Fun (??) in the snow & the letter L

I tho't our mailbox was in a bad way yesterday or a couple days ago...whenever I took those pix in my previous post. We got another half foot of snow yesterday on top of what we already had and then the snow plow came by...
When we came home this afternoon from eating out, I told hubby it'd be fun to "play" in the snow in our side yard, so we went a couple rounds...then got stuck! You can't really tell it, we were on an incline, leaning left.

I was sitting in the truck, looking towards our house

Hubby has an older 4 wheel drive truck that he was using to try to pull this truck out with. I was in the new truck. I ended up further down into the trees!

Branches smashed against the window

Then we tried the 4 wheeler. Nothing. Then, he got our neighbor who has a big Dodge Ram with big tires. Nothing. This guy even got stuck in our yard. So, they went and got another neighbor who has a Bobcat. The Bobcat was able to pull the truck out after clearing out a lot of the snow. It took almost 3 hours to get unstuck...all for 2 minutes of fun in the snow!! lol
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I enjoyed reading Birgit's list of things she is thankful
( http://theprimitivecountrybug.blogspot.com/ ) for that begin with the letter "N" and she's given me the challenge of coming up with 10 things that begin with "L" that I'm thankful for...

1. LOVE...The love of God and the love of my husband has brought so much healing to my life through the years. Unconditional love is a priceless gift. And, there is no greater love than the love of God.

2. Library...I lOvE my library! Going there on a weekly basis is for me like a vacation or a shopping spree! LoVe it! I read daily...or I did until my little one came along and made me a sleep-deprived zombie! lol

3. Laughter...is better than any medicine! I love to laugh and I love to hear my hubby and baby girl laugh too!

4. Life...I'm so thankful to be alive! Many years ago, I lived in such turmoil and emotional pain that I didn't care if I lived or not. That was before I knew God personally. Not only did He help me in this life, He gave me NEW life!

5. Liberty...I'm so thankful to live in a country where I have basic freedoms that people in other countries couldn't fathom having.

6. Labrador Retrievers...I'm so thankful for my black lab, Snoopy. For over a decade, he filled a void in my heart when I couldn't have children. Once, my allergies were so bad, the DR said Snoopy had to go. All I said to the DR was, "But he's my only child" The DR nodded his head and never said a word, as he'd walked down the painful infertility pathway with us. Snoopy stayed. So did my allergies. lol

Snoopy was 4 weeks old when we found him along the highway. He fit in the palm of my hand. He's over 12 years old now.

7. Land...we have 5.5 acres of rolling hills, woods...beautiful land! I love to mow, plant flowers, plow snow...you name it!

8. Leaves...in autumn! Love the colors, the smells, the crunch under foot when I kick up a path walking through the deep fallen leaves

9. Learning....I'm so thankful for the ability to learn about new things. I love to learn about historical things such as the wagon trains that moved westward, the Underground Railroad, folks that lived in the Smoky Mountains and Appalachians in the late 1800's and carved a life out of the land. I love to learn about God's goodness. I love to learn new recipes. I love to learn, learn, learn! lol
I live less than one hour from the Levi Coffin Home: A part of the legendary Underground Railroad for fleeing slaves of pre-Civil War days, this registered National Historic Landmark is a Federal style brick home built in 1839.

Levi and Catharine Coffin were legendary in helping many former slaves escape to freedom in the North. Levi is often referred to as the President of the Underground Railroad.
Levi & his wife helped over 2000 slaves escape slavery by hiding them in their home.

Escaping slaves were well hidden for their travels in this wagon when grain bags were piled around the hiding area.

Escaping slaves could be hidden in this small upstairs room and the beds moved in front of the door to hide its existence.


10. Lighthouses... I'm fascinated with lighthouses and their keepers. How lonely it must be for a lightkeeper. I'm thankful for the guiding light they provide though. I have 4 navy men in my family...from WW2 to present day. I wonder if they've ever needed the guiding light of a light house?

We saw this lighthouse in Michigan while on a boat on Lake Erie:

The next 2 pix are of the last lighthouse we saw (2006?) and it's the Marblehead Lighthouse in Ohio. Beautiful!! We even drove a few miles away and saw the old lightkeepers home.


Marblehead Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes, has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822.

In 1819, the fifteenth U. S. Congress recognized the need for navigational aides along the Great Lakes, and set aside $5,000 for construction of a light tower at the entrance to Sandusky Bay. Contractor William Kelly built the 50-foot tower of native limestone on the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula. The base of the tower is 25 feet in diameter, with walls five feet thick. It narrows to twelve feet at the top with two-foot thick walls.

Through history, fifteen lighthouse keepers, two of whom were women, have tended the beacon. The first keeper was Benajah Wolcott, a Revolutionary War veteran and one of the first settlers on the peninsula. He and his family lived in a small stone home on the Sandusky Bay side of the peninsula. Each night, he lit the wicks of the thirteen whale oil lamps that were the original light fixture. Sixteen-inch-diameter metal reflectors helped project the light across the lake. Other duties of the lighthouse keeper included keeping a log of passing ships, noting the weather conditions, and organizing rescue efforts. Upon Wolcott's death in 1832, his wife, Rachel, took over these duties.

The whale oil lamps were replaced in 1858 by the light from a single kerosene lantern magnified by a Fresnel lens. This specialized, curved glass lens created a highly visible, fixed white light.

You can read more at http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/marblehead/tabid/763/Default.aspx
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So, that's my list of things I'm thankful for that start with "L". If you'd like to give it a go, leave me a comment and I'll send you a randomly chosen letter for you to create your own list!