Thursday

Sometimes, in mock exasperation, I say to Snowdrop -- "oh, that ahah!" She has adopted the expression herself when she wants us to know that our behavior is just too strange, silly, or downright insane.

So perhaps I should lay claim to those same words now, for the weather we're having. Oh, that weather!!

I don't think it ever made it above freezing today, though there were periods of sunshine, so I suppose I'm less appalled with it and with the incredible meteorological vicissitudes we've been having here, in Wisconsin.

But it was cold.

Oh, those cheepers!






Breakfast is in the sun room, sure...





... but we stay indoors after. Neither of us are giving the farmette land much thought right now.


And then I go to pick up Snowdrop.

When you do not keep your car in a garage, it is, of course, a chilly ride. But by the time I get to Snowdrop's school, the car temperatures have moderated. I'm not one to bundle up a kid if she is going to be stuck in a car where the thermostat is set to 72F. At the same time, you have to get to the car and endure the first few minutes of cooler air. So I compromise. Snowdrop wears her warm coat -- the same one she used for recess outside -- but it's not exactly zipped tight and I let go of the other outdoor paraphernalia -- the hats, mitts, etc.

But suppose you leave school and you see that the city has been chopping down a huge tree just across the street. You want to show your granddaughter the huge stump, no? You want her to stand tall on it. To admire it's ringed awesomeness.

So this is why the photo below presents a little girl standing in below freezing weather without a hat, without gloves, and in a jacket that's not fully zipped. (She is sporting leg warmers, but that's entirely because she decided on her own to make that fashion statement as we were searching her cubby box for a spare pair of socks.)






It really feels too cold to play outside and yet I do want us to spend at least a few minutes soaking in the wisps of sunlight. The perfect solution is to drive over to the swings -- these are at a development not too far from the farmette. You'll notice that this time I at least made her wear the hood, though her hands are still uncovered. Why is she carrying her lunch box? She wanted it. Do not ask me about the inner workings of a two year old mind.






Happiness is swinging high, with the sunshine peaking out with enough force to make you shut your eyes against the glare.






At the farmhouse, she is just so happy to be offered a croissant...






These days she wants to do anything and everything that the adults in her life do. Here, she's climbing up and reaching for the tissue box so that she can blow her nose and wipe it dry.






Afternoon, a nap, a sinking sun.

It's time for me to take you home, little one. I now you haven't finished your corn snack yet. Want to take it with you?

What's this? Cheepers at the door. Ohhh, I know who would love to share in your snack!






(She explains to the hens that she's not quite done with her corn yet... then her heart melts and she  relinquishes a bit of the cob to them.)






Oh, that weather! Oh, that Snowdrop! Oh, the sunset!






And as beautiful, the fields to the west, in the gentle colors of dusk.