Since the temperature never rose above freezing on Friday, we still had snow on Saturday. I took the dogs for an early morning walk on the south side of the property. It wasn’t long before they got sidetracked rummaging for leftovers

in the spot, where on Thursday night, a rabbit had run right into the arms of Jesus.
It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky, and as morning gave way to mid day,

the snow had begun to melt. Until then, it was very strange to glance out the kitchen windows

and see white ground.
With the arrival of evening, most of the snow was gone, from the may haw orchard,

all the way back to the creek.

Snow is a novelty here, and swinging open the door to find an undisturbed blanket of the stuff is a beautiful sight. But I have discovered a couple of things during this rare Woodworth winter occurrence.

For one thing, two days with snow on the ground is sufficient for me. For the other thing, if you have to walk a quarter of a mile in the dark, over the meadow and through the woods so your dog can pee, the ground seems to show up a lot better when it’s covered with snow.

Yesterday morning Nikki forwarded me a post from her brother-in-law, who is a meteorologist. This is what it said:

This guy is good, but in Louisiana, you’re careful about believing what anybody says about the weather.
So, after lunch, I brought in some wood and started a fire.

It wasn’t a big, roaring fire, but it was consistent. Before long,

Joel’s mother took a seat in front of the fire, and was soon followed

by other members of the family.
Off and on, we experienced a little rain. Then about dark,

I’ll be John Brown if the ‘changeover’ didn’t occur. So…

I put another log on the fire, along with a small iron pot that needed to be reseasoned, and waited.
Around eight, when I was walking the property, ( you know…new puppy)

that ‘dusting’ had begun.

Nikki’s brother-in-law was right…but not COMPLETELY right…because, this morning, after God had finished dusting,

He had left three inches of the stuff all over our property.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, and the temperature was perfect. I decided to crank up the mower and blow the straw and leaves from the one mile path that follows the perimeter of our property.

When I was done, I walked it,

taking note of the shadows

cast by the trees that the path meanders through.

Crossing the levee, I headed up the hill

and toward the five pine trees that stand guard around Pawpaw Rock. Pawpaw Rock is a boulder

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beside which Joel's daddy's ashes await the resurrection. The twins have always gone there to play, and I remembered that on one of those times, Denton said,

“Mammy, why did the old pawpaw turn into a rock?” I offered up a brief explanation and he was satisfied…….but, I could sense that he was still unenlightened.
As I continued on my journey, I thought about that, and how, concerning certain things, we are satisfied, but unenlightened. Or maybe we’re satisfied TO BE unenlightened. I guess, as we travel the path of life, we all encounter our ‘Pawpaw Rocks’…. just sayin’.

There is an app that you can purchase for your iphone for ninety-nine cents called ‘Run Pee’. If you are in a movie theatre, this app will alert you to the best times to make a dash for the restroom and not miss anything crucial to the movie.
To my way of thinking, there is a movie going on right before our eyes all the time. Nothing stays the same. And if you’re not careful, you’ll miss something crucial.

Seasons change,

children grow,

people get older, and before you make the time to soak up all their wisdom, they are gone.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but back in December, I purchased one of those ‘Run Pee’ apps. It’s called Piper,

and cost me a little more than ninety-nine cents. It has nothing to do with me running to pee, and everything to do with me taking him to run pee.
A few days ago, Piper and I were out way before daylight. It was twenty-eight degrees and I was still in my pajamas. The moon, just starting to wain, could still be seen in the west, and the shadows of bare trees on frost laden grass gave the visual texture of a fleece blanket spread out before me. Even though it was cold, I felt warm.
As Piper searched for the perfect place to relieve himself, I looked up and noticed unfamiliar constellations…unfamiliar because I’m not usually out looking at the sky at that hour. As I beheld the stars and planets, I wondered just how many other people were aware that we were riding the earth past fantastic views of Saturn and Mars.
It seemed magical being in that space of space and time. Certainly it felt crucial to the ‘movie of my life’. And just think, I would have missed it…had Piper not needed to ‘run pee’.

Our new dog, Piper,

is one of those high energy dogs. We knew that before we got him,

and that’s o.k., because having to keep up with him is good exercise.

Border Collies are herding dogs. It’s built into their DNA. Piper has herded poultry,

but the turkey

wound up herding him. Once,

he herded one of the goats back into the pen. He even tries to herd cats,

which is an impossible task no matter what you have in your DNA.
Currently, Piper is going to school so that he can learn some manners and learn to mind.
I told Donna that that when he gets a little older, I would like to have him trained as a therapy dog and take him to nursing homes.

She said, “What are ya’ll going to do…herd old people?” And that really jump-started my imagination.

The twins have landed parts as dalmatian puppies in Lagniappe Theatre’s February production

of 101 Dalmatians. To audition, they had to sing and bark. Anyway, a few days ago they had to go to practice, so Josie came to my house.

To start off, she did a little work on the ipad, and then decided to interact with the cat

that was sitting on the back of the chair. That didn’t last long. I don’t know why,

but Josie must have received some bad vibes. So…she moved on

to finding her favorite music on my phone, followed by

practicing her duck calls.
Then she wanted to go in my bedroom and get on my bed. I gave her a flashlight and turned out the light. Josie followed the beam across the ceiling and walls, but soon decided she wanted me to make a tent with the sheet. So I did.

That lasted until she got the idea

to model my slippers and

put plastic cups on her feet.
But the thing that fascinated her the most

was an old

Pentax camera. We opened up the back, and she watched the shutter

open and close … until it was time for her to go home. Go figure.

Last Sunday it rained in good ‘ol Woodworth, Louisiana. The rain was followed by some cool air, and for about three days it actually felt like winter. I was even able to wear my jacket

that I wore in Alaska last January.
The water left standing after the rain

turned to ice. Even the little pond in the back

rocked a thin sheet of the frozen stuff.
Matilda dared to step out

and break the ice so she could taste the water below.
Although it was cold, we were outside quite a bit.

With a new puppy, you go out a lot, no matter what the weather brings.
When I wasn’t out running laps around the property with Piper,

I was inside enjoying the fire…

and even doing a little cooking on the hearth. By the way, that’s a turkey breast, and it was pretty tasty.
Piper tried to be good

and most of the time

looked really innocent. But what you don’t know is, behind that sweet little face…

lies a toilet paper thief.

The new year is just over a week old, and perhaps the idea of making resolutions has traveled across your brain. I’m not sure why, but I don’t really even like the phrase “new year’s resolution”. Maybe its because the very mention of it conjures up images of gym memberships and life without ice cream. New year’s resolutions always seem to revolve around something you need to do, or wish you would do, but are not really committed to making the necessary sacrifices to make it a reality…so it never becomes one.
That’s why I’m making a “New Years stuff I might like to try” list, thereby setting myself up more for fun than failure.
I haven’t completed my list yet, but so far, this is what I’ve got.
I would like to try

to teach Hudson and Denton to play marbles. Over the years I seem to have lost all mine, but thankfully you can purchase more.
I would like to try to learn the art of afternoon tea

and have tea parties with Josie.
I would like to try to have more picnics.

And, I would like to try to build a treehouse. It’s been at least forty years (or more) since my last one, and I think it’s time…don’t you?
PICTURES TO COME LATER