When I told people I was moving to upstate New York they mostly said someting like, "You will freeze your ____ off!" I mentioned to Mattie that if we were moving to a trendy, popular place like Vermont people would say, "Wow, cool, that's great" even though the Northern Vermont weather can be hideously cold and grey. Just ask my Mia, who went to UVM. Yes, the trailer has frozen up when I forgot to leave the drip on the faucet, and yes, the seat on the port-o-potty can be a bit of a shock in the morning, and yes, the hay mow in my magnificent old dairy barn, where I sew and have the computer set up is a giant freezer on days like today....BUT it is all worth it. The views are breathtaking up here on the hill, when I peak out of my trailer window and see a cloud settled in the valley, the sun coming up over the ridge behind my barn and the moon setting over the hill across the road. My commute to work (yes, I found a teaching job right away) is beautiful, and might as well be Vermont. So far, my only regret is that I didn't come here years ago when I had the chance.
I hear the pounding of Big Daddy's hammer in the lower barn, building the apartment where we will winter over and I will have my workshop. The sheep, goats and llamas will be on the other side of the wall and I can watch them from the kitchen window. I will have a barn cam and microphones when it's lambing and kidding time. What a difference a year makes!