By Allen Brewer

The New Year has finally begun and oh boy was it a cold one! With snow flurries and icy roads last week, my thoughts drift back to those fond summer memories picking peas and hauling hay.

I always heard that it helps to think warm thoughts when you’re feeling cold. When I think about this past summer working outside it definitely makes me think warmer.

This past year flew by fast. It feels like it was only yesterday I was working in my garden. It sure was hot but at least I was warm.

I didn’t mind the heat that much. With a cool glass of lemonade and a nice seat under the shade tree, I was doing all right.

I spent most of my summer helping my dad in the garden and in the hay field. We had a nice crop of okra, peas, butter beans, tomatoes and sunflowers. Outside picking peas got a little hot but shelling them under the porch felt pretty good.

We also were able to put up a few hundred square bales of hay to sell this winter. It was hard working all day in the field, but a nice breeze helped keep us cool headed.

My problem with winter is that I’m always hot under my coat and cold without it. I feel like a baked potato under my coat and a frozen fish stick when I take it off.

Following the pattern of winter storms we have had for the past few years, we will probably have at least one good snowfall before March. Many of the states to the north have already experienced their share of winter weather.

I think we need to take a closer look at global warming!

Some people, however, like it cold. I know there are a lot of children that wouldn’t mind having another day out of school, and who doesn’t like playing in the snow? It’s all fine and good until the roads freeze and power lines go down.

Hopefully, that ground critter will not see his shadow this year and spring will start a little sooner. Does it still count if he’s blindfolded?

Until then, you should bundle up because it is only going to get colder. While the winter rages on, at least I can have a big, steaming bowl of peas to eat.

Maybe the winter will end and I’ll be picking peas again before I know it. I might need to think about how cold I am now when I’m overheating then.

In the summer it’s too hot; in the winter it’s too cold. Excuses! Excuses!

Allen Brewer is currently the news editor for Northwest Mississippi Community College’s newspaper, the Ranger Rocket. You can reach him at allenbrewer4968@yahoo.com.