Friday, January 20, 2012

It's a white world -----

BRRR-

White everywhere. Trees cloaked in white robes; street, patio, dog run all buried in another four to five inches. Small annoying storms that make it hard to keep up with the cleaning up.

Ground crew came beeping around early; shovelers arrived a little later to do door ways and hydrants. Of course, they followed up with buckets of sand liberally mixed with a brand of rock salt that came straight from Siberia and never made it through the grinding process. Chunks as big as the Hope Diamond.

Jenny the next door collie came to visit. Nick, eager to play, did some fancy footwork and scared her off. Then he barked to get her back but she was having none of his nonsense. She is a B-I-G dog. Her keeper tells me she has lost 40 pounds since she came just before the holidays. The dog, that is, not the keeper.

Prediction: more snow Saturday during the day. Not quite ready to call foul yet, but I would be happier with one good storm which everyone expects to deal with, then these pesky every-other-day showers.

Don't blame the weatherman. He just lives in his little cubby hole reading his isobars and dreaming of a really spectacular event. Go, Joe Cupo!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Winrter has come

We are midway through January 2012 and winter has come to Maine at last.
In the form of snow and various outher precips depending on where you are, and deep cold descended from across the country. Although, as we are really about as far north as you can go in the contiguous states, I suppose it didn't descend, simply pushed.

Today the sun rose brightly, sparkling over the ocean which was gloriously blue, making blue shadows on the snow as it crossed from east to west and went down with a lovely warm red.
But the temperatures, in spite of the sun, did not get out of the low teens in the Scarborough area. I made a short trip to the Maine Veterans' Home, as I do every Sunday, and then to the grocery store for a fresh salad, and dog food, and it was bitterly cold just going from my car to the buildings and back to the car. I put on a coat. Now you might think that an odd note, but I do not wear a coat much of the time. I carry one in my car - just in case I have to get out - but seldom wear it. Today I got out my heavy wool topcoat and was glad for it. Tomorrow I may hunt up a scarf if the temperature stays low.

There is a pond - I have been told it is an acre in size - which is part of our community property. All winter it has been open and frequently there have been ducks and geese resting in it. Today it is frozen solid for the first time. Because of insurance issues, no one uses it , but it looks like it would be a perfect place for a leisurely skate; no hockey allowed!

I heard a crow this morning which was hoarse. His gravelly caw had me looking to see if I could see him; I could not. But he sounded really distressed. Poor crow.

As I looked out tonight I saw that the snow has a hard glistening crust. When I was young my mother and I used to walk to my grandmothers across a pasture land which had such a hard deep crust, we could walk on it without sinking in. Good thing, that, because there was at least 18 inches of snow under the crust. The area beside my bedroom looks like it is covered with boiled frosting. Ummmm.

Maine is deep in winter. The turkeys are deep in the woods. The foxes are in their dens. Not even the squirrels came out today.

Tomorrow will be another day for most of us.

jmajor2@maine.rr.com