A Yellow Bonnet

The Winds of Winter

It was hard to fathom that over two weeks had flown by. The month was almost over. Summer was approaching, as was the day I would wed Jacob. If I wanted to wed Jacob...As the days sped by , the ache had weakened. I still missed home dreadfully, but I was growing to love the endless fields of grass and open sky. I was growing to love the Wittings.

The afternoon had grown hot for spring, even for the prairie. The children and I, along with the dogs and three lambs, lay in the sweet grass. We were watching Jacob finish plowing the north field. I was covered in soil, skirt tucked up, and sunburned cheeks for Jacob had spent the majority of the morning teaching me to plow. It was a hard, heavy job, but I enjoyed it immensely. It had given me great satisfaction. I grinned at the thought of what William and the aunties would think when I told them.

"Tell me about winter?" I said.

"It's cold."

I chuckled, "Winter is cold everywhere, Caleb."

"We go to school in winter. And I love books. I loved school when I was a young girl. I wanted to be a teacher."

"Did you? Become a teacher?" Anna asked drowsily, she lay stretched out in the sun like a cat.

"No. I did not. My father grew ill. I left school to take care of him."

"Why didn't your mother?" Caleb asked.

"My mother passed away not long after I was born."

"Like our mama," he murmured.

We sat in heavy silence for a while, thinking of the mothers we had never known.

"How do you get to school in the winter?" I asked.

"Papa drives us in the wagon. Or we walk if there's not much snow. It's three miles," Anna said.

"Winter is my favorite season. I love being cozy inside the house while snow falls outside and the waves are crashing against the shore. And the crisp, clean air. Do you get a lot of snow?" I asked.

"Lots and lots and lots of snow," Caleb chanted rolling in the grass with Nick, "Sometimes we have to dig our way out to feed the animals."

"In Maine, the barns are sometimes attached to the houses."

Caleb laughed, "So you could have a cow for Sunday dinner?"

We all laughed.

"When there are blizzards, Papa ties a rope from the house to the barn so no one will get lost," Caleb said.

"There is ice on the windows in the mornings," Anna said, "We can draw sparkling pictures and we can see our breath in the air. Papa builds a warm fire, and we bake hot biscuits and put on hundreds of sweaters. And if the snow is too high, we stay home from school and make snow people."

"And is there wind?"

"Do you like wind?" Caleb asked.

"There is wind by the sea," I said.

"There is wind here," Caleb piped up.

Perhaps Kansas was not as different from Maine after all.

Caleb continued, "It blows the snow and brings tumbleweeds and makes the sheep run. Wind and wind and wind!"

He leapt to his feet and began to run around the field. The lambs ran after him stiff legged and fast. After running the length of the field, Caleb flopped back down next to me out of breath. I patted the lambs who nuzzled me.

"Hello, Lou. Hello, Mattie."

The heat was scorching. I was sure to be burnt to a crisp. I leapt to my feet.

"I'm hot. I cannot wait for the winter wind. Let's swim!"

"Swim where?" Anna asked.

"I can't swim," Caleb said.

"Can't swim?" I exclaimed, "Then I shall teach you in the cow pond."

"But that's for cows," Anna protested.

I grabbed the children's hands and pulled them to their feet. We ran across the field to the pond. They hesitated at the edge, but I drew my dress over my head and dived into the water in only my petticoat.

It was divine! The cool water washed over me. It was like being back home.

I bobbed back up to the surface laughing. The children grinned and took little urging to join me. I taught them how to doggy paddle and to float on their back. Caleb taught himself to blow streams of water into the air like a whale.

"Is this like the ocean, Sarah?" Caleb asked.

"Well, the sea is salt. It stretches out as far as the eye can see. And it gleams like the sun on glass. Also there are waves."

"Like this?"

And Caleb pushed a wave at me. It hit me in the face. I spluttered.

"Yes," I laughed, "Just like that."