A Good Chance of Snow

~ rabbitpatchdiary.com

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On the first day of the brand new year, I missed the early service.  By the time I woke, the sun was up and shining.  It was a bitter cold morning, but the wind that “cut to the bone” wasn’t nearly as fierce as it had been, the last few days.  This was not the day to walk by the laughing river.  Besides, even without a kitchen, we were planning a traditional “new years’ day” ,  meal.

Jenny and I concocted a plan using all sorts of kitchen contraptions to prepare the traditional fare.  Black-eyed peas simmered in a crock pot while a pork roast, smothered with potatoes, carrots, turnips and onions roasted in an electric roaster.  Collards are the traditional green served on the first day of the year-but fresh ones just weren’t possible.  We decided on frozen and agreed we could use an electric skillet to warm them and could season them, as we saw fit.  Though it was a feasible plan, there wasn’t a single bag to be bought in the grocery, and so  canned was our only option.  I bought several cans and hoped for the best.   

With the temperature barely twenty degrees, we stayed in the house all day.  Miss Claudia (Wills’ mom) was coming, so at last, Lyla was changed into  warm and very cute  attire, in the late afternoon. The dining room, where everything was plugged in, smelled like the new years’ day meal, but all the hope I had in the canned collards, was lost, when I tried them.  They were awful and so I intended to warn the others.

Thankfully, the peas were just right and the roast with its company of vegetables was as good as any I have ever cooked. Miss Claudia is not a fan of collards and so she spared herself the burden of trying them. She did compliment everything else, which is  one reason I enjoy cooking for her.  Will and Jenny agreed with me on the poor quality of the greens, meant to bring prosperity.  We had to hope a few bites went a long way, if our financial success in the new year, depended on the amount of collards, we consumed.

By, eight o”clock, Miss Claudia was safely home, and all traces of a gathering were -as Lyla says about the Christmas tree, “lost”.  Snow is in the forecast, for several days, starting on Wednesday.   Before, I went to sleep, I hoped there wasn’t anyone without shelter, anywhere, this night.

The Second Day of the Year

I did see the early service, this day.  It was cold again.  I can not complain, as I was warm, inside Will and Jennys’ home.  Lyla woke up early and Jenny woke up with a kink in her neck.  Will had to go back to work.  Today, was the day for me to return to the rabbit patch.  Christian had “held the fort down” on his own throughout the the brutal weather.  The laundry room had frozen water lines-and Christopher Robin, the sweet gray cat, had managed to hurt his leg.  I start work tomorrow, and with snow in the forecast, I needed to make sure the farmhouse kitchen was well stocked.  Roads are not cleared in the countryside of a small, southern town.  Farmers take mercy on us, and will clear the roads, the first chance they get.  The truth is, under such conditions, the south shuts down, hence the chaos at the groceries.  We are also liable to lose power.  I certainly hope that does not happen.  The rabbit patch, does not have water, in that case.

Tonight, I saw the evening news and was quite shocked at  the national weather reports.  I can not fathom such circumstances as  fountains frozen in the act of cascading and snow piled over cars.  Here, in the south, we consider the event of snow, a winter holiday, of sorts, that occurs as often as a “blue moon”.

The drive home was sunny and bright. All three rivers I cross, were tinged with ice.  I  had dreaded the stop at the grocery, but I needn’t have, as it was just a bit more busy than usual.  I bought the ingredients for snow cream, just in case it really did snow.  When I was growing up, we were never allowed to make snow cream on the first snow, which greatly limited the chances of making any at all.  The first snow, “cleaned the air”, and so was not considered sanitary.  I am “throwing caution to the wind” and making a batch in spite of  that.

 I was glad to see Christian.  Kyle came in about an hour after  I arrived. Christopher Robin was on the mend , though the laundry room would not give a drop of water up.  I went straight a way to cooking.  I made several things that could be warmed in a pot on the wood heater, if need be.

  School is dismissed early tomorrow in lieu of the pending snow.   This will be a good time to read beautiful words and try to make cookies, as I have not attempted that since my last batch, which were barely edible.  I have bird seed.  Snow is the only event, that the country birds will visit my feeders.  If I make snow lanterns, I will try to post about that- and there is always the “snow cream”, though I have been warned about that, for generations.  I will at least wait til “the woods are filled with snow”  and the branches of the old oaks, around the farmhouse are laden, before I dare to “catch a bit of snow”.   Snow just changes everything. 

36 thoughts on “A Good Chance of Snow”

      1. Thanks, Michele. This is how it is in New England, always a few of these storms every winter. My pleasure reading and following the rabbit patch. Love, Jennie 🙂

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  3. We are bracing for the same storm here in the mid Atlantic. Glad you have a woodstove, they are a great comfort with impending storms! Stay warm and happy new year!
    Jen

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  4. I love snow and winter, but you can have some of ours if you like. Temps have been around minus 20 degrees Celsius (don’t know what that is in Fahrenheit) at night and not that much warmer during the day. (Today it’s a balmy -12.) Brrrrr!

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  5. Thank you for this heartwarming post. I feel as if I sat around that party with you, wood stove burning and all this home cooking warming everyone; both body and heart.
    Your rabbit patch comes so alive as do all people in it.

    Where do you live in the south that normally doesn’t see snow. I love in sout-east England and it is cold but the snow is only in the North.
    Keep snug and warm by the stove😊
    Miriam

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  8. I have never heard that saying about the first snow fall clears the air…then again I have never heard of snow cream either…I am very intrigued…I hope you make some and share pics with us…we’re all very curious. Yes your snow weather is headed my way tomorrow and we are supposed to get 8-12″ of snow…we’ve already had our first snowfall so I’m in great shape to make snow cream!! Stay safe and warm, I hope you didn’t lose any power and that your pipes thaw….also sending my love to Christopher Robin, hope his leg heals soon. Your New Year’s Day meal sounded delicious btw, I could smell it cooking!! Love Deb xo

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      1. Oh good!!!! I look forward to seeing how it’s made…stay safe. Was school cancelled…they’ve cancelled all the schools here for tomorrow. love Deb

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  9. Stay warm & safe, Michele! We have snow forecast here in Williamsburg, too (& Norfolk is under a blizzard watch!) The weather has not got the memo that we don’t do such cold temps here in the south (it’s to be 7 degrees Friday nite!) 💨❄️😎❄️💨

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  10. I’m gradually catching up with reading blogs. The power in our area went out this morning for a couple of hours. We have a generator, so we had running water and could use our gas fireplace. The house began to cool, though, with temps hovering at 18. I’ll be eager to find out if you had snow.

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  12. I grew up making snow cream in Iowa, too. Like you, we never made it on a first snowfall. Given the amounts of snow that would come every year, we never had to wait long for our treat, though.

    I saw the photos from Charleston yesterday. I presume the snow’s working its way up the coast — I hope all’s well, and that whatever snow you get is pretty. Most of all, I hope no one suffers from power outages and such. It’s never fun, but it’s especially hard on people who live all-electric lives!

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