I would have to say this is the first “real” winter I’ve experienced. I’ve been through cold spells when I was living in The South, even snow falls. The snow however was only one inch (2.54 cm) high, at most. It usually melted away within the next day.
Since we’ve been in the new house, we’ve had several snowfalls, over an inch high, and they don’t melt away the next day.
Currently, we just had nearly twenty-four (24) hours of snow, from around 9:00 PM last night going to almost 9:00 PM tonight. The local tell me this is very unusual and the area doesn’t normally get that much snow. Although I did see a report that said a nearby town got seven feet of snow one winter about sixty years ago. I’m fervently hoping that we don’t ever have that happen in this area again.
The dogs have enjoyed running in and out all day long. They normally run in and out, but the snow hasn’t deterred them from this practice. Magdalena stays out the longest, but that is to be expected since she’s a Siberian Husky. If we had a sled for her to pull I’m sure she wouldn’t mind going for a run around the town. Not that she’s trained or we could guide her. She’d just start running and go wherever she wanted. I would have to hope she either knew the way back home or take direction well enough from me to direct her there. (Huskies are not known for taking direction.) They come back inside, covered in snow, and then want to come over and lean on me and get pets. Nothing like a frozen dog wanting attention from you to make you want something hot to ward off the cold.
When I got up this morning, there was a thin layer of snow over everything. It made the world look like one of those picturesque post cards, the kind where snow covered trees and mountains make for lovely backgrounds. As the morning went on, the snow kept falling. As the day got later, the snowfall got heavier. The outside world looked a little less picturesque as the day went on.
We have a small wrought-iron bench in our backyard. All day long I kept watching the snow build up on it, until the snow was even with the armrests on the end of the bench. And still the snow kept falling.
We had some light winds during the day but nothing too bad. Now that the snow has ended, the winds have picked up. They are howling outside. The weather app says that they are likely to keep howling until sometime on Monday. It’s a little disturbing as it sounds like a hurricane blowing outside. The winds aren’t near hurricane force yet, even though at one point the weather forecast said they might get to fifty-five miles per hour (55 MPH, 88 KPH). That is five miles an hour less than the lowest end of hurricane force winds.
I was walking the dogs about two weeks ago before all the weather shenanigans started and noted that one of our neighbor’s houses had part of the siding blown off by the strong winds up here. We have windows that raise up from the bottom but also lower from the top. The winds have managed to push several of the windows down letting drafts of cold air in. I have to go around the house and lift them up again. A few weeks ago I got some dowels, cut them to length, ad used them to prop up some of the widows that won’t stay up.
After all the work to clear the driveway of ice over the last several days, we are one again housebound and snowed in. As long as the power doesn’t go out, we should be fine. If the power does go out, well, we’ve got three dogs to keep us warm.
The weather app says that the temperatures on Tuesday might get up to 40 deg F. (4 deg C). If it does, hopefully at least some of the accumulated snow will melt off. The another wave of cold weather (and possibly more snow) will roll into the area. I’m hoping the weather is wrong and we don’t get more snow.
Anyway, all of this winter shtuff is new to me. I’m learning quickly what it takes to get through it. It’s the same education you get the first time you go through a hurricane, or a Texas summer, I suppose. Next year I’ll be better prepared and more able to et through it. For now, I’m trying to stay warm, stay inside, and muddle through with the wife and dogs the best I can.
I hope your weather is pleasant in whatever part of the world you’re in, my Hordeling. I hope to see you Monday.
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