The Big Snow, Er, Mess

I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of a lot of snow and ice. Why? Well, for one thing if it is bad enough I will get the day off work and still get paid. For another thing, I could stay home and sleep and clean. And for another thing, I would have an excuse to skip class.

Truthfully, I just like snow. There is nothing like the sight of fresh, clean snow resting undisturbed over the countryside. It's beautiful. It's prettier than a diamond. After a few cars have driven in the snow and turned it grey, or a few people have made footprints it's not the same. I hate to see dirty, disturbed snow. Even as a kid I never liked walking out and adding my footprints to the mess that destroyed all that beauty. Sledding is tons of fun as is making snow angels. But it is a pity that both these activities disrupt such brilliance. Ah well, that's the price you pay for liking to look at the snow as much as you like to play in it.

As for ice, it's been so long since I've seen a good ice storm. I would say about four years. We had one while I was in college. It was so bad the trees were dropping limbs and exploding. The sap froze and expanded, you know. My school cancelled classes for two days. It was great, except for a few minor power outages. When I was a little kid we had a marvelous ice storm once. I remember trying to walk up a hill and being unable to take a step without kicking my way through the ice. The ice covered the snow in this instance and the snow was more than knee deep to my 10 year old self. I had to stomp really hard to get my foot through the ice. I proceeded up the hill with slow progress. When I reached the top I kind of slipped -- partly on purpose. I landed on my tummy and slid all the way back down the hill like that. No sled! It was too much fun. But I was supposed to be working (gathering sap from the maple trees) so I had to haul myself back up that hill. Luckily, I was able to use my footprints left there by my previous attempted climb.

Snow and ice are tons of fun when you do not know how to drive! Here I sit, peeking out the window, waiting for the snow to start. Oops, I forgot something at the store . . .