Finally Some Snow!

I know, I know.  Where, oh where have I been?  I've been here, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  I've been wondering where the winter weather was, because it has been a very mild winter here in Santa Fe.  Because of that, I have been spending a fair amount of time outside, playing with dogs, when not working.  It's nice.  I admit, it has been VERY nice.  But overnight, FINALLY, we got six inches of snow.  It's still snowing a little bit now, though temps are heading up over the course of the next couple of days.  My six plus inches won't likely be around for very long; I'll need to get the boys out in this a couple of times today for some play time.

Here is what it looked like around 7:30 this morning:

Nice!

Winter Weather

I have always been of the mind that there was little point to cold weather if you didn't get snow along with it. This was the frustration for me of living in southern New Jersey in the last few years. We really didn't get any snow. The last snowfall of significance down there I remember pretty clearly. It was our first winter with Fred, and it was an amazing storm. I lost some really large branches from some of the many trees in my yard; others were laying on the ground for days with all of the snow on them. This is Bailey wondering where this snow-covered branch came from.

I mention this because we have a fair amount of snow on the ground right now but we don't have a forecast up here in Willsboro for any significant snowfall for the next ten days. And there are some days in these coming couple of weeks when the daytime temperatures are heading towards 40. In fact, on Saturday when I took the boys out for their last walk it was 41 degrees at midnight. It was downright balmy.

I'm not complaining yet, but I like snow with my cold. I think we might be heading toward the end of the snow for this year. Maybe. Who knows, though. The one good thing about the warmer temps over the weekend is that most of the snow that had accumulated on the roof came tumbling down. That was a good thing.

Snow!

I know that so much of the country finds the snow irksome, to say the least. I was just saying the other day how happy I am with my first winter in upstate New York. I guess a big part of why I like it so much is that I'm not working right now. I get to enjoy all the good things about the snow. First and foremost: Fred is riotously funny when he really gets going out in the back yard. I've shoveled paths throughout the back yard because the first snow we had was pretty substantial and I couldn't imagine how the dogs were going to get anywhere in it. I was especially concerned for Miller, as he is 15 1/2 and not as steady on his feet sometimes as the other boys. But Fred LOVES the paths and he zooms up and down and across the yard and it's so fun to watch. And sometimes he decides he wants to bounce through the high snow, and that's fun to watch, too.

The second thing is that it's just so damned pretty. I'm surrounded by trees in my wonderful yard and we have had small snowfalls in amongst the big storms and there is always new snowfall that just cleans everything up. Very beautiful. I have had no issues keeping up with the shoveling, no thanks to Dana. Dana has definitely not done her part in the shoveling department. And I've got a guy here who comes to plow the driveway and the car area for $25 a shot. That is a bargain, especially compared to what it cost me to get my small driveway plowed in Glassboro. So far this winter I've only had to pay $75 for plowing. In New Jersey, for ONE plowing of my driveway, I paid $175.

So, my day today will be a little reading and a little writing, watching the snow fall and watching the dogs play. And shoveling. And cooking beef stew. It should be a nice day.