…Nature never did betray
The heart that loved her…
~William Wordsworth
It’s my second snow day
here in Virginia. On Friday, my university in DC was closed predicting it was
going to get bad throughout the day. By 10 am, the snow was coming down
steadily. By Sunday morning, we had about 18 inches of snow. It’s hard to
measure really because of the snow drifts. On the side of my house, the snow
was up to my waste.
For many of you, 18
inches of snow is a big ol’ shrug but for me and my fellow Virginians it’s a
big deal. Our roads and houses aren’t built for this kind of weather. In fact,
a few years back my pipes burst when we had a cold spell. Even dripping my faucets
at night was no match for Mother Nature and a poorly insulated home. Needless
to say, the area where the pipes burst is one of the first places I shoveled. I
do not want a flooded house ever again!
We don’t have the
equipment or supplies to respond to such conditions. Three inches is about all
we can handle before freaking out as a region.
The snow plow just came
through about five minutes ago and even he got stuck. Fortunately, my fella and
I have been shoveling since Friday. Even though the heavy snow continued to
cover up our work, we knew that it would pay off in the end (e.g. less snow to
shovel all at once). Many of my neighbors don’t have snow shovels. Some used
buckets, Tupperware containers, and one guy just walked around kicking the
snow! Um, yeah, that will teach it.
 |
| The wedding pumpkin patch is in the backyard |
For my university, the
power went out in the dorms. For about 30 hours, the students were without heat
and electricity. They were moved to other locations. I emailed with some of my
students and they seemed in good spirits about it. This is what happens during
a blizzard.
 |
| Making a snow angel |
Don’t let the pictures
fool you… I shoveled the walkway and a good amount around the cars. My fella to do it all :D We only
have one snow shovel which is a good thing because we have to take breaks. We
did get out a garden shovel to break the ice. The front yard is a bit of a challenge because the sun doesn't shine in the very front. In fact, the sun never hits our front door except during one month of year. 
Wow. It's lots of snow. I hope everything is working by now. The plow has been driving back and forth outside today here as well.
ReplyDeleteAll that shoveling is exhausting! Take care of yourself! Thanks for letting us snoop in your beautiful snowy winter garden :)
ReplyDeleteHehehe .. I love the snow accumulation photos with the pumpkin! :) I was watching you post them on FB and was pretty jealous of how much snow you were getting ... until it hit us a couple of hours later. *SHUDDER* Two feet by us, though places on Staten Island had 38 inches, which was the most in NYC!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're off from work! Give campus and PT time to plow out. We had a late start, but things around here aren't all plowed. It was pretty dangerous walking to campus because folks didn't shovel yet and I had to walk along the main, busy street. BLAH!
Sending you warm, wooly hugs and lots of smooches, my pal!
I love the little island around your cars, in contrast to the unplowed road beside it. (Spell-check is trying to tell me that "unplowed" isn't a real word ... I challenge that.) It took us a few hours to shovel out and snow-blow our big driveway. Not too bad, and it was really great to enjoy an active, sunny day in January. Paying for it a bit today, though, with sore shoulders.
ReplyDeleteOmg, so lovely! <33
ReplyDeleteOh my. That IS a lot of snow.
ReplyDeleteThe snow angels look fun although worrying about the pipes bursting is never good! Probably something that would happen around here since it never snows! Glad you are well!
ReplyDelete