Winter in Church
December 2nd, 2007 by Northern FarmerThings have changed a bit here the last day. On December 1st, yesterday we received snow. Now that’s the first time in a few years that we got snow that early. Of coarse that was “normal” years ago, but the past few years have been mostly open winters, (and drought summers), so maybe this is a good sign having things return to what I consider central Minnesota normal. Plus the snow will protect the alfalfa and just generally do a world of good for many things around here. I’ve been up since 4:30 in the morning, which is normal I guess, but by five thirty I was out plowing snow with the Bobcat and snow bucket. This was no major storm or anything like that, just seven inches of powder, not a wet snow, but a snow that has the potential to blow around a little bit. IN fact as I write I can hear the wind moaning through the pine trees in the yard. The snow plow never made it here yet but that doesn’t matter too much because as I said, its a dry powder snow and easy to drive through. But the funny thing about the snow finally coming this year is the fact that all of a sudden it feels more like the Christmas season here. Now I ain’t the most sentimental person on earth but I kinda miss a Christmas season without snow. Not that I truly love the stuff because it does create allot of work here, but there’s something about the darkest time of the year seeming more Christmas like when we’re going down the country roads driving through the snow.
And this coming week, barring any major blizzards or anything like that we’ll be super busy at church. In fact we’ll be heading to church over in the hills on Wednesday evening, Thursday evening and Friday evening also. Driving on them narrow roads, winding through the hills, past freezing lakes, many places the tree covering the whole road, like driving through a tunnel. Up and down on the narrow roads heading to a little town out in the middle of nowhere. We’re having a Christmas program and we’re setting up on Wednesday evening, dress rehearsal on Thursday evening, and the program Friday evening. Sometimes I wish folks were a bit closer that read this blog because it’ll be a fine time come Friday! Just a regular Christmas show, plus some munchies, home made munchies by the way, we’re gonna be making some pretty good Christmas cookies in this house for that affair. Plus sleigh rides through the town, (and we have snow!), with a big team of work horses. So you can see this is going to be about as rural of an affair as it can get. That’ll be nice having those sleigh rides through the dark streets of that little town. Don’t have to worry about traffic or anything! This country life is something else!
I used to kinda hate winter, but now there’s so many things to do just with our little church family that it sure does make winter move along. Because on the farm there’s really no reason, barring a disaster to be out working in the evenings this time of year. Gets dark around 4:30 in the afternoon so that leaves a long evening. Now why am I writing about this? Because it’s life! Spring, summer and fall are intense work, now it’s really not, now it’s more of just an intense work day, not evenings. It’s just as real as field work, cattle work and everything else, it’s our life. Plus in the Christmas show I’m the first wise man, I figure they picked the right guy cause I’m kinda wise you know. About what can be debated though! I got one line, I read it once a few weeks back, I think it was something like, “we are wise men from the east”, or something like that. That must make me from Wisconsin the way I figure, certainly not Iowa 
Now gazing at the calendar above this computer the next week will be normal, just a Wednesday evening service, oh, I forgot to add that the Sunday of the previous week in the evening we can go south about twenty miles to a get together where our pastor is speaking to a whole bunch of church’s in that area, plus the food’s free! So if there’s gas available we’ll probably head down there too! But back to our schedule, a normal week after that. But then the following week things pick up again to a roar at church with a guest minister coming from Pennsylvania. You heard me, all the way from there to come here out in the middle of no where. His name is James Smith and he really caught my interest a while back. Somebody who preaches the Gospel the way it was meant to be preached! In fact I think I can do a link here, an audio link. Take a listen. He’ll be coming on Tuesday evening the 18th and the next evening also. Glory to God this will be good!
And the rest of the month will be busy also with everything ending with another two day event at the very end of the month. It’s kinda amazing how much stuff is happening in such a small church, a very small church, but an active church. Now the Christmas program with the kids and “wise men” is more of a tradition but the rest of the month will be all out serious stuff. Ending the year at a roar. Just the way I like it! When blogging I do write these things because, like I said, they are what I consider an incredibly important part of life out here. Because why live here if a person is going to just farm and then come into the house, sit down and watch TV like the modern world and generally be sucked in hook line and sinker? No, this is our life and its so good and getting better by the day! Glory to God!
December 4th, 2007 at 7:06 am
Tom.
I heard about the snow you got out there. I was looking through pictures of our first visit to your farm so I know how beautiful it is.
Is someone going to take pictures of the Christmas program? Those would be great to see.
Gwen
December 4th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Hi Gwen!
Long time! Hope all is well where your at! I’m sure they’ll be taking pictures of the program and probably put in on video also. I’ll see what I can come up with if they post them someday. I won’t post em but if they do I’ll link to em. I got the Hillbilly Church photos on my computer the last couple of days, and I won’t post them either but they say the church will sometime and I’ll link to them also. But….. I’ll e-mail any reader that wants a Hillbilly church photo a couple. Now my e-mail ain’t working at the moment but it should one of these days, (server problems), so any reader that wants can e-mail me at
tom (at) scepaniakfarms.com
I’d be happy to zap a photo or two out when I get e-mail back.
Gwen, being I can’t e-mail at the moment, I’ll ask here, can this blog be upgraded to the newest wordpress version, I was going to try it but am scared I’d lose the whole blog and I put too much into it the last two and a half years to see it vanish
Good hearing from you and God Bless!
December 5th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Ah, snow. I grew up in Arizona, but my parents and granparents were from places it snowed. Where i lived, like most of the west, you drove up in elevation to snow, and then drove back down to get away from it. My Christmases only rarely had any snow. It does snow in the sonoran desert, just not very deep, and it all melts at the inevitable 60 degree days that followed. I can remember my grandparents talking about snow…. You know the kind of stories….” Yes, my boy, ah remember that big snow of 35″ “Yesssir! we had to walk across the snow to the hayloft, then climb down to miilk them ole cows” Seeing the snow wasn’t too deep. ya know. My own Grand pappy said that in his day, they just dropped the firewood down the chimney, onto the grate. That was what one had to do, when the snow got kind of deep.” They would tie red rags on the roadside poles at the top, so they could tell where the road was. Old Man Nickerson used to saw up his firewood, with me helping, and then we’d stack it. After a few hours of stacking, a hawk flew by, below us, the Old Man looked down, weell. I guess thats enough son. Watch it climbing down”. “yes, son, farming wern’t no job for an old man in them days”! Where I grew up, the stories revolved around hot weather. Like the one they used to tell about the Yuma Territorial Prison. When one of the old lifers died, they usually sent back for blankets, since it was colder were they were, than were they had been,
Let hope The Northern Farmer has some good weather stories to tell his grandchildren.
December 5th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Snow? What is snow? ;-O Hey Tom want to trade pics. Send me some pics of your Hillbilly Church and I,ll give ya some of our Barn Church. Deal? Wife is suppose to sing her first solo. at our Christmas deal. She is real nervous. She sings real good for an old gal. Wise man. That is a pretty good part. Best I ever did was a palm tree. Enjoy your Church Christmas Show. Sounds like your all going to have a big time.
Guy
December 6th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Mark,
Never fear, I always will have some good weather stories to tell to the young’uns in time to come! Cause I can spin a yarn, (some folks call it a lie), I just keep building it up till it’s the storm of the century. I heard about that Yuma prison, tough one! I kinda wonder if crime would be deterred a bit nowadays if that’s what a person had to look forward to.Specially them big shot white collar criminals that get sent to a federal country club for stealing millions of dollars. Oh, wouldn’t Yuma be a nice place for those…..
Guy,
I know your weather is allot tougher than ours. When we have 30 below you have 40 below. Kinda makes me feel like a wimp! I’ll zap you a few pictures this weekend if my e-mail is working, no time now, well if I have any time I’ll zap you one or two sooner,cause I want to see some pictures of your barn church! They’re trying to get me to do all sorts of stuff for the Christmas program but I’m kinda uppity you know and don’t get talked into things all that easy. Now I gotta start memorizing my one big line, what ever that is!
You always make me feel meek
December 7th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Actually Lynn over in ND Turtle Mountain area seems to get more storms and such. All us Canucks have is our cold weather. We talk on it and hold it up to the world so they can see what a tough bunch we are (problem is, there is a short distance between tough and stupid). I always pictured my ancestors, drunk as skunks, wandering around in the wilderness and finally deciding to homestead here with no thought or reason on doing so other than this is where they are. Can’t think of one other reason a person would homestead in a climate like this : - ).
Guy
December 7th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Guy,
Tonight’s thee night and I gotta get my butt going over to church for the Christmas program, supposed to be below zero, kinda nice out really. How many times we wished our forfathers woulda went at least five hundred miles south when they settled, but we’re stuck here so we make the best of it. I tell you, I’m kinda excited having a “normal” winter cause then I’m hoping for a normal summer, not like Yuma prison like the last few years. One thing about them drunk as skunk ancestors, they didn’t go broke buying the stuff here, they cooked it, a fine art, made the winters pass by, sometimes unnoticed! I gotta get, the busy week is almost over, Glory! Then things will get back to normal, what ever that is!!
Tom
December 7th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Tom,
I’ll have Mark look into it for you to make sure everything is backed up before he upgrades you.
Don’t worry, we’ll keep your blog safe
Blessings this weekend to you and your family, be safe on those country roads.
Gwen
December 8th, 2007 at 6:27 am
Thanks Gwen!
It’s twenty below zero as I write, wish you were here?
The great Christmas program is a done deal now, all over with. I survived, (barely), and I figure my acting career has climaxed and will pull the plug on that! At least I can chalk it up on my experiences. Stop on the high point, so to speak. I don’t care what the pastor says, I’m done……..
Well, off to twenty below, yee haw!!