Road Closed

The snow has stopped here.  Looks like the biggest snowstorm in years is over.  It just doesn't seem right that it's October 5th and we have well over two feet of snow surrounding us.  When this all started the other night, a couple of friends mentioned snow, rain, thunder and lightning all at the same time.  I remember years ago living in Wyoming when this happened.  There was rain mixed with snow, loud thunder, and brilliant flashes of lightning all going on simultaneously.  I remember thinking, "strange days are here,"  and wondering if this is what the end of the world would be like.  But the world didn't end.  It continued on.  Just like now.  We'll be back to normal in a few days, and many years from now we'll be talking about the "storm of '13,"  and recalling scenes like this -

This is my back yard, where normally at this time of year we would be enjoying morning coffee, admiring the deep red leaves on our fledgling maple trees, and hoping for a hummingbird to stop by our feeder for a quick snack on the way to wherever it is they are on their way to this time of year.

Instead we're trapped inside.  I guess that's not such a bad thing.  We have power.  Some people are still sitting in the dark with blankets pulled all the way up around their neck.  Maybe they should make a fort with cushions and chairs.  That always seemed to help when we were kids and needed some kind of escape from whatever troubles, real or imagined, we may have been experiencing at the time.  

But we are warm and rested.  So I decided to go out first thing and begin the task of cleaning up the mess of deep snow and fallen branches.  I started the job with great enthusiasm, but hadn't gotten very far when it hit me ... I was the only one outside doing this.  I looked up and down the block.  Nope. Not another soul in sight.  No sounds of snowblowers, or shovels scraping driveways.  No sound of snow plows off in the distance clearing the roads.  Just the sound of the wind in the trees, and of my heavy breathing.  What was I thinking?  Even if I dug us out, we weren't going anywhere.  There was still no travel advised.  Some roads even remained closed.  So I stopped.  This is how far I got -

 

Not that far.  But it was enough for now.  Maybe I'll try again later after it warms up a bit and the wind dies down some. Or, I'll just stay in today.  All day.  Cook up a batch of my most excellent chili (complete with my home grown red bell peppers, saved from the storm and ready for harvest), catch up on some reading, watch old movies on TCM ... or ... all of that. 

Wait! What's that noise?  Sounds like kids laughing and shouting. They are out sledding on the big hill behind our house.  Now that's what to do on a snow day!  I wonder if my old Flexible Flyer is still around here somewhere?  Or maybe I can round up an inner tube.  I guess the business of cleaning up will just have to wait.  There are other things to do.  More important things.

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