It was a cold January day in our mid-west part of Ohio. Snow fall for the year was relitively low in comparison to past years. Being the admiror of seasonal land scape that I am, it was'nt unusual for me to grab a camera to take along anytime I ventured out into the blustery snow. I can't really say that I'm fond of the cold weather so that wasn't too often. In fact, it would have to be something pretty important to drag me away from my cozy country home this time of year. I'm blessed to get to be a homemaker after only working 17 years in our little business. Retirement came early for me by choice considering that my two children were in their teens and i wanted to be close by them through their adelesant years. This particular day was an amazing sight to behold. The children were in school and I was just being lazy this day.
We live about a thousand feet from the main road so a good snowfall would most definitely bury us in clear back to the house, to the point of it taking a plow nearly 3 hours to dig us out. This was one of those days. The plow came early that morning and the children could make it down the lane to the bus on time. After they left noon came quickly and I decided to take a ride to town to take a hot lunch to my husband working in our little auto repair shop only about ten miles out. The roads were pretty clear so the drive wasn't bad at all. I left the house in a hurry and wasn't aware of what the day looked like beyond the lane at that time. With the threat of another 3-4 inches of snow coming our way I decided to head back to the house right after lunch. As I drove I was amazed at the beauty of all the landscape covered with ice and snow. When I pulled into our own driveway I was equally amazed at what I had missed right here at home when I left the house earlier in the day.
With my miniature schnauzer, Sassy, in the car we both mused the beautiful diamond forest of trees we passed as we drove down our lane. It was breath taking to say the least! Astonished by nature in all its glory I just had to take a closer look. The lane was a narrow path leading to the house since the plow cleared it off earlier that day. Only being about the with of my van plus a few additional inches, the lane made me feel like I was driving down a long tube without a top. It was actually kind of a strange sight. The snow drifts on both side were nearly the height of the van in most places as well. In a hurry to snap the luminous setting around me, I grabbed my camera and wedged myself out of the van to climb the towering snow bank. Sassy would normally join me but today I chose to leave her in the warmth of the running vehicle. After about 15 minutes of taking pictures I decided it was time to finish the drive on up to the house. When I returned to the Van Sassi was standing with her paws on the passenger side of the windows rem acting excited to see me return as she pounced back and forth. When I tried to get in the van I realized that the doors were all locked. It was bound to happen that Sassi had locked me out! I was blinded by natures beauty to think about this when I left the van earlier. My keys, purse and cell phone were all in the vehecle and Sassi just couldn't figure out how to unlock the doors. I tread and dreaded the cold much longer as I head up to the house only about four or five hundred feet away wearing nothing but a light winter coat and carring my camera. When I arrived I realized that I didn't have a house key. No means to get in the house at all! Unfortunately all the neighbors were at work as well. The nearest phone was about a mile down the road. I went back to the van to check on Sassi as I worried about it running. Then I decided I needed to stay warm, so I climbed on the van's hood and just sat there with my camera as Sassi looking on as if I had gone mad.
Time was passing like a slow moving turtle. I still had about 4 hours before my hubby would return home. After about an hour or so, to my surprise, here come my husband down the lane in his pick up truck. There certainly wasn't room for him to pass so I had hopes he would have a spare key for me. Luckily he did! It turns out that he was trying to call me ever since I left the shop. My cell was turned off and he didn't get a response from the phone in the house so he worried and decided to come check on me.
That day I got what was probably the most beautiful winter landscape pictures I had ever gotten of the twenty plus years we had lived there. And I felt like a true pioneer for the first time living in the country. I still don't like the cold weather but I do appreciate what it offers in beauty, and I truly respect it's fury as well! To this day we still laugh about that time in the snow as we marvel the pictures I had taken that day. These same pictures, so beautiful and full of memories, often grace our family Christmas cards. What an experience with winter in the country for Sassi and myself...and what a memory! Write your article here