The snowstorm of January 2, 2014 in Saybrook, and all of northeast Ohio–heck the whole northeastern USA–is one to write home about.  It’s been falling for over a day now, the wind is shaping it into smooth drifts and cliffs, and the temperatures are falling well closer to zero than they need to be.  But, this is January in the North.  We have heat, power, blankets, and three dogs.  And if there’s been a more ready-made three dog night, I am not sure it’s been in the last decade or so.

Our first week and a few days in Saybrook out in Ashtabula county have been our kind of adventure.   We’ve seen ring-necked pheasants on the roadside, watched over 30 wild turkeys (yes, the bird; not the bottle) jostle in our neighbor’s back acres, discovered remarkable pizza and freshly roasted coffee, met lovely people, painted a room, built a workbench, replaced a zone valve controller, and reminded ourselves that every house built in 1860 needs work even when it seems perfect when you buy it.

The dogs are in heaven every trek we make in the back five acres, all brambles and puddles and darting moles and stinking scat.  Good times, in dog land.

And we are loving the house, and its remarkable kitchen and lovely wood floors and rooms and rooms and rooms–and let’s not forget the kitchen cast iron stove that heats the room and all of us quite happily.

It’s a good life, already, here.  The snow just reminds us it’s winter and we have to wait on the garden, the chickens, and a duckling or two.