DAYLIGHT MINUS TWO

Immediately after summer solstice the days become shorter.

Here in northern Maine winter is always on our mind.

 

After the last snow storms of April, we move into two or three weeks of mud season, after which I clean up winter damage and make a list for summer maintenance to be completed before the first snows of October.  We store our winter clothes and I put away the snow blower and shovels, and dump our buckets of sand and salt.  Time to get out the lawn mower.

We watch the grass grow and revel in the sun moving higher on the horizon, I have changed the oil in the car and had to replace two rear shocks; all the while trying to ignore my to-do list for a few weeks; and then it’s SUMMER SOLSTICE.

 

Today we lose two minutes of daylight, and we know:

Firewood was delivered yesterday,

and now I have to move it from the side of the house to the shed in the back yard. 

Some of the wood is too large for my wood stove (the chimney will need cleaning) so I will have to form a pile that I will split.  

I have to change the filter at the oil tank and call the oil company for a fill.

And then there is my to-do list: replace the back steps, repair some water damage, sand and re-varnish the front stoop.   There is painting to do and I need to caulk a seam on the metal roof…

Before we know it, we unpack and clean our winter clothes and put away our summer things, change the oil and spark plug in the snow blower, winterize the car and wait impatiently to see if we will have our first, crisp, white snow-cover before Halloween.

Here in western Maine, after the last snow storm; Winter Is Always Coming.

the Ol’Buzzard