Happy Groundhog’s Day!  Happy birthday, Dad!

I guess it’s appropriate I’m doing a blog about the stresses of winter today, since we we still have six weeks left to endure.  I’ve never before really emotionally understood the importance of spring holidays, but I gotta say, I’m really looking forward to the end of winter, and with it my parents’ arrival in Azerbaijan!

Our first bad snow this season was on Thanksgiving, and that SHUT DOWN roads, trains, and cities.  Since then, in Zaqatala we’ve had cycles of snow falls that shut roads and schools down, and they eventually melt into giant mud pits (one of which I might have fallen into while on my way to the toilet), which then freeze into ice during incredibly cold nights.

Except for the canceling of school, life pretty much seems to keep going during the snow.  I go into work, farmers farm, and sheep give birth.

This afternoon (while it was snowing), I had just arrived at my friend’s place when her father walked into the house with a sack slung over his shoulder.  After getting a box and covering its bottom with a towel, he opened the sack to reveal two squirming lambs.  They were one hour old, and had been taken away from the flock because it was so cold their mother wasn’t giving milk.  They were twins, filthy, and shaking like crazy.  The boy was so much bigger than the girl, I didn’t believe it was a newborn and while the girl lay down in the box, her brother stomped all over her checking out his surroundings and baaing like crazy. They seemed to be okay with the cow’s milk they were given with a bottle, but would not stop licking the box.  I’m not sure what the ramifications of feeding sheep cow’s milk are, but I’d love it if a biologist could let me know.

I’m really sorry I didn’t have my camera today.  Those sheep were adorable.  I do, however, have a decent picture of my yard in the snow:

I hope you all are having a better time getting through winter than I am.  Got any snow?  What are your tips for living in the cold?  I could use some help!