First Winter Snow Today?

I know winter doesn't start with real winter weather (snow) in all the places where we all live. Here we have our first snow forecast today, and the air and skies sure look like this is happening today!

I have lived in Saskatchewan most of my life, and so - although I do not enjoy winter - I'm used to it enough so that I've learned not to fight it with grumbling and complaining too loudly, for that only will depress me and make an "unhappy camper " to use a cliche.

I also know that if if you want the garden and yard cleaned up before the snow comes, - which may hide a lot of things outside for six months - you better get that work done in plenty of time.

Well, I did work hard at that, and thought I was done a week ago. But last Saturday I saw that a lot more leaves had fallen in the front yard. I'd almost talked myself into ignoring it and deal with it in spring with a thorough raking.

Then a man came by to my door yesterday and offered to clean my eavestroughs for me. Ah...?! Um...

I hesitated a bit. Normally I ask my cousin Gary to come deal with chores that are too big for me. (I do NOT go up on roofs!) But I'd called him on Saturday and he said he was too busy. So it might be wise to let this stranger do it. I asked what he would charge. It was rather steep, but... I told him that I didn't normally pay my cousin that much, but if he was willing to take less, yes, he could do the job.

He promised to be back in half an hour. He was not back. So I decided that maybe if I went out to rake the front yard, if he walked by and had forgotten, he'd be reminded when he saw me. (I had no address or phone number for him.)

I got 2 giant garbage bags filled with leaves. I was exhausted. I

I managed to get the whole lawn and the flower beds raked, and went inside and had just settled into my recliner for a nap when he was at the door. So I put on my jacket and a soft, fleecy hat, and went out to show him the ladder and to hook up the garden hose, which I had already put away for the winter. I also had to put another giant garbage bag into the grey bin as he kept bringing down one pail full of leaves after another gathered from the eaves. He also rinsed out the down-spouts with the hose, as clumps of leaves had lodged in them.

He mentioned that there was dirt in the eaves. I said that was likely as Gary had not got to the job last fall either. He rinsed them out by spraying at a good angle into the eavestroughs.

I have to admit he did a thorough job and was done in about an hour and a half. I handed him the cash which I had tucked into my pocket.

As I look outside right now, and see the skies grey and not at all friendly, and that snow or rain is promised for most parts of Saskatchewan, I realize that the LORD provided help at the right time.

I recall now that one year, (2013) I had ice buildup on the roof, (because the eavestroughs were full of debris) which began to work through the roof on a sunny day and it came down to wet the plasterboard ceiling in my pantry, which came crashing down - causing weeks of work to clean up! At least that doesn't need to happen this winter.

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