A Bright Sun is rising!

I know, 'so what's so big about that?', you ask?  Well, here in Northern Michigan, as with other areas about the country, this 2014 Winter is reluctant to let go of our lives.  Sunshine is a welcome thing for raising our depressed spirits and promising some temps that may melt some of what we just received on top of the lingering deep piles. 
  Yes, winter has overtaken our lives like nothing else.  We, here at Sacred Sparks, have been working full time on, may I say the word 'survival', and not sound too dramatic? 
Of course, you might know, because of the past mild winters and making it through with excess wood for heating, we backed off last year, waited till October to start gathering.  Very bad idea!  Mid October brought us rain, normal, of course for autumn, but once the rain started, if forgot to quit!  In fact it was having such a grand time, the rains decided that a continuous deluge was better that sporadic!  Over 20 inches of rain fell over the course of mid October to mid November, making it pretty impossible to venture onto hilly inclines to cut downed tree tops, (this years gift from a neighbor friend).  So, ultimately we were caught short on wood for heat.  Now it's April, the heating season is normally winding down... NOT the case for 2014!  We have learned a valuable lesson the hard way. 
  The constant scramble to remain warm has been an overpowering, totally consuming time issue here.  Thus leaving us short on all the other things we normally do.  Such as, creating art, building a new chicken coop, doing minor repairs that we saved for winter tasks.  
  All this behind thing has left us short and stressed... add that to the never ending winter... we, as well as everyone we know are truly stretched to our limits of remaining calm, cool and collected!  Yet, we try, succumb, acclimate and continue on, with the ever going hope that soon Spring will finally break from her chains of Winter's grasp.  We look for the little signs, that will grow into bigger and better signs of a new, warmer season to wrap it's fragrant verdant arms around us all. 
  Just had to get that out of the way. We will be busy this coming year, prepping for 2 winter's worth of fire wood! My next post will be much sunnier I promise.  The Sun is shining today with a promise of some melting.  That is a good thing!