Can I say this?

 Love thy neighbor.

It happens here in my little rural area. On our 1 mile ridge road, I have 3 neighbors. 

Yesterday I cancelled my gym workout. I can't see clearly past 20 or so feet. Let's add blowing snow and roads that are not defined well on the ridge and are hard to see on good winter days. Add snow, ice, drifts, and poor vision.

You get that right? 

However, I also know how folks that can't see well do get around. If you have traveled the same roads for 30 years, you know exactly where the signs are and intersections are. Actually, you can fake it pretty well. I told that to the eye doctor. But I won't risk that behavior as I am the only driver left in our house.

A few days ago one of the neighbors walked down the driveway. I was outside and I was totally startled when I realized that the only way I knew who they were was by how they walked and the size of the little human with the taller human.

Olive texted me again to ask where I got my Feed and was there a closer place to get it? I told her where and then she asked if I wanted to go with, she knew I was running low but cancelled my driving today because of the blowing snow and poor back roads.

She said she'd pick me up and we'd go get feed for the old mule and she could get chicken feed and bedding.

Wow, was that a trip! She is a brave woman to drive through the bad weather. However she was our rural mail person for a couple of years, so she has some great experience with bad roads and weather.

We took the back roads which were the only way to the closest feed store. We actually laughed and ohhhed and ahhhed at the little drifts and icy patches we found. 

My driveway had been plowed and in the time we went and came back the hill was nearly all ice. Olive giggled and said..."Hey, we are okay! We are sledding down your hill!" And yep, her ABS's were cranking away as we drifted down.

She was able to drive right up and out. Thank goodness for her Subaru. 

I took Charlie out for a walk in the afternoon in the woods as the winds were whipping on the ridges and causing lots of drifting snow.

Charlie loved the snow.

I watched him hunt mice for about 15 minutes. He is so funny!

Must be mice in there!

Dig dig dig!

Sniff sniff, dig, shake...

and then...

What????

I headed back out to go check fences and found two trees down across the summer pasture fence from the heavy snow. The plastic insulators broke so it will be easy enough to fix come spring. A hand saw should do the rest.

Last night I got a text from the brand new neighbors on the ridge.

You are invited! Sledding party at our house at 10AM. Bring your own sled or we will provide you with one.

Gosh! How much more fun can it be? 

Lucky me -- to have such good people on our ridge. My two new neighbors include me even though I don't have kids and I am old enough to be their parents. How cool is that?