First Snow

 

November Snow  Photo by Jerry Apps

It came quietly in the night, hidden by the darkness when most people were sleeping.  Like so many thousands of little pieces of cotton falling from the sky, this first substantial snowfall of the season turned a bleak and brown countryside into a world of white.

As strange as it may seem to some, as a kid, my brothers and I looked forward to the first snowfall.  Now we could search for skis somewhere stored in the woodshed, find our sleds stored there as well, and look for our ice skates for soon the ponds and lakes would freeze and we could once more ice skate.

That morning, we hurried along the mile to our country school, wearing our four-buckle boots for the first time.  Arriving there, we looked forward to the school outdoor games that could only be played when there was snow on the ground.  Fox and Geese was the popular one—a kind of tag game that we played on our snow-covered softball diamond.

And I must not overlook the snowball fights—all in good fun when we hurled snowballs at each other, sometimes in an organized fashion, us against them.  Or not organized, just random snowball throwing.

 Of course, there was a downside to snow on the ground once more.   Milk cows now spent both days and nights in the barn, which meant more chores to do, more straw to carry in for bedding, more manure to haul out each day.

The first snow marked the changing of the seasons, we all looked forward to it.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When the seasons change on the farm, farm life changes as well.

 UPCOMING EVENTS:

Monday, November 16, 12 Noon. Launch of THE OLD TIMER SAYS: A WRITING JOURNAL.  A virtual event.  Click on the following for further information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1024707661275889/

 WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To read more about winter, see my book: The Quiet Season (Wisconsin Historical Society Press).  To purchase a copy of The Quiet Season and The Old Timer Says: A Writing Journal, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s. Say hello to Jana and Dave, and look at their great selection of my books or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.