Migrating Time !

Packed and Ready !!

Well it is that time again.  Migrating time I call it.  We pack up our stuff for our journey to a warmer climate for five months.  Pretty wimpy for real Vermonters huh?  Well, a bit of winter is fine but they are just tooooooo long here lately.  Coming home in March gives me just enough cold weather.. Although it isn't always very warm where we are in sunny FL.  We have kept track of the cold mornings and have recorded at the most, 16 mornings with ice on our birdbath. The nice thing is how it warms up so fast and can be up to 60 by noon on these cold ones.

The packing is a bear!!  I wrote a poem a few years ago about the whole thing and will share it with you, those who haven't already seen it will get the idea of what I feel like.

                                 Migrating Time

Like Snow Geese, we Snowbirds know

Just when its time to go,

South...where balmy breezes blow,

Far away from cruel sleet and winter snow.

Packing up is an awesome chore,

It takes forever to get out the door!

   "Got your pills and potions.

Make-up, swimwear, summer wear, lotions,

Some books to read, any tools you'll need,

Sporting gear, summer hat, all the hobby stuff?"

                   And then HE yells,

                  "Enough ! Enough !"

Finally we are on our way

To play in the sunshine 

And laugh in the rain,

Almost as if we are children again.

At last, with our Snowbird friends we gather

Away from the icy Northern weather;

To bask in the sun, till winter's done

And it's sugarin' time back home.

I am cramming so much fun and family time into this last week at home.  My daughter Angel and I have had a great week together, shopping, eating out, detailing my very much in need of cleaning car, Sewing and just sharing love with each other.

Today my grandson, wife and baby girl Lauren were down from northern VT for a visit and we had such a great time with that sweet baby.  I sure miss everyone for the five long months.  Tomorrow after church Angel and Paul are hosting the family for a birthday/Thanksgiving dinner and we will get to see more grandkids and our little Brielle who will soon be two.  

This evening was special as we went to the local Historical Society annual supper and program.  Always an event I look forward to just before leaving.  The food is so good, lots of great cooks around here !  Also the programs are always really good.  A windy evening after the rain today and a bit of late afternoon sunshine, it has turned quite cool and that fall nip is in the air as we walk to the old meeting house from the parking area with our arms full of casseroles and goodies for the supper.  As we leave 3 hours later, after a delightfully entertaining evening listening to a great speaker, Willem Lange who speaks on Vt Public Radio and writes a column for newspapers, we feel that nip and smell the fresh, damp scent of the falling leaves that shower down upon us in a little whirlwind as we trudge through the maple grove.  Making more beautiful memories of sharing with friends in the country, not so different as in the days long gone by.  It is nice to hop into our modern cars and head down to the valley below.  I imagine as the heater sends out that warmth onto my feet, how the ladies with 4 miles to go in a horse and buggy had to wait to get home to have their feet that cozy !  And when we arrive at home, the smell of oak wood or maple smoke rising from our chimney means that the kitchen stove isn't quite out yet and with a little poke and a couple more sticks of wood will soon be crackling and the teakettle will sing once again, lulling us into a sleeping mode.  Tomorrow I  MUST finish packing!  And I will take my computer down and pack it so it can travel with us to our winter quarters. If you are so inclined, prayers for a safe journey will be appreciated.   So I won't be writing for another week or so.  But I'll soon be up and writing again I hope.  Keep well and warm.  I'll talk to you again soon.  Blessings to you all.