Blizzard on the Heights

It wasn't a blizzard on an epic scale, no, but it was a more snow in a short period than we're used to getting. I'd stocked up on Friday, heeding the weather warnings, and by late in the afternoon folks were canceling events & trying to leave work and schools early, if they were smart. Only about 3 or 4 inches of new snow covered the frozen couple of inches in my driveway by Friday night, but ohhhhhh Saturday morning was another thing entire! With the way I get crazy drifts, it's difficult to tell perzactly how high it got, but a few dips of the metal yardstick convinced me that it was two feet, more or less.
I had to push the back door open against drifts. The wee dog just looked at me as if I'd lost my mind in expecting him to go out there and Do what Needs to be Done. (And me with no Powdermilk Dog Bisquits, darn.) I shoveled a path for him, but by the time I got past the edge of the house, the 8°F and 30 mph sustained winds suggested to me that I reconsider. The dog took advantage of the path, but with lack of canine conviction. An hour later, everything I'd shoveled was drifted back in again. Listening to all the cancellations of dances and concerts announced on Saturday radio was clue that it wasn't just Siberia On the Heights that the storm had inconvenienced. What gave me pause was when WRUW decided to "end our broadcast day" at the end of Bill Kennedy's Irish show at 1:30 in the afternoon, for the safety of their volunteers. I enjoyed having a fully stocked larder, a couple books to read, plenty of tea, heat, water, and electric, knowing that I wasn't going ANYwhere anytime soon.

Sunday Morning was gorgeously sunny & it felt so peculiar to be sleeping in rather than up and tuning the 'harp for church. The snow smothered landscape was gorgeous, deep, and a challenge to shovel. I hacked out a path for the dog, but didn't last too long and figured I MIGHT be able to get the drive done by Tuesday morning, then a neighbor took pity on me, and had my drive cleared by snowblower. The street hadn't been plowed till Sunday, though the driveway plow guys had been busy. I'd watched the guy doing the drive next door with more enthusiasm than skill, after I heard the first BAM!!! of plow hitting the stone edging to their drive. Not learning his lesson, he scraped the snow down, then back toward their lawn with another BAM!! At that point, I figured he'd demolished part of the two steps & wingwall bit of masonry by their sidewalk. The thaw has shown this to be the case: He uprooted a 16 inch boulder and bits of brick from the wingwall are peeping out of the snowbank that is filthy with the turf and topsoil he scraped off my treelawn. It's going to be ugly, but I'm still ready for a full thaw. Meanwhile, what a lovely difference a week makes:
Saturday, March 8th:

Saturday, March 15th:

Neither snow, nor wind, nor savage wind chill...

It has to be fairly horrid weather to keep me from a chance to make music close to home. The large conglomerate dance band I play in was providing the music for a "father-daughter" dance at a posh private girls' school just a few blocks from me on Sunday afternoon. The morning sunshine gave lie to the wicked wind and bone chilling temperatures, but I'd survived the trip to church, played well there, so eh, what the heck, I packed up the dance music, the instrument and acoutrements and off I went.

The gym where the dance was held was warmer than the outside, but quite cold as places to sit and make music go, and every time the door opened, the strong wind blew more chill in the room. The band was positioned hard by the outer door. Charming theme decorations were designed to make this a "hoe-down" sort of event; bales of hay, corral signs, western landscape mural, cowboy/girl hats and bandanas for the dancers. Those of us who looked appropriately "country" at the core soon spoiled the effect by wearing our outerwear & looking like we'd been imported from Alaska rather than out on the prairie. Hammer dulcimer, fiddle & autoharp players bundled up against the chill, all hoping our instruments would hold in tune through the temperature fluctuation. I'd never seen an upright bass player wearing gloves while playing (though he said it was to protect blistered fingers rather than from the cold)

It was a charming sight, the dancing. The wee girls were 1-4th grade, and some were even taller than waist height on their fathers. There were a couple dozen of us playing in the band, and perhaps a couple hundred in the dance. One door of my car wasn't frozen shut by the end of the dance & I seriously regretted leaving my mittens in the car. I navigated my way home with frost on the windows that didn't have time to melt before pulling into my garage. Temperatures are in the single digits tonight, and it looks like most grade & high schools in the area (including the place we played the dance) are closed Monday due to the weather. My studio windows are iced over. I think it's time for a "hibernation day" for Monday.The last cup of Twinnings Lemon Spiced tea in the pot has cooled to lukewarm.