Just about 2 feet of snow!
Our neighbors horses…so gorgeous!!!
How did they do it?? As I try to navigate my world in the midst of a three day snow storm I am amazed at how unprepared I feel. Albeit, I lack in the true snow boot arena, I have mud jumpers that do the trick in keeping my feet dry (for the most part)…since my snow pants (I think I have snow pants) are still packed away somewhere within our shop, double layers of pants seem to keep me warm enough for about a half an hour, although soaked through…then there’s the waterproof jacket and gloves….I’ve got some stuff, but definitely not enough. Trudging through two feet of pant soaking, ice accumulating, leg freezing snow, the warmth of a nice warm fire was all I could think about….well, that and sledding down on of our hills obviously adding to my already frozen appendages. But I have to think….”How in the world did the pioneers….those who crossed the great divide, climbed the Cascade Mountain Range to land in the Willamette Valley of Oregon…how did they make it without the warmth and waterproofing necessary to sustain life this day and age. Would we be able to survive as our ancestors did? How did they survive?” I guess many did not (remember the Donner Party), but somehow, most did!
How did they do it??!!
My San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, sun 90% of the year upbringing and adulthood is a far cry from the winters of the Pacific Northwest. There is much I have to learn about preparing for weather that can turn on a dime…what’s that saying up here?…”If you don’t like the weather, wait 15 minutes…” On Thursday morning, this was so true!! Within 15 minutes of my walking out the door for work, we went from a few clouds, cold, brisk, refreshingly clean air, to major clouds, “It’s starting to snow”…”We’re in a blizzard (well almost)”…”It’s snowing for 3 days”… “We’ve got 2 feet of snow”…to the beginnings of freezing rain…and if it warms 15 more degrees (which is actually predicted) we may have flooding due to a fast melt of all the snow!!! Holy guacamole!!!!! I am not in Kansas…or in my case, California, anymore!! But I am so happy to be here!!
How are the adult and young flocks doing in all this cold……update coming soon!! In the meantime, here’s a friendly, Claudio, hello!!
Claudio wondering, “What the heck is all that cold, white, icy stuff!”
Build Me a Dream 
Comments on: "How Did They Do It???" (5)
Well, there is a reason that the fur trade was a big deal! Think of how water proof your OWN skin is, and how wild rabbits live under those thick blankets of fur… People wore deerskin jackets lined with rabbit fur, fox fur, coon fur. Those silly hats with the raccoon tails were a thing for a reason! They were WARM! Where it is even colder and wetter they used caribou instead of deer and seal skin lined with ermine… And regular old clothes were made of wool not polyester!
Now a days fur and hides are frowned upon. But it’s still the most sustainable way to produce warm weather clothes. Wild animals (which many areas have an overpopulation of) such as deer and rabbits are one of the most ecologically sound resources around! You won’t find a deer hide containing plastic made from fossil fuels, coal and oil, now will you?
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So true!!! Being a “civilized” city girl…I never would have thought that I would have such a change in my way of thinking when it comes to the use of nature in everyday life. I still have a problem with the waste of an animal’s life if it is just for their fur, but as in the case of the Pioneers, or modern day near or completely off-the-grid type homesteaders wherein nature is how they sustain their home and life I have had a change of heart. Living out here in a much more rustic environment (although we are not off-gridders) I do have a pull to get back to the basics…I am much less concerned about material things and much more into bringing the nature around me into my life. Can you imagine, they make clothing out of recycled water bottles…..yuck!
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Hard to count the number of times I think about those brave souls, so this post resonated! Like minds, I love that.
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Loved this one too
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Miss you guys!!
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