Winter Visitors
A pictorial by Corcceigh Green
It is a beautiful November morning in the mountains of North Idaho. The previous night brought our first significant snow. While storms like this can make a real mess for most of the world (even here in Idaho’s unspoiled mountains) the homesteader takes a different view. Snow storms left several of our mountain passes closed over the night and into the early morning. Power went out over the night as well. Five inches fell in the Upriver valley overnight and more fell in the late morning hours and accumulated through the day and into the next night.
Commuters found the roadways difficult to manage as several inches of snow fell onto the roads. Accidents were reported through the night and Sheriff’s offices and departments of transportation were kept busy clearing the roads of snow and damaged vehicles. When commuters made their way into their work places, some found the power out. Others found the power on, but snow continuing to accumulate and faced another hazardous commute home when the workday was done.
It was enough to make homesteaders pity the poor subjects of the rat-race. Homesteaders know what to expect from their climates and were ready for bad weather. For us, the weather system brought nothing worse than a snow day. A day to kick back next to a warm fire with a cup of warm coffee, tend to the livestock and enjoy the scenery.
Snow days can lead to reflections and thinking about our chosen lifestyles. At this point, I liked to reflect on the life of the homesteader as opposed to those who had to brave the bad conditions to embrace the daily rat-race. Homesteaders and non-homesteaders alike need money to get by. For those in the work-a-day system, money is necessary to pay for their homes or rent, for gas and for food. They need to work to afford the cost of fuel to put in their car to go to work and to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads and to heat their homes. In contrast, I work close to my own homestead and can manage a walk to work even in bad weather. I don’t need to head into town for supplies. I make my meals from the canned and dried goods I put up from the harvest in the pantry. There is always plenty of food in the house. The house is always warm from the wood I gather in the summer. Heat from the wood stove is the most comfortable I have experienced and the wood stove is also efficient at cooking my meals when the power is out. I make less money than many people, but I don’t need as much to get by.
This lifestyle increases the appreciation of simple pleasures. One of my favorite simple pleasures is welcoming visitors to my homestead. Through quiet snowfall, my visitors follow the hedgerows and privacy screen along the borders.
They find their way through well worn paths to their favorite places browsing and perusing the plantlife until they make their way to their intended destination. The bird feeder that keeps snow birds like the chickadees and Oregon juncos happy through the winter is regularly raided and fattens the deer of the Hoodoo Mountains.
Satisfied with their meal, my visitors gather for a little after-dinner play and talk of bird seed, corn and grain before finding the trail into the brush.
One last necessary task before leaving and my winter visitors said goodbye for now. They return daily to look over the homestead and see that the bird feeder is properly cared for.
An appreciation of simple pleasures makes homesteading worthwhile. In my estimation, this is better than TV. Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings from Green Mountain/Upriver Journal.
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