January 28, 2011

Snow Woes

This post goes out to all of you who live in warm places where this never happens. Where you never have to wake up in the morning (like we did yesterday) and look out your window to see this:
or have to dig your way to your front door because you can't open it from the inside...
...which also means that you've just spent 2 hours digging your way down the driveway from your back door because it's the only way to get to the front door...
...it's also the only way to get your car out of the garage to go anywhere once the streets are cleared. Especially to the grocery store when you realize you didn't get ____ (fill in the blank) the night before because you certainly didn't believe the weather people could be accurate when they predicted that much snow for the third time in a row!

And though the U.S. postal service boasts: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds", your post-person never does show up (even after you un-buried your mailbox)...
And finally, you have no place to put the snow anymore so you've managed to build a mini-Everest that you'd have to scale to get into your own back yard just to re-fill the bird feeder...
...and since you don't own any carabiners or crampons, you resort to standing in your bathtub and tossing birdseed out the window...
But then you stop in your snow-matted boots—right there in the tub—because wait a minute, take a closer look...it's so incredibly beautiful. The light, the soft curves, the long shadows, crisp air and muffled quiet...
and the thought that somewhere under all this snow...is Spring.

37 comments:

  1. I was little when we lived in snowy Virginia and PA. As a kid, you always think snow and icicles are awesome. I remember Gramma calling us to come in because our lips were blue. And of course that meant hot chocolate and board games til we were toasty again.

    I know it can seem miserable, but even now, the sight of fresh snow that has not been walked in has a magical quality. I'd have to drive hours to see it.

    Yes, Spring is coming, but try to enjoy all the beautiful white for me!

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  2. I guess I'll stop complaining about our few inches of snow now...cuz you have way more than i've ever seen!

    Just as Nancy said, though, beautiful post! I am very eager for spring to get here!

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  3. Oh Kate! I'm so happy that you can enjoy the beauty of it all. I LOVE the snow and I'm soooo jealous. We have a few inches on the ground, but nothing like your fabulous winter wonderland -- you lucky, lucky girl!!!

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  4. It is incredibly beautiful and quiet but it is soooooooooooooo cold....enjoyed your post!

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  5. I love this post...it's so beautifully written...I especially love the last line...and the hope expressed there for spring!

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  6. Winter is VERY beautiful when the sun shines. I love winter. ; ) Hey - you can now dig a hole into that bank and have a little fort! ; )

    ~Monika K.
    In Canada

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  7. Beautifully written, and yes, thank you for the reminder of spring.

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  8. oooooh boy, I have the snow, too, and was trying to keep a sense of humor... until this week, which included two snow days and one early dismissal in our neck of the woods. and it is snowing right now. grumble, grumble. But, your words are a reminder that spring WILL come. Thanks for refreshing my optimism!

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  9. Your woe is my WHOA!!! I actually wondered what the first picture was! LOL! I'm a south Texas girl, so snow is a rarity indeed here. Thanks for sharing some of your beautiful scenery with us!

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  10. The pictures are lovely! I live in So Cal so this is as close to snow as I get.

    Hope you get your spring soon.

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  11. I'm so glad you recognize the beauty. It IS beautiful! I can't imagine living there....but it's beautiful. It's 70 and I put the top down on the car when I was out a little while ago....here in southeast Texas.

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  12. Oh yeah! And there's more of that comin'. It is very pretty, but enough is enough a'ready.

    The very best thing is when you've worked for h*o*u*r*s to get your driveway shoveld out, get in your car, start to back out & find that the plow has come along and plowed you back in. Just shoot me now.

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  13. Thank you for sharing the moment you stopped and absorbed the beauty :)

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  14. I love it...similar here....I'm glad you get spirit back at the end...

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  15. oh I could send you some of the 42C 108F temps i had this week that sure would sort out the snow..........
    beautiful pics though..........it is very pretty......

    stay warm..........

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  16. I won't tell you that it is 70 degrees in Dallas today!

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  17. Gorgeous! But that is a little too much snow for my liking! I'm in Southern California and right now it's got to be in the 70s. But honestly, I wouldn't mind a little snow.

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  18. Well, it is a beautiful sight, but then I live in Texas where it's in the 70s today. I spent one very cold, snowy winter in NYC. Don't think I could do this every year. My hat is off to you. ~ Sarah

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  19. Just once in my life I would love to wake up to that, not going to happen though..! Our forcast is for 40C this weekend so the air con for us I fear..!
    Stay warm and sew..
    Lizzie
    xxx

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  20. I've never been in that much snow. It's beautiful to look at!

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  21. How beautiful! I'd happily trade some of that snow for the 40C day we're expecting tomorrow.

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  22. Wow.

    That looks amazing (and hard work).

    I love the first picture - I didn't know what it was on the window when I first looked. I didn't think it was frost.

    It does not snow here in Melbourne, Australia, and of course it is the middle of summer. We are expecting 104 F (40 C) tomorrow so you snow looks completely exotic.

    Thanks for sharing a glimpse of another way of living.

    Our weather related hard work is probably the opposite - carrying buckets of water collected when you shower or have a bath, to distribute on a parched garden - we had come out of 11 years of drought and have lived for years with very strict water restrictions. Of course that is not an issue this year, the world has seen how much rain we have had here in Australia this year.

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  23. Greetings from Sunny Florida. Your snow is beautiful....but I'll admire it from afar.Earlier this month we were the ONLY state (out of all 50...yes including Hawaii), that did not have any snow. I love that distinction!

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  24. LOVE your post. Should be published all by itself. You're as good a writer as you are designer! :o)

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  25. I cannot even imagine that much snow - the most I've seen at one time is twelve inches and that was only once and a long time ago! Hopefully someone will get the message soon that we're all ready for spring!!

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  26. Yes we of warmer climes don't ever have to dig our way out of our houses....sometimes we have to row our way out though! But...also we never get to see that particular kind of beauty in our yards either...that is why I love your georgeous snow photos.

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  27. OK I might not have to dig my way out but seriously, I live in West Australia we have a run of 39 degree days and I just want it to cool down, not that much though. Isn't the world such a wonderous place.

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  28. I'm still Jealous! I might not say that if I were actually having to do the shoveling :)
    It doesn't snow where I live and I've only seen It once in my life, when I was about ten!
    So I have a totally romantic version in my head what snow is like, it doesn't include cold and wet!
    I'm currently Sitting in 40 degree celsius here in Australia.
    We could swap for a while...Linda

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  29. Wow beautiful pictures! Wonder where you are going to put the next snowfall? I love snow, but not that much snow!!

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  30. I live in one of those warm places and I've got to tell you, those pictures are beautiful! About 20 years ago, we were traveling north and our daughter saw snow for the first and only time. It was beautiful, she did say "you didn't tell me it was cold". The driving wasn't so beautiful and we didn't have to shovel any but the scenery, beautiful.

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  31. We just came home to PA from a week in Florida to a scene much like Kate's. The contrast is too much!!! All those people posting from warm places don't know how lucky they are. PLUS, IT IS POURING DOWN SNOW AGAIN!!! Enough already. I am going to hibernate - wake me up when it's March 1st!

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  32. Well, I have zero snow where I live, it just never really gets that cold, so for us here at the mediterranean, snow just seems like so much fun and magical really. We never do think about those practical details, we just all wish it would snow, since the last time it snowed was about 5 year ago and we're talking about just snowing, it never even gets to set on the ground, you just watch it fall and get all excited. So really I'm jealous, but understand that after a while it must get old... Pop by Lisbon anytime if you want to warm up. People get histeric if temperatures hit 3º!

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  33. Your photos are beautiful...I especially like the first one! We have snow here in lower MI and are expecting yet another snow storms, possibly 8"? But who knows...anyway, we can't do anything about it. It doesn't bother me as much as it did when I was a working gal.

    Yes, spring will come in good time.

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  34. Wow, that is a lot of snow! Your poor little mailbox. I hope you can dig out before Market. Can't wait to see you!

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  35. I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed this post. It was so well written and beautifully done. I actually went back and read it to my husband because he loves to write and appreciates great work.

    As far as the weather goes, we can't relate. Spent the weekend at Disneyland and Sun Diego and worrying about not having a pedicure before breaking out the flip flops. But how boring is sunny weather all the time?

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  36. WOW i LOVE it!!!! Never get snow here in sunny Perth, Australia. Sure do get enough sun though LOL. hmmmmm to trade for a day would be glorious.

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