The Long Winter? Well, it was a very short summer anyway.

My mom is an avid fan of the "Little House" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My sister and I were just little kids when she started reading them to us. Every night before she tucked us into bed, we would climb up on one of our beds, and mom would read a chapter or two. 

The three of us will often quote her books, or refer to them in some way. It is actually quite amazing how life in pioneer times is still relevant today. (My favorite thing to joke about is when Ma slapped a bear. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read Little House in the Big Woods. It is the first one. Get on it!)

It has been a couple weeks ago now, but we got the first snowfall of the year. I don't know if it really counts, since it didn't stick around long, but there was actual measurable SNOW. In OCTOBER. How crazy is that?

You won't believe that this photo was taken on October 22!

My friend John let me use the photos he took of the snow.
Look how it is piling up on the pumpkins!

 I believe that maybe once, when I was a kid, there was snow on Thanksgiving. That at least makes sense though. Late November snow. Middle of October snow? That is just absurd.

Then my mom pointed out that during the Long Winter (Book #6) It started snowing in October.

Well I suppose that kind of put things in perspective. It isn't that bad to have just a little dusting of snow in October. At least the snow stopped.

Later that same day I happened to be going through pictures on my computer and I realized something.

Spring, Summer, and Fall had only lasted 6 months.


You see, the last time we got snow was in March. And it wasn't just a little dusting. It was enough snow to keep me home from school It was enough snow that we couldn't see our neighbors house down the road. It was enough snow Austin built a ramp to jump his snowmobile.

March 5, 2013

He is really hard on his stuff.

 That is just a really incredible thing to think about. Three out of the four seasons, and they had to fit into only half of the year. The other half is snowy and cold. I don't know that I ever thought about exactly how long the winter was before. It just sort of becomes a matter of routine.

Well, there it is I suppose. Food for thought!