good routines

So much of what I do each day is just a repeat of what I did the previous day. Getting up to open the coop, preparing breakfast and later -- dinner. Caring for Snowdrop. Sipping tea in the afternoon. Eating squares of chocolate in the evening. I mean, you're yawning, right?

Oh, but I love it all so much! And I look forward to the next set of minutes and the one after. Is it because I'm so often away that I remain so excited about, say, a regular old Monday?


On this regular old Monday, I am up with the sun, which is always a grand way to begin the day.






And we have breakfast in the sun room...






And then Snowdrop arrives (because it is Monday).






Just a few morning photos with her: reading her favorite farmhouse book...






Dancing (yes we are, even though it may not seem like it!)...






Exploring her environment for the nth time, but of course, each time everything is a little different...






When the sun is at its highest, I suggest a run on the sled. She's not to keen on the idea. I can almost hear her saying it -- why can't we just play in the farmhouse? And me answering: because it's beautiful outside and you can glide over the snow and maybe we can even build a snowman!

We do glide and though I'm sure you're laughing at this small imitation of a snowman, well, you have to start somewhere!





But all the while, I can hear it in her babbles -- can we go home now? Can we?

And I wonder about why she wouldn't instantly fall in love with sledding and of course, it's not too hard to guess that the novelty of it all is a bit overwhelming. This girl is so tall and toddler-like in so many of her behaviors that one forgets she is just ten and a half months old. Sledding has not been part of our routine. But it will be!

I remember how eating elicited once a big grimace. And now:






Too, surely grandpa Ed  took some getting used to. (That was a while back!)






So in the afternoon, we try again with the sled and the snowman and we'll try many times in the months ahead. Coveted routines are ones you learn to love. Over time.






(What brings out the smile is a visit with the cheepers, who leave the shelter of the barn for a few paces, enjoying the sunshine, the cleared path and a few bits of stale bread.)






And of course, if you venture out into the strange (one hopes one day thrilling) world of sledding, the return home to the farmhouse is that much sweeter.






Grand routines, lovely days. Such really lovely days.