Day: February 6, 2015

Maria and I were arguing all day about my plan to get a ladder out and climb onto the roof and rake off some of the tons of snow piling up there with my new roof rake, which I love. She is usually pretty agreeable, but she got excited on the subject, she thought it was a bad idea for me. I told her I was sure I could go it and was going to do it.

So she outflanked me. Our friend Tyler came over and I went into town to get a massage and run some errands, and I told Tyler to just shovel some snow away from the house. I drove away thinking Maria was working in her studio and Tyler would shovel around the house.

The minute I was out of sight Maria got the ladder out – she enlisted Tyler in the plot – and she climbed up on the roof, where she raked several tons of snow off for several hours. When I got home, it was dark, but almost all of the snow had been cleared (I’ll take photos on the light).

She said she was careful, she climbed all over the roof and felt quite secure. I was ticked off but also awestruck at her energy and touched by her concern for me. Maria can take care of herself and I don’t question her when she decides to take on a chore – she knows what she is doing. I might have made a scene if I had been home, and I suppose there is an argument to be made for my staying off roofs covered in ice and snow.

I was a bit shocked at the giant mounds of snow she cleared away. Still….I know I could have done it. Maria and Tyler are an awesome team, they moved tons of snow around, from the roofs and the porch and the paths to the pasture.

The weather service is getting hysterical about another story, from one to two feet up here from Sunday to Tuesday. Bring it on, we have plenty of room for it and Tyler can be over her in a flash. He is a working fiend, so is Maria. I married well.

Our farmer friend Ed Gulley is a folk artist, and Maria is excited about his art and his creative spark. He loves to collect old things and turn them into sculptures, he has a wide creative streak. Maria invited him to show and sell some of his farm art at our October Open House and he agreed. The Gulleys have become good friends of our, they both have helped me on my play, “Last Day Of A Dairy Farm,” and Carol and I are text buddies. They work unbelievably hard, long hours in tough weather. They’ve promised to let me know when the next calf is born so I can come and take photos.

Maria and I are both excited to have Ed selling his very original work at the Open House on Columbus Day Weekend.

Shivers was so happy in Maria’s arms I started to think he might be coming home with us, but the Gulley’s seem happy to have  him and he seems very happy to be there. He is a hellion for sure, he was not the least bit afraid of their big dogs, who made a feeble effort to intimidate him. By the end of lunch, he was curled up next to the biggest dog and sleeping.

Meet Shivers, he is getting to know Maria. Shivers was found barely alive Thursday in an outbuilding on the Gulley farm by Ed Gulley, who goes there every days. Another kid lay dead next to Shivers, she had frozen to death. Someone had dumped the two kittens there is sub-zero temperatures, if Ed hadn’t shown up when he did, Shivers would be dead also. He put the kitten inside of his jacket and brought him back to the farmhouse where Carol fed him warm milk and bread.

By this morning, Shivers seemed to be in charge of the farm, curling up with the growling Australian Shepherds, hopping into every lap he could find, exploring his new world. The Gulleys have another animal. Ed says he is not a cat person, but nobody seems to have told Shivers, he loves to sit in Ed’s lap. We had lunch with the Gulley’s today, we enjoy them both very much, they are become good and easy friends. We intended to bring food, but Carol made pea soup and meatloaf, a perfect lunch on a bitter cold day.

Shivers is lucky Ed found him, we are getting a foot or so more snow over the next few days, the Weather Channel is naming the storm and getting all excited about it, but we are not. Maria waited until I went into town and then climbed up onto the roof – I might have had more heart trouble if I’d been home – while our friend Tyler shoveled from below. We are ready for as many feet as the storm wishes to leave us, what is another foot or two?

Shivers definitely brightened our day, he loves the camera and was happy to pose for me. Maria was happy to help him.

I’ve decided to keep my heart warm and my soul lit. The winter is an external thing, however cold and snow it gets – we are getting snow for the next four days. So, then, a spiritual change, given that light, color and warmth are internal. My newly-refurbished heart is beating loudly for color and light, both of which are infectious.  I will keep my soul lit and my snow shovel handy. Catch the bug, feel free to spread it. There is no vaccination against a frigid heart and drained spirit.