Snow Day

I have nothing against nature, but I'm just not thrilled with snow. I admit it is quite lovely as it falls gently from the sky, then it has the audacity to pile up in areas that have to be shoveled, scraped, or otherwise taken care of all the while a person is freezing their butts off performing these tasks. So, no, I'm not a fan of the falling white stuff, except maybe on a Christmas card.

The other night dumped close to three inches, which is honestly not that much, but from the sirens I heard all morning I’m guessing everyone driving to work had forgotten how to drive on slick, snow covered roads. It happens every year with the first substantial snowfall—which means a ‘sticking to the roads and not melting as soon as it hits’ situation.

I consider the current snowfall to be a reminder the real snow is waiting somewhere up in Canada and probably laughing at those of us who hate the stuff. Those in the ‘know’ are predicting a hard winter this year which doesn’t necessarily mean those predictions are accurate---weather is tricky and likes to throw curve balls more often than not. I’m preparing for the worst, hoping for the best and we’ll know the real story by April.

As I write this, the main part of the storm has passed us and is busy bullying the northeast United States. However, since Lake Erie is not yet frozen we have lake effect snow, which can be worse than an actual storm system. Those nasty Canadian winds swoop over Lake Erie gathering up moisture which then magically turns into white flakes that falls on everything in it’s path.

I know many of you absolutely love the winter---skiing, snow boarding, ice-skating, etc. I consider you brave souls and admire your enthusiasm. I simply don’t understand why a normal person would put on layers of clothing and endure frigid temperatures to have fun. It boggles the mind. A few of my own kids love winter, but they also have four-wheel drive plus all the appropriate winter gear. I, however, have just recently installed a remote starter on my vehicle and I am thrilled! Always drooling over those cars whose owners were smart enough to have bought that luxury already in place, I can now say I finally took the plunge for myself. The purchase made my heart sing! No more trudging out in boots, heavy coat, hat and gloves, scrapper in hand to clean off the car. Yes!!!

I probably won’t venture out today—let the road crews clean off the roads and throw salt to melt any residue of ice. My wood burner is going full steam and I’m in my usual spot---only 4 feet away!