Well the snow has finally stopped falling, although it's still an angry looking sky out there & the wind continues to howl. When it does die down, an utterly fantastic landscape of sculptures in white is revealed. I stood on the front porch for a time this morning - thankfully it's in the lea of the wind; & simply looked around as best I could.

We can no longer make out the gate or even the road beyond it. A huge drift of snow, must be about 12 - 14 feet high is blocking the path & the view. Yet not 50 yards to the right, near the fence line for the kitchen garden, the earth is scoured down to an inch or so of packed snow & ice. It's seems so random, huge drifts punctuated by spots where there's little or no snow. Large sections of the fence appear to be buried & the east side of the horse barn has snow up to the roof line. It's unbelievably beautiful in a way, but is going to be nasty work to clear away.

When I look along where I KNOW the road is, the only way I can tell a road is supposed to be there is because of the power poles which are still standing. With the weather we've had this winter, many have come down & others are leaning drunkenly in different directions. Imagine - only a few months without maintenance & so much is falling apart. Around here, spring always seems to increase those sorts of problems. I expect with snow melting, the ground softening up means anything standing tall is more liable to lean or fall over, especially if the wind is gusting. And this year, there a lot of it will lie. Within 50 - 60 yards of Drew's front gate, several power poles are down or about to go down. I was thinking; there may be a way to use those to block the road if need be. Perhaps we can figure out a way to use them as moveable barriers, especially with the horses to help us. It won't prevent anyone who really has the capability to move on the roads from getting in, but it would sure slow them down & give us some warning. Drew's place has excellent sight lines & that makes me feel a bit more secure.

Across the road lies nothing but snow swept fields. Drew has several hundred acres on that side, neatly bisected by a draw which fills with water in good rain years. I know the section to the east he has fenced off for summer pasture, as the access to water there is good for the cattle, especially cows with calves at foot. Drew has told me he gets good crops as a rule from the rest of that field. It's good soil, well drained & with the stream running through most of the summer, except in bad years, drought is rarely a problem on that part of his land.

To the left, off towards the large stretch of woods is... nothing but snow. The way the wind has been blowing, the fields leading to that wood look like a seascape, frozen in time. There are large, curling waves, some with large overhangs that surely will fall within a few hours. They're so precariously balanced. To the right, leading towards town, the wind is still swirling & there's little to be seen but veils of white. I expect that's as snow covered as anything else.

We can barely get around the east side eof the farm house & later we'll have to clear the snow away from the windows. Even a few of the second story windows have been covered with snow. I'm hoping most of it will shift & settle. If not, we have quite the job ahead of us. The west side is scraped clear, so no worries there. The back of the house, the areas we need to get to the most are a mixed bag. Andy & Sam have been up most of the night, simply trying to keep the path to the outhouse clear. They haven't had much luck, so we finally gave up until the snow stopped & rounded up every old pail & such we could to act as "temporary" chamber pots!

Up on the second floor, looking out the back, it's hard to tell we're living on settled land. Everything is blanketed in great mounds of white. With the binoculars, I can make out the front edge of both stretches of woods & although I can only see a bit past the initial tree line, it doesn't look too promising for whatever deer may be in there. I hope they were well yarded up, because as high as they can leap, surely the snow has them stuck fast wherever they may be standing. It almost makes me wish we had some way of dragging out a hay roll or two, to tide them over. I expect Drew would chuckle at that notion. Deer have been surviving winters here longer than we have; that's a fact.

If there's an advantage to this storm it's that if anything, it buys us time from being disturbed by others. I expect it's also keeping everyone where ever they may be staying right now. That bodes ill for those out of water or food, unable to keep warm, but it will also serve to slow the spread of smallpox & perhaps even bring it to a halt here - if only temporarily.

We haven't been able to get radio reception since last night. Andy fears the transmission tower in town may be damaged or broken. I surely hope he's wrong, but it wouldn't surprise me. There's been nothing on the radio frequencies either, be it shortwave or CB & I'm loathe to waste too much battery power on what may be a futile search for now. We have too much too keep us busy in any case, right now.

In spite of the storm which has brought the kind of weather which keeps you snuggled in your beds as long as possible, we've had a busy night. The wind woke me early, as I feared it would. Andy was restless & Sam got up around three or so, telling us that if he was going to spend the night having bad dreams, he'd just as soon be up. I kept the stove going & coffee & hot chocolate going while the men brought in more wood & tried to keep the path to the barn & out house clear. Sam was determined to get to the barn, to see how they were making out. Sure, they have a walkie talkie, but a good old fashioned look see can't be beaten.

The men will spend the afternoon clearing the path to the barn as best they can so that Anne can get out there & have a look at Drew & Annette for herself. We're convinced by now that they're safe from smallpox & we want them home. Even if they 'boys' clear the path, they'll be out a while though. As Drew predicted, the storm brought one of the mares to her time. Annette's been up all night, just watching the poor thing try to get comfortable. She's been restless, (the mare), & snapping at her flanks for hours & Drew thinks she'll be getting down & getting to work any time now.

Annette is dozing, but Drew promised her he'd wake her as soon as the mare looked like she was in active birth - is that a term? Equine delivery is something I know nothing about. Drew says Annette has everything "under contrrol". She's got some old cloth with which to help wipe down the foal, some bales of clean hay to cut open & spread out once the birth is done & some mash ready to mix up & heat for the mare. Drew has some medications ready, both for the mare & foal should there be any problems & I think, some vaccines or immune factors or something. I don't have a clue & am not sure I want to know. Labor & delivery, even after three kids & numerous pets, still makes me feel queasy!

Funny enough, that will not be the first birth on the farm since the crisis. About two hours ago, the barn cat gave birth to two kittens! No one had a cluie she was pregnant. She's a huge, black fuzzball & only allows Drew & Annette near her. Neither of them had any reason to suspect she was in the family way, seeing as she's always had a well fed appearance. I suppose Drew put down any apparent weight gain to the cat getting lucky with rodents. In any case, we have two tiny, squeaking kittens in the barn & we hope they're male. The last thing we need is a feline population explosion! They will come in handy, helping control vermin & who knows, one or more - if they survive, may be useful trade items.

My problem - our problem - will be convincing the children that in this new world, cats are NOT pets, but working animals. I've yet to tell the kids & I'm surprised they haven't noticed, but Drew's dog disappeared two days ago. With the storm, we fear the poor thing may be dead. If the weather didn't get her, it's possible she was shot, hurt or... who knows? Noreen says she's been known to wander before, but never for more than half a day or so. I hope she's lying up somewhere, out of the weather & just waiting for the wind to abate.

In any case, the wind is still whipping up wildly & I pray it eases soon. I'm getting a bit restless, wanting to get out there & start the process of snow removal. Well okay, I'm lying, I suppose. Snow shovelling is not fun when you're dealing with this much snow & so many long paths. We'll put the boys to work clearing the front & back porches - again & if they have any energy left, they can sweep some of the snow away from the wood piles. If it warms up, the resulting ice will make it impossible to pry loose wood, not to mention wet it down. I'm sick of smelling wood smoke by this point - those chimneys really need to be reamed out again.

The men will shovel & Maxine said she needs fresh air, so she will as well. Louise is already out there, clearing snow away from the out house door & she'll shovel as well. She's good troops. I've yet to hear any real complains from her & I know she's missing Jake badly. Not a word from him since he reported for duty right after the emergency started. It must really be preying on her mind lately; she's been quiet, very quiet & seems pale & tired. Perhaps it's simply lack of sunlight. We'll all be glad when the temperatures moderate, the snow begins to melt & we see the sun more. Yes, the days are getting longer & sometimes, it's almost warm, but I am so SICK of winter. It's hard on the kids too, especially with snow this deep. They almost get lost in the yard & we're not easy with letting them out unattended. Greg is almost eight, but he's a short kid & I swear if he falls into a drift, we may not find him until May!

Just had a situation report from the barn. Drew days the mare has finally gone down, that is... lain on her side & is laboring hard. Annette is awake & glued to the mare's head. I hope it goes well. We haven't told the boys. They'd want to be out there & this is Annette's special time; we all agreed on that. We'll wait until it's all done, hopefully with good results; then tell the boys we have a new foal.

I'm hoping a birth will be another reason to celebrate. We've been short of those lately or at least, not thinking of any. Anne reminded me this morning that Andy's birthday is coming up in four days! I was shocked - how could I, his father for God's sakes, forget THAT? He's turning 25. Makes me feel old. Now, I have four days to try & figure out what we can give him, what under the circumstances, will have meaning. I'm clueless right now & I'm also trying to figure out how to tell the kids without them telling Andy or somehow giving him a hint. I think Andy has forgotten himself!

Maxine is going to make his favorite meal for his birthday supper - or at least as much of it as she can manage under the circumstances. Now if I remember right, that includes inch thick steaks, MT's best gravy recipe, boiled then fried butter beans, (yech!), peas barely cooked & carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Noreen says she has frozen cream cheese squirreled away, so this is all doable. Frankly, a nice steak sounds like a GOOD supper to me! These days, any meal is to be looked forward to & we're all eating more. Even at that, I'm losing weight. I was changing this morning & glanced down at where my toes used to be. To my surprise, they're back! Hello, old friends. That more than makes up for the increasing grey in my hair.

It's hard to see what everyone looks like considering we're wearing many layers of clothes, but it strikes me that most have lost some weight or inches anyway. I haven't seen Sam look this fit in several years. Maxine has stopped bitching about her "mega - butt" & even Anne no longer refers to herself as Thunderthighs. Cindy of course is putting on weight now, but there will be lots more for her in the next few months. If memory serves me right, she'll be due in July sometime; must check with Anne. Hopefully, her delivery will come between harvests of whatever happens to be due to be picked, cleaned & done down.

Andy has hardly changed in size, but at his age, I wouldn't expect him to. He looks older though, older & more thoughtful. I hope I'm wrong, but I would have sworn I spotted some grey in his hair last night. MT appears to have put on a few pounds, something which delights Anne. I don't recommend a plague as a "cure" for cancer, but it has at least given her a new focus for her life. She's a very valued member of our family right now; we couldn't begin to place a value on her knowledge & skills & we make sure we tell her that frequently. Louise, skinny stick that she always was, still looks skinny. I said earlier she looks tired. Perhaps she's working a bit too hard. I'm not aware of any medical problems she had or has & if she continues to look this run down, I'll ask Anne to have a discrete word. It may be some sort of female complaint. Don't want to know; call me old fashioned that way.

Another call from the barn. Annette has been reading too many old novels or something. She's asked if we could boil up lots of hot water. Not sure why she thinks the mare would need that & can't imagine how she thinks we could keep it warm & get it out to the barn with all that snow! I'll let Drew sort her out on that one. The mare is close now; Drew figures within an hour she'll be a momma & probably not for the first time. He reports she's in pain, but fairly calm. Annette is right by her head, crooning nonsense words to her & anxiously awaiting the birth.

Ah Cindy just announced that lunch is ready. I smell venison stew, hot bread & I think, poached pears - a wonderful meal for people who'll be shovelling, clearing snow & working hard all afternoon., Doubt I'll be sneaking away for a nap today! There's too much work ahead & Anne still waves her "honey do" list at me when I sit down.