Still Winter

After weeks of warm (40's) sunny days, it looks like we're going to get one last taste of real winter here in the inland northwest.  They are forecasting three to seven inches of snow tonight, a modest amount but enough to make everything pretty again. 

Mornings after a snowstorm have to be my favorite.  The ground is white, the sidewalks are nearly indistinguishable from the ground, and the whole City tends to take on a hushed overtone that I love.  Even the constant stream of traffic along the roadway next to our home is quieter for it, and I revel in that.

The first few winters we lived here were extreme - up to six feet piled up and berms so high I had to climb them to shovel the tops off to make room for more snow from the sidewalk.  I just couldn't throw the snow high enough anymore.  After the second such winter, I broke down and bought "the machine," my oversized and growling snowblower.  The machine breaks through even the thickest plow crud and makes a snowstorm an event to look forward to once again.  That, and the huge store of firewood we have at the moment, makes tonight's storm seem like the best thing to lift our winter spirits.

That being said, the alpacas are sure to be upset that their tender shoots of grass will soon be buried again.  Ah well.  We can't all be happy all of the time.