Blizzard Aftermath

Well, it was HUGE - 50 mph winds for two days, heavy snow that blew away and into drifts higher than my head. 300 power lines down, and power out to the west of us. Think of it - without electricityin the country, there's no power to pump water from the wells, either. So many ranches had not fired up their propane heaters yet this year - and their heaters wouldn't start when the storms came in. Thursday school was cancelled because of the wind and blowing snow; whiteout conditions most everywhere. I could barely see the corral, and not the hill behind it at all. Friday school was cancelled because so many children did not have power, did not have water. And yet - this sort of thing is normal, accepted, something one deals with as best one can. No sense of entitlement here, and no whining - suck it up and figure something out. You'd better, because no one is coming to 'save' you.

Folks will say I'm "lucky" because we bought in town, where the water tank flows no matter what, where the roads get plowed after the storm stops, where the power lines are buried and the power - for the most part - stays on. Lucky because if all else fails, the woodstove will heat and cook for us. Not lucky. Knowledgeable. Knowing what you want - and what you can handle, as well as what you can't - is paramount.

We spent the last two days setting up The Winter Village on the tabletop in front of the bay window. Snow, a town, a skating pond, even a small river over which the train trestle runs. I'm baking cookies for the Veteran's Day celebration; it is at the school but the whole town comes. Getting Tammy's bedroom ready - she is determined to get here as soon as possible. She was supposed to stop in Macon but kept right on after work; made it almost to Nashville last night. So she may be here tonight instead of tomorrow night! Oh to be young and vibrant and strong, and to not feel sore and achy the next day! I remember those days!

My friends are afraid that I won't like this weather, but I truly do. I don't like being afraid of slipping and falling, but I do love a real ripping winter, with snow and icicles and darkness and cold. It is my favorite time of year. I am a "winter person", I love the dark burgundies, greys, greens, blues, and blacks, and sparkling snowy whites and silvers. I love the deep introspection of the long nights, and the brilliant blue glow of the moon sparkling on snow and ice. I love the howling wind and biting ice pellets that sting my face. It makes me feel alive, happy, warm inside when it is cold outside. My only wish right now is that I had a horse that I could saddle and ride comfortably at a slow walk over my hills, punching through the ice-crusted snow, looking at the silent and glistening landscape, and watching the wildlife duck and hide. Ah, well, it will come. All things come.