling and cleaning solar panels off? Maybe you work a job that involves snow removal? Or do you run, jump, roll, buck and play in it? That's your answer!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2012  Kathleen G. Lupole

Not Much Snow Yet In February

A Back View 

It is surprising that we don't have much snow yet. New York state usually has record amounts of snow by now. We are used to it. So today when we took our garbage to our land fill and recycling center, we drove on truck trail which goes through the forest. It was a sheet of thick ice. You could ice skate down the middle. Now I wouldn't have taken it if I was driving. There are a lot of sharp curves, and if you went off them you'd go down a steep bank. That would be too much excitement for me to drive on it. My husband though, drives it slow and calm, like its just normal. He can drive any road, in any weather.

No snow? In February?

At the top of the trail, this is the hay field without snow in February. I still can't believe it. It started out as a dreary day, but now our sun is shining. The sun is hitting our solar panels now. We already had our generator on. As soon as the panels are bringing in more power, the generator will be turned off. We may not have had much snow, but we still have had cold temperatures and sunless days. Too many to count!

My favorite tree along the way!

Of course, what this means is that if we don't have a lot of snow to melt off in spring. Then there is not as much mud. I am definitely not taking it for granted that we will not get any more snow. This is February after all, and February is usually our worse month of the year. I have a feeling some big snow storms will be on the way this month. If I am wrong, that is okay.

As you can see, the fields have no snow at all!

I put plastic milk bottles outside at night to freeze for our cooler. They have not frozen solid in weeks now. Even though it is cold, they are not freezing solid. They freeze a little bit but not enough. Today, I saw where there is some ice that fell off the roof and I am going to use that in the cooler instead. In winter, I never have to buy ice.

Hobo was napping when we got back!

 The building at the landfill was very cold. I felt sorry for Jessie, my husband's friend, and his coworker who work in that building all day. I was thinking about our cozy wood stove at home. When we got back from the landfill, which is only about five miles from our house, our cat, Hobo was sleeping in the chair in front of the wood stove. She knows where to go if she is cold!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2012  Kathleen G. Lupole