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Friday, February 19, 2021

Covid Journal, Day 337: Wintering On

23 this morning, with new snow that fell overnight of about .5-1". Around 9am frozen rain fell for afew minutes, then stopped. Much colder temperatures expected tonight.

Weather continues to be the main topic of conversation around here. Our county is under a state of emergency, and apparently some areas were much harder hit by the ice storm than we were. Several friends report that their power is likely to be off until Monday or later. There are two power companies serving our county, and this time we were fortunate to be in the region covered by the smaller of the two, and to not have as much ice damage as I see in my friends' photos. One neighbor had trees fall on his house, damaging a small area of the roof and taking off the siding and doing other damage to one side of his house. What a time to have any area of your house exposed to the weather. 

Yesterday was another day of oddities. It was snowing in the morning, and then in the afternoon became very foggy as apparently there was some thawing going on, even though the temperature never got about 32 and the sun never showed its face at all. It must have been treacherous to travel for sure in such conditions. There is quite a layer of ice under all the snow--actually it's ice, then a layer of snow, then more ice, then snow, etc. It will be quite a mess when the thaw comes. I am hoping for a gradual thawing out so that it won't be quite so bad.

Larry got the tractor out and scraped the driveway, just enough to take it down to where the van won't drag. Our all-wheel-drive goes amazingly well in this stuff, never spins a wheel. Considering where we live, and the years of difficulty getting in and out of here, it's just a miracle to have this van. The old one did just as well, and I still marvel at their ability to go in such conditions. The state roads people have plowed our road, so if we should need to go out, we can, but so far we've had no need. 

A few more snowy pictures. I guess my February blog will look all black and white this year, if this stuff keeps up. 

This is the fog I mentioned above. So pretty, if you don't have to drive anwhere.


The huge maple that is too close to the house has lost many branches, including a few more last evening. As soon as the weather clears up, we will have to cut down this old friend. It breaks my heart. I grew it from a tiny stick, and now it towers about 80 feet tall and provides the most wonderful shade. But it is a danger, as this ice storm has reminded us. We planned to cut it last fall, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Now I'm sorry for that hesitancy.


These two large fir trees were our live Christmas trees about 35 years ago. Now they are splendidly beautiful in all seasons, but especially in the snow. They have only just had cones in the past 5 years, and they provide shelter for so many birds and other critters--like marauding rabbits that hide under them and raid our garden. Shades of Peter Rabbit, right? 


I took this through the window and the screen so it's hazy, but there is something about these birds, sitting on snow with ice dripping below them, and off the bird feeder as well, that just seems so optimistic. Who are we to complain, when these little beings survive in such conditions?


There is also optimism on the virus front too, as more and more people are getting vaccinated and the rate of infection continues to go down. 

And then there is the good soup I will make today--lentil, I think. Yet another reason to feel happy and thankful. I admit that I really don't mind the weather and being snowbound; winter has always been one of my favorite months. I know that many don't share that sentiment, and I do feel for those who just endure it and anticipate its end. For us, it's a time to just have some simple days of simple pleasures, and to catch up with some parts of our life that get neglected in warmer weather. So, much to be thankful for, and much to look forward to. Like that soup. I'd better get back in the kitchen, hadn't I?

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

2 comments:

  1. I love the photo of the fir tree with all the snow. It is absolutely beautiful to see and look at. Too bad about the maple tree. I can understand the hesitancy, I would hate to see it cut down but I would hate it even more if it fell and did some damage. Hope your weather improves, at least all we get is rain here. Take care and have a good weekend.

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  2. Today I've decided to comment on as many blogs as I can...I often just breeze through reading them, and forget there's another person on the other side of this. Thanks so much for telling about your neighborhood, and your trees and birds. I had to laugh about Peter Rabbit...who else would think of his family enjoying your garden at this time of year!

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