COLD HARSH WINTER CLAIMS OLD SNOWBALL

A strange Saturday morning indeed as I did chores in a leisurely mode and had a nice relaxing breakfast instead of the hectic Saturday morning market days.
It was raining lightly last night when I went to bed and there is a dusting of snow on the ground this morning.
As I sat at the computer last night writing my blog I noticed things around me shake for a time and heard a noise that sounded like a very hard gust of wind that hit the house. That's what I thought the shaking was from until I saw the news this morning. Seems a 4.4 magnitude earthquake hit around 10:30 last night in South Carolina, near the Georgia line.

Folks even several miles north of us felt the tremor.
Hubbie went over to daughter's house with her to help clear some snow so she could get her jeep in her garage. I stayed home and had a shredding day!  I shred a years worth of papers and receipts each year before I add last years to the files.  It takes me longer than usual because my shredder continues to overheat and has to be turned off to cool down intermitantly.
Sadly this cold nasty winter claimed one of our farm family today as old Snowball, our 20+ year old retired milk cow / pet died today.
 She has had trouble in the last days with one of her hips, she probably slipped in the snow and ice. We thought about shutting her up in the barn but knew she needed the warm sunshine to help warm her boney body as she didn't have enough fat to keep her warm on these prolonged cold nights and days.  She was down in the barn this morning and we got Aaron to come over and help get her pulled out into the sunshine so maybe if she got her muscles warm they would get strong enough for her to get up but it wasn't to be and by later this afternoon she was dead.  At least she didn't suffer  and seemed to have given up living.  I took this picture back in October and I remember thinking as I took it that it might be the last fall she is alive if we had a bad winter.

We have said for the last two years she probably wouldn't make it through the cold of that winter but both of those years were very mild winters, but not so this year !!!
So goes farm life, when you deal with animals you kind of get immune to death because that is just a part of farm life, it's sad but you move on.
Aaron will get a machine and she will be buried in this pasture she has grazed in for all of her 20+ years with us.

Life goes on.......

I just thought today that it is past mid month and I haven't done any decade post for February. As I searched for the ***4 decades I found more ration coupons in my aunt's old '44-'45 scrap books.
These are my uncle's gas ration stamps.

There was an entire book of these sugar coupons, guess they didn't use much sugar !

Each time I go through these books I can't help but wonder what the world would be like today if we had rationed food and gas ????     Prayerfully we won't have to find out.
Hubbie and I spent the evening watching a Duke/ Maryland basketball game which Duke barely won.
Our team UNC played earlier in the day and defeated Pittsburg while we were into other task and we didn't watch.
All I can do tonight is yawn as I sit here typing and listening to the early news at 10:00. It is 29 degrees and the wind is still blowing some after a very windy 34 degree high for today.
Grateful to God tonight for His love and kindness. As I watched old Snowball this morning I asked that if she wasn't able to get up that she be taken quickly so she wouldn't suffer and He answered that prayer. It was strange how when I saw her this morning I told hubbie that I just felt like this was her day to leave this world.  God blesses me each day with so many undeserved blessings it is hard to understand sometimes, I just strive to please and glorify Him in all that I do.
Good Night and God Bless.