I got up this morning to a most lovely sight—the little snowstorm from last night left a fluffy covering on the branches, the fence, on everything. I immediately grabbed my camera and went out to take some pictures. As I was surrounded by this winter beauty, my spirits felt buoyed by the white, quiet landscape. Yet again, I reflected that I am a true Mainer—five generations on my mother’s side, and before that they came from Canada. I belong here spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Maybe in ten or fifteen years I’ll feel otherwise and want to head to warmer climes. But for now, at least, Maine is the place for me.

This last one is for Ruth, who works with my daughter Shannon. I wanted her to know that we can still see outside our window.

I usually don’t post two pieces in the same day, but I couldn’t resist sharing these pictures. It sure looks like Clif and I live in the frozen north. I guess, in a way, we do, but at least we still have our power.

But so far we haven’t lost our power, and for that Clif and I are very grateful. We’ve had about ten inches of snow, but it’s still snowing hard, and I’m guessing we’ll have over a foot before the day is done, but we probably won’t get twenty-four inches.

Nevertheless, this means two clean-ups—Clif with Little Green and me with my trusty blue shovel.  We’ll be heading out pretty soon—at around 10:30—and we’ll go back out later this afternoon.

Clif has already been out once this morning to clear paths for Liam so that he could do his morning business. Here is what our yard looked like at around 8 a.m.

Clif plows a path to the backyard for Liam.

The path.

Our front steps.

Will the snow reach the bottom of the lantern?

Clif standing in the front walkway.

Winter has certainly come to Maine, but as long as we have our power, we are happy.

Gray sky over the house,

crow by the feeder,

and the flying pig nearly buried in snow.

Here comes the snow again, this time a blizzard, with up to twenty-four inches of snow predicted. Clif and I are hoping we don’t lose our power, but we are ready, just in case. We have pails of water in the basement, cans of soup in the pantry, plenty of bread and milk, plenty of peanut butter.  Clif hauled in extra wood for the furnace, and we have several bottles of lamp oil.

We are ready. But man oh man, we hope the power doesn’t go out.

On Tuesday we had a nice little snowstorm where the snow was light and fluffy, and we didn’t get too much—five inches, maybe.

This meant that on Wednesday, it was time for Clif to put on his warm clothes, plug in Little Green, and do some cleaning.

After a snowstorm, it is always so pretty at the little house in the big woods. I love the blues on the snow and the sweep of it across the yard and into the woods.

In my arrangement on the porch, it looked as though the dried flowers were wearing a snow cap.

And a pileated woodpecker decided the tree at the end of the driveway was the perfect place to search for lunch.

Clif and I discussed whether the tree should come down, but, in fact, in the backyard we have several trees with similar holes, and they have been standing for years. But we’ll definitely keep an eye on this one.

We’ll also be keeping an eye on the weather as a nor’easter blows up the northeastern seaboard. New York and Massachusetts are supposed to get the worst of it, but the Maine coast will probably get its fair share. In central Maine, the prediction is for six to eight inches of snow. We shall see.

One thing is certain. Tomorrow, Clif will be out with Little Green, clearing the driveway and the various paths.