It's been cold

It's been cold! Our weather people warned us it was going to be cold and nasty, and they were right on. But it wasn't even close to a blizzard. Temps were down around zero and a little below but with 40-mile-an-hour wind, the wind chill was ridiculous for Southeast Missouri. Ridiculous! Makes me think of Nebraska weather. I have a Facebook friend who posts how cold it is in Canada using Celsius so I have to use my cellphone to find out Fahrenheit temps. I could use a formula I learned 40 or 50 years ago, or 9/5C + 32.

Had a guy the other evening talk about how great the weather was in California, how it never got below 60 to 65 degrees. Might be nice, but honestly, I'd miss the cold. There have been times when I grumbled about the cold but when it came down to it, I enjoyed the cold growing up.

Spent many a day in subfreezing temps watching a bobber in a 7- or 8-inch hole in the ice waiting for a bass or crappie or most likely a ring-eyed yellow perch take the bobber down. The perch would probably been 9 or 10 or maybe 11 inches long, but, oh man, it was fun. If we caught enough, we had one delicious meal ahead.

Marge spent New Year's Day back in 1974 six months pregnant with Vic. Had a blast.

When there was at least 8 to 10 inches of snow on the ground and temps were down around zero or below, I spent many a morning or evening hunkered down in a snowbank calling up a coyote. Nothing makes a coyote come to a rabbit call faster than snow and super cold temps and an empty belly. Skinned a lot of coyotes and stretched them on homemade stretchers. Ended up inheriting tons of fleas which never seemed to bother Tait or me, but they terrorized Marge and Vic. Needless to say, Marge refused to eat anything I peeled or cut up with my pocket knife.

There was a nasty storm blow through with a bunch of snow back in the early 1970s. Drifted all the ditches and gullies full of snow, so when a cow wandered into a ditch or gully they were stuck. It was a good time to put some hours on a colt or a green broke horse with the snow to trudge through. Ground was soft in case you got bucked off. We were riding along talking and enjoying the ride when we rode up on a snow bank, and the snow bank moved. Like to had a run away. It was a couple cows covered with snow. Really couldn't tell they were even cows.

The part of Nebraska I grew up in was the Sandhills with an abundance of big hills. Some of them big hills were downright inviting. They just sat there tempting the brave of heart guys and gals to head downhill on a homemade toboggan. Take a 12- or 14-foot 1-by-12 or 2-by-12 and add a curl of tin on the front and have at it. Dad bought Mick and me probably a 6- or 7-footer. We also had our steel runner sleds. Sometimes you're at the top of the hill all pumped up with courage but the moment you tip over the ridge at the top your courage is gone and almost instantly regret it.

Cold? Yea it was cold, but it was part of life back then and back there. We were young and the cold didn't seem to really bother us. Cold now seems to bite into my fingers and face and ears and toes. Oh, but it's still fun to reminisce and tell tales of what we did and how we did it. Many of those we roughed around with are gone, so we're free to tell the tall tales as if they were true.

2022 was kind of a rough year for many of us and our friends. I'm praying that 2023 is more blessed, full of God's favor.

Happy New Year!