Well, it has snowed three times here in two weeks, something that I have never seen nor ever thought I would see. I almost thumbed through the Bible to search for unusual weather and end time prophecy. You know…snows and rumors of snows…but I didn’t.
I was running errands about mid morning on Thursday when snow started to fall. At first it wasn’t much of a going concern, but before the big hand could make a complete circle on my clock, it was coming down pretty good.
When I came out of Lowes,

the once strange, but now familiar white stuff was beginning to accumulate, and as I drove home,

it continued to pepper down.
By the time I reached the house, the snow had just about fizzled out,

but it did leave a slight dusting around the property.
As I walked about, I noticed that Denton and Hudson

were busy at their daddy’s pile of potting mix for his daylilies.
When I asked them what they were doing, they said, “We’re pretending we are in Alaska.”

As I got closer, I said, “You two have really gotten nasty.” One of them, and I’m not sure which one, replied, “Well you have to get nasty to survive in Alaska.” I’ll have to keep that in mind.

They said that this is the coldest winter we’ve had in twenty-nine years. It’s certainly the only one I remember where we have had snow and ice two times in a week that stayed on the ground a total of five days.
When I talked to my Alaskan Mom, AKA The Grouchy Old Woman,

she said that she would rather have eight months of snow than four months of 100 degree weather, and the humidity that goes with it. Although I detest hot and humid, after the last couple of weeks, I concluded that I would rather have four months of misery than eight. All that means is…we’re both right where we need to be.
You are already aware that Piper and I have admitted ourselves in the K9 Academy, because we have accepted the fact that we need help.
He is growing by leaps and bounds, and still attempting the impossible…

herding cats.

That’s o.k., only I think that he

has them mixed up with ducks.
The two of us are still

going walks in the moonlight. We have adopted a motto similar to the inscription found on the General Post Office in New York City at 8th Avenue and 33rd Street…only we’ve changed a few words:
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays us from the swift completion of Piper running to pee.”

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

<
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.