Snow Day
| This is the scene we woke up to yesterday morning. Roy guessed that we had six inches of snow over night. He still got into his car and headed to work. He called when he was just about there to tell me that as he drove north the snow got thinner and thinner. Just thirty miles north of us there was no snow on the ground at all. An hour later I got a call from Roy's mom, Kathy. She was at home instead of at work. Her work is south of us about thirty miles. They had called her early this morning to tell her that they had too much snow down there and all the schools were closed so she should just stay home! I actually had an appointment that morning. I thought that if I could just make the 1.5 miles of snow-covered gravel roads to the highway that I'd be fine. Kathy talked me out of it by suggesting that they really didn't want to drive the tractor over to pull me out of the ditch. Looking out my window at the mud peeking out from beneath the snow, I decided she was right. |  |
It always amazes me when the trees are loaded down with snow and ice. They sway slowly under the weight of it and creak like they can barely take it. It is just as amazing when the temperature rises above 32F(freezing point) and suddenly all that snow and ice begins to sluff off.
Growing up in California, I wasn't exposed to snow very often. It was rare for us to ever have daytime temperatures below freezing. In fact, if I ever saw the outdoor thermometer reading anything around or below 40F, I bundled myself in several layers!
When I moved to South Dakota at 24-years-old, I was not mentally prepared for snow. One dismal day in October 2004, I was working away in our office with my back to the window. It was a big window, too, so I must have really been focused on the computer for some time. I was the last person to leave the office. As I got up from my desk and turned to look out the window I was shocked to see that everything was covered with white. There maybe was an inch of snow on the ground, fluffy stuff that barely sticks, but to me it was frightening! I wasn't even sure if I could drive on a road covered in white! Of course, I then saw that other people driving by, so I braved the road. I probably chugged along at 10 mph all the way across town, thinking I was going to slide off the road any second!
Well, this will be my sixth real winter since then. I believe you change to suit your climate. Your body chemistry catches up with your environment and learns to cope. Six years ago I would have worn a giant snow coat to go out on a day like yesterday. Now I wear the same coat that I bundled up in on winter days in California. I remember coming into work that first winter in about January when the outdoor temperature was -15F and my boss commented on my lack of complaint about the cold. It was true, it had stopped bothering me and I had stopped fighting it!
They looked at me as if to say, "Why did you knock that snow away? It was blocking the cold wind!" Obviously safe and cozy, I left the birds alone and took myself back into the house! By 1pm, the "wall" of snow melted away and I was able to throw some old strawberries to them as a treat.
Tomorrow, Melise and I will fly off to balmy California to visit my parents! Will I miss the snow? Doubt it! But I will miss my husband and our crazy life together, so I'll come back . . . I suppose.
Posted by Susan at October 23, 2009 
Categories: Rural Living, Poultry
Tags: road photos house mud tractor ice snow tree chicken pictures guinea
Categories: Rural Living, Poultry
Tags: road photos house mud tractor ice snow tree chicken pictures guinea
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