Blasts of White

All day yesterday, the radio, television repeatedly warned us of an upcoming snow storm, depending upon the part of the state, we were either in for 6-14 inches of snow, or freezing rain.

By 6:00 P.M most of the school corporations had declared today a snow day.....gleeful hearts for the children.....NO SCHOOL!

Sometime after 8:00 P.M. I received a call that the agency I work for was closing also. I was surprised, but accepting.....hey....a day to sleep in, hoping we received the snow instead of the freezing rain, knowing that freezing rain always brings a loss of power, which for me also means no water, since we have wells. Also knowing, depending on the severity of the icy impact, it could be days before power gets restored on these back country roads. So, hoping for the snow.

I awoke at my usual time, wanting to be very sure the predicted snow did arrive. I wasn't certain at first, my bedroom window faces the east, the deck of my bedroom the north. It really didn't look too bad to me, I have seen worse. It was, and is extremely windy, 22 mph winds with 30 mph gusts, most straight out of the east, but also seeming to almost bounce off the very air, twisting around and coming from all directions. Whiteout conditions if driving, but all in all not too bad. I thought it best to check the south side of the house before truly making my decision.......yes......the snow had arrived.......the driveway was drifted shut, thigh deep, I could not even see the tire tracks that should have been visible from when my husband left for work an hour earlier. The wind blowing, such that I could not tell if it was still snowing or no. I made the very important decision to crawl back beneath my oh-so-very-warm-and-toasty down comforter.

Two hours later, I once again decided to emerge from my downy cocoon, conditions remain the same. Looking to the north and east, one would think we have very little snow, just frigid conditions, and gusting winds. To the south east though, the drifts are deeper, waist high, with the wind I still cannot tell if snow is still falling, though the weatherman tells me it is.

During a short lull in the gale, a flock of barn sparrows landed under the Crab Apple tree, puffed up to twice their size, hurriedly filling their beaks with the small red apples and just as quickly disappearing back into one of the barns. No fear of the multitude of barn cats preying on them today. I am sure they are all snuggled in their warm piles of hay in the loft.

I find it strange, it is 18 degrees Fahrenheit,(-4 Celsius), with the winds it feels like 10. But I have the strongest urge to wrap myself in the warmest of outerwear and venture forth.....to feel the icy wind tear through me, pluck against my clothing, batter against the small amount of exposed skin on my face, chasing away the shadows in my mind, erasing the feeling of dissipation, eroding, smoothing out the imperfections, leaving behind a feeling of cleanliness, an exuberance.

But I only had to rest my gaze upon the few cattle that have decided to brave the weather to find sustenance in a round bale of hay. I decided, nope, not an urge I wish to explore today.

A day to snuggle down with a good book, or books. Wishing I had someone warm and toasty to cuddle up with. Instead I have Mr. Cat, although his purring motor does bring its own sense of warmth.

The views from my bedroom, to the North, and to the East......from these you wouldn't be able to guess that the South side is waist high in snow drifts.