Icy roads prevent us
from travelling
and so we find ourselves
at home
instead of at our usual
First Saturday Mass
in Newry.

This provides the perfect opportunity
for us to fill our log store –
a daunting task
that involves wheel-barrowing
hundreds of logs
from a far corner
of the garden
and stacking them neatly
in our log store.

It requires careful planning
and a wile lot
of hard work!

We crunch across frosty grass,
our breath frosting
in the freezing air
as we savour the smell
of freshly-cut wood.
By lunch-time,
most of the logs are stacked
neatly and safely
(with a hollowed-out log
at the very top …
maybe a robin will nest there?)

Quite a feat of engineering!

Thank You, Lord,
for this icy morning
which kept us all at home
and left us free
to spend time as a wee family
working together
companionably and productively
to fill our log store.

(Time for hot drinks now, I think!)

© Claire Murray, 4th January 2025