Category: Winter

  • November weekends

    So after that snow on Friday, we actually had a decent weekend, and we’ll probably still be in the 60s for the next day or two. Then snow in the forecast the day after that. I guess that’s par for the course in November.

    I was able to get a bunch of trim up on the barn, and finished shingling yesterday (and glad I’m done with that – fiberglass shingles are nasty buggers), so now most of what’s left is getting the doors assembled and hung, then putting the window in (which is still on order, with an ever-later estimated arrival day). Then moving all the split logs that are littering the property to their new home.

    S helped clean up most of the rest of the garden too – she ripped out what was left in the pepper and tomato beds, mercifully putting those plant skeletons to rest. It’s a bummer to not have anything green left in the garden (except those crazy peas), but looking at the freshly turned soil, it conveys a sense of not only the end of this season, but also of new beginnings yet to come. It lets me get my hopes up for next spring, when we’ll start it all over again. And of course, I have big plans for next year. But for now, I’m going to try to go into hibernation as soon as that barn is finished, and take it easy until spring. Just as soon as I finish tiling the shower. And shelves for C’s room. And the shoe molding in the kitchen and foyer.

    No rest for the weary. I do plan on not working at such a frantic pace though, and trying to take time to just live life. Pretty soon I won’t have to worry about capitalizing on a nice day to get yard work done, so we can slow down a bit.

  • First snow

    Well, we knew it was going to happen eventually. In spite of all the hoping and praying we do, it always seems to snow here in northeast Ohio. I guess this is probably about average – I remember a year it didn’t snow until the day after Thanksgiving, and a year it snowed on Halloween, but middle of November is about right.

    We had a good inch when I went out this morning, which I’ll take. I like lots of snow to play in, but unfortunately, most of my winter consists of driving to and from work, and not enough playing in the snow, so I suppose less is better. And of course, it’ll take most people about a month to remember how to drive in it. Sure, you’ve lived here for 30 years, but… “what is this white stuff falling from the sky? I’m scared. Must. Drive. 20 mph.” Or the alternative, “I have an SUV. Snow? What snow? I have 4-wheel drive. I will continue to bob and weave through traffic at a high rate of speed.” And end up in the guard rail a mile down the road, backing things up for the rest of us. Clearly, I don’t harbor any bad feelings toward other drivers. Really.

    There’s always something kind of magical about the first snow. Everything looks so pure and untainted, and the world gets very quiet. Come January, it starts to lose its luster a bit. February, and that magical feeling changes to disgust. By the time we’re in March and April (and if we’re really lucky, May!), it’s usually outright hatred, and we’re looking for some sign, anything, of the spring to come.

    Winter gets kind of a bad rap, but I wouldn’t trade it. Shorten by a month or two? Absolutely. But I like having distinct seasons (not that I’d turn down living year-round on Kauai). It just… fits. Winter is a time for rest and rejuvenation in preparation for the hard work that will come with the next spring and summer. The smell of wood smoke, blankets, warm soups and hot bread, and the sharp, crisp air that you can only experience on a December morning.

    Hunker down and enjoy it. At least until February.