Winter weather

In the Old Testament book of Proverbs, chapter six, there's a passage that encourages us to learn life lessons from the ant - because she "stores up provisions in summer" in preparation for the lean, winter season. Of course, it's referring to the fact that we should give thought not only to the present, but also to the future.

This year, however, I quite literally "stored up provisions" during the summer months - provisions of firewood for the winter season. Every time I took the dog for a walk, I took a large shopping bag with me, so that I could gather up branches and pine cones from the forest.... and by August, I already had a plentiful supply of kindling.

The winter weather is with us now in Spain, and we're very thankful now for the woodpile in our store room. There's no central heating in many Spanish homes, and so we feel blessed that we can make a roaring log fire on these colder winter evenings.

Looking at our weather forecast for the coming days (rain from now until Tuesday) I knew we'd need a good pile of wood next to our fireplace this weekend. But then I got an email from friends in Canada, saying that they couldn't go to work yesterday because of the snow.... and I see that snow is also forecast for Scotland where my parents live. Compared to that, I guess we're actually having quite "mild" weather in Alhaurin this month!!