We have finally made it to snow this year. There had not been much at all until now. We have a little over a foot on the ground now.

The day it started to snow we got in a fairly minor car crash. There is a bit of a downslope on our road coming up to our house and it always ices over. So, when returning from the post office with it actively snowing (but just a bit), I slowed down before the downslope. I turned on my blinker. My car began to slide, as I knew it would. I used the slide to get toward my driveway and just as the brakes caught I heard a honking from a truck that apprently did not know about the icy spot. They rear ended us with our car partially into our driveway. Talking to the driver I found out that they started to slide much earlier than me. They didn't have enough following distance. So there is a lesson everyone that drives in icy conditions should already know: increase your following distance. It sounds like insurance will be covering the fixes to my car, which aren't too bad.

We have been enjoying watching the birds at the feeders. We stocked them up just before the storm to make sure they'd have food through it. Mostly mountain chickadees, but some acorn woodpeckers and northern flickers as well. The stellar's jays, scrub jays, and american robins seem to prefer getting the frozen apples that are still clinging to the apple tree.

I have mostly been staying inside. I am going to bake a few loaves of bread today. I will go out and shovel a little bit, as well as refill the bird feeders. But I have mostly been reading and listening to music. I am still reading "World's End" by Richard Jefferies, but have added "6,000 Years of Bread" as a secondary read. The later is quite outdated in its views of non-western cultures, women, minorities, etc. That said, it does have some interesting stuff in it. Including this quote that I liked:

History celebrates the battlefields whereon we meet our death, but scorns to speak of the plowed fields whereby we thrive. It knows the names of the king’s bastards but cannot tell us the origin of wheat. This is the way of human folly. Jean-Henri Fabre

The RIchard Jefferies novel ("World's End") is pretty good, but has slowed up a bit. It is overlong for what it is, but I like his writing so I am okay with it. That said, I think it will likely rank bottom of the novels that I have read from him. My wife is currently reading "After London" by said author. It is a good novel and I am looking forward to hearing her thoughts on it as she progresses through it.

Winter is a good time for reading. For chili too. I made chili last night, which we ate with a homemade vegan mac and cheese (chili-mac for the win).

The bread I am baking today will hopefully turn out well (if I can get it to proof in this cold weather). I have made it before and the cold prevented as full a rise as I would have liked (in the time I had available), but the bread was still delicious. I may make some toum to go with it. We'll see. Be safe out there this winter!