The Campfire Trail: December 27 - DIY Homestead

December 27, 2022

Day 452 of the Adventure

Written and published December 27, 1012

Is it just me, or does anyone else love winter only long enough to see the first good snowfall? I was talking to a friend today that just got hit by the last snow storm and they were now mentally already done with winter. I shared the sentiment, and we haven’t had any snow yet this year. I told her that I was good with enough snow to get some nice new pictures, then it could go ahead and turn Springtime. That does happen sometimes here in southwest Missouri, but it’s not because Springtime came at the end of December. It would be because we only got the cold and no snow until the second or third week of March. Then the next day when it melted, it also turned to Spring.

I’m not a winter Scrooge, I just like it to pass quickly and get on with nice weather again. The trouble I have is that I would rather be outside with shorts and short sleeves. Winter provides opportunity to do other things I like including reading and writing. I can also justify tinkering around with the odd project that just wouldn’t be a priority if it were nice enough to fish out on the lake. This year one of the “low priority” projects was to turn a bunch of old non-working Coleman lanterns into electric lamps. It worked out really good, but way too quick. Now here it is, still December and I will have to find another project to keep me occupied so I can tell myself its okay to stay inside.

In the business I’m in though I don’t get the luxury of just staying in and hibernating through the winter. It never fails that on the coldest day each week or so, I must go out in the cold and fix something that’s broke or not working. Of course, what ever it is, it’s usually broke or not working because of the cold. Come to think of it, I feel broke and like “not working” when its cold, and I really feel that way when it’s really cold.

I’ve figured out that my only defense is to incrementally divide winter into smaller more tolerable bites. I’ve figured out that it helps to view winter as one long procession of increments. For example, Winter technically starts on December 21st. That means whatever happens before that doesn’t really count no matter how miserable it is. Then the first increment ends on New Years day. That’s when December, the “non-winter” winter month is over. January is the hardest, There are no good breaks to look forward to, (other than the end of it). But, in January there is usually a good January thaw so I can watch the weather forecast for that warm spot that almost never fails to arrive some time during the month. Then, its Ground Hog day, on February 2nd. Not being the superstitious type, I will still claim the end of winter if there’s no shadow. However, if there is a shadow, I will then proclaim that it’s just a bunch of nonsense and spring is just around the corner. Where I live, signs of spring do actually start showing around the middle of February. Once the daffodils start pushing up in mid February, its usually only a week or two until warm, springlike days start hitting with regularity and I can comfortably say that winter is over. Sure, we get the occasional odd snow storm in March and sometimes even in April. By then though, its nothing more than a freak springtime snow, winter’s gone already.

I know it doesn’t shorten winter at all, but it’s easier for me to tolerate a couple of weeks at a time from one increment to the next. So………. Come on New Year, Lets get this winter moving!

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." ― Anne Bradstreet

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost on the Trail (Guatemala)

SNEAK PEEK of our Upcoming OFF-GRID project

Please Consider Subscribing to our monthly "How-To", Do-It-Yourself" newsletter in the upper right corner of this page. AND........

Click any of the following Video links to start your own adventure with us on our YouTube Channel:

Mountain Craft

Lye Soap Making

Rug Weaving

Making Wooden Buckets (Cooper Craft)

Pottery

Cornmeal Grinding

Blacksmithing

Sassafras Tea Making (Chicks in the Sticks video)