Let it snow, Let it snow!

I've made it safely home despite a white knuckle drive from Los Anchorage after my two conferences and a brief bout of not-quite-the-flu. I was not too keen on the snow when driving home. It is always a little scary when you only know where the side of the road is when you drive over the rumble strip. It makes one thankful for rumble strips in a way that one normally is not. Perhaps it wasn't too good of an idea to listen to an audio book that involved a guy deciding to cut off his arm to escape from a canyon (Aaron Ralston). I was as relieved to skid into my drive as the Disreputables and my love were. I was wired for half the night on adrenaline.

Now however, big fat fluffy flakes and snow piled higher then my knees, slush rushing down the increasingly constricted river, and lots of white stuff just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love snow. I really do. Ask anyone who went to undergrad with me where there was no snow. I love snow, I love winter. Tomorrow the skis are coming out!

Living in a Snow Globe

Bald Eagle on old pier posts

I love this weather. It's like living in a real snow globe. Fat, luscious snow flakes whirling around and falling so fast they coat your eyelashes and clothing in seconds, the sea a quiet slate of dark gray. Every grumpy or cranky thought I've had this week flies out of my head in this kind of weather. I'm going to have to shovel the neighbor's boat in the harbor tonight. It will be fun. The Disreputable Dog and I will take our evening walk there tonight. I love walking in this kind of weather too - every noise is muted like it's under a blanket. Every surface is softened. The smells seem muted to my nose too but I know they're not really because the Disreputable Dog is really enjoying all the smells dug up by the snow plows and I am enjoying seeing the animal tracks that he finds by smell and that I normally can't see. I love winter! And this last Sunday we got out for our first ski of the season! Yay!

The Disreputable Dog loves it too. Look at that smile!

First Snow

It is snowing out....

Termination Dust

Yesterday morning there was termination dust or the first powder of snow on the mountains. Last night the wind kicked into high gear and this morning I curled under my blankets listening to things blowing by, pieces of roofing, unsecured garbage cans, the rose bush clippings that my neighbor had been intending to burn. High thrashing winds set the perfect mood for the Disreputable Cat to go crazy and race around the house as the Disreputable Dog looked on tolerantly, but rather like an old man shaking his head about what youngsters get up to these days, and me laughingly. All of the leaves have been shaken down from the trees overnight. The wind has changed directions; in the summer our weather comes from the south, in the winter from the north, and this was a north wind.

A Bald Eagle hangs out during a January snowstorm

The thing is, I love wind, I love rain, I love snow. But what I don't like is when it all combines together. It is typical here for it to snow 4-5 feet and then immediately start to rain in similar amounts. This results in the snow clogging the city drains which results in sheets of ice so thick that, I kid you not, I have seen people ice skate down the streets & sidewalks. On top of the ice then, you have a good foot of water which makes any slide on the ice twice as likely and ignominious; not only do you go down on your ass but you also fall into a puddle of icy water that soaks you from head to toe. Add to this 40-50 mile per hour winds and the whole town becomes an ice rink (and on a bicycle I am a sail trying to push against the wind & trying to not get blown into the bay). Last year I wore through 4 pairs of ice grippers and a couple of pairs of knee pads from falling off my bike - there's that moment when you know you're going down and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. This year I am investing in studded bike tires....and I've already stocked up on new ice cleats which will be worn over my XtraTuffs (variously known, depending on your locale, as rain boots, barn boots, wellies, etc).