Max received The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren for Christmas…,

Winters come and winters go, summers come and summers go…

Funny how the small things from childhood can shape you…. Reading that book to Max on a frigid night, snuggled up in bed, having been out to feed the dogs, get the eggs, and shoo my finicky sheep into the barn, I felt akin to the Tomten’s nightly doings, and I realized that my interest in nocturnal farm chores may have its roots in that picture book.