Snowy Days

It began snowing yesterday at around 2:00 pm. It is always exciting for me to see the first snowflakes drift toward earth, and to watch as they accumulate on the rails of my deck. When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was grab a ruler, put on my slippers, and step out onto the deck to measure the snow. Our grand total this morning is 4 inches – just enough, and not too much. Now I am waiting for the sun to get bright enough to head outdoors to try out my new camera for some snowy shots. I hope that the sunshine will melt all of the snow on our steps and off the roads so that we can get out later today.

I remember another big snow- the biggest I’ve ever seen. This one was during the same week as this snow, in 1983. We were living in Winchester, Virginia, and the boys were looking forward to their Valentine’s Day parties at school. The day before the big snow was a beautiful sunny day – ironclad proof that snow was on its way. I spent the next two days either outside walking in the snow and wind or sitting at my kitchen window, gazing out at a storm the likes of nothing I’d ever seen before. By the time it was over, 36 inches of snow were on the ground, and we couldn’t open the storm door at the front of the house. The next several days were spent having fun and shoveling, obviously school snow days with thoughts of Valentine's parties long out-of-mind. With neighbors up the street we built a bobsled run for our sleds, and joined other sledders on the steep steps of John Handley High School for the sled rides of our lives. Of course, we had to shovel the sidewalk in front of our house – a city ordinance demanded this- but I was so enamored at all of the snow, I didn’t mind it at all! I don’t remember how many snow days the kids had, but I do remember still seeing mountains of melting snow in the local parking lots for almost a month before it all melted away.

I am not a winter person. I don’t like layering my clothes, and I don’t like being cold. But there’s something about a snowfall that shoos the summer person away for a little while, and I become a little snowbird. When it gets brighter outdoors, I’ll get my winter boots out that I’ve had since the blizzard of ’83, wrap up, and head out with Diamond to see what we can see. I’ll put a pot of homemade soup on the stove later today, and bake some fresh loaves of bread. For a snowy day, it will be just fine.

Even while admiring the snow, my mind is on tomato and pepper seeds, and counting the days until we can begin planning our summer garden. Phil keeps telling me that it’s still too early to plant my seeds, but in my mind, I am plotting our garden, planning what we’re going to plant. On the first day of March, regardless of the weather, I’ll be downstairs in the shop filling up the potting trays and tenderly planting seeds that we will later transplant outdoors. I’ll also get the graph paper out and line out my rows and label where each vegetable will grow.

It may be a snowy day, but it is also one day closer to springtime!