th' snow....ye gods...th' snowwww...

Jesu, the sun is shining for the first time in days, but the windchill factor is playing havoc with our balmy 26.6 F temperature. I went out a bit ago and shovelled the steps and short walkway to the driveway. Only outside about 10 minutes but chilled to the marrow for me efforts. Kubota Fats (our snowplow angel) has been and gone already. Bless his rotund self, he's doing a great job of keeping mobility a viable factor here. I must slip him a tenner or something before this storm is over. Gawd knows his invaluable services are part of our rental agreement, but a little tipping can't hurt. I gave him a fine pair of Thinsulate gloves last year, but I bet cash might be as appropriate in today's economy. I know his health issues make a liquid gratuity useless to him.

Himself called awhile ago from his workplace. Yesterday, or during the night an awning on one of the outbuildings collapsed, effectively blocking the two doors to the room. Luckily no one was actually in the building at the time. He said there was talk of having to go up on the roof of the main facility to shovel snow off, but he said there is actually no place to PUT the snow, so I don't know how that will work out. I'm sure I'll hear about it ad nauseum if it involves any labor on his part; I always do.

Last night on the 11:00 p.m. news I heard that the freeway over Lookout Pass into Montana was blocked after an avalanche, that trapped a snowplow. This really upset me, not only because I have a morbid fear of snow, but the thought being smothered by snow is just terrifying. It's got to be the most horrid way to die. Freezing to death doesn't bother me...I hate cold, but to be breathless is more horrifying. Anyway, there was no followup to the story evident on any news this morning, so it must have worked out okay. Perhaps by trapped they just meant that the plowman just couldn't get past the snow that slid off the mountain. I do hope he's safe and uninjured.

* On tonight's news it was reported that the snow plow driver was able to get clear on his own, and is fine.

This onslaught of snow storms already has people referring to it as the blizzard of the century. The last storm that even came close to being similar in depth of precip or cold in my memory was the storm of 1996, which was little more few uncomfortably cold days, and a 14-hour power outage. This current storm is like a malevolent spirit. It attacks, subsides, and attacks again in waves, relentless as labor pains. Weather guy says the storms will keep coming until the end of the week, predicts another foot of snow to accumulate atop what we already have. In the last 24 hours we got about 13 inches of snow, compared to 24 inches in Spokane; last night after the wind picked up a bit, we got another 6 inches, during the night.

I was gobsmacked to wake up and see sunshine at 9 a.m. this morning. The cloud cover during all this kept it relatively warm here, with temps hovering about 34 F, but now it just feels bitter out. I'm truly amazed that we haven't lost power like so many others across Washington and North Idaho. We certainly expected to; it seems a bird on a wire is enough to trigger major blackouts in this area. But...so far, so good...thank ya Mother Nature. If the lights go out...so will we. There's no survival in a mobile home without power.

Happily I'm not as depressed as the past few days. A little sunshine really does go a long way with me. Besides, I received a terrific gift from my artist friend Fran Martin in England today. An original painting of a fine Irish cottage, with a duck and a chook and a wheelbarrow in the yard; lovely pungent turf smoke billows from the chimney into a pastel mauve sky. I will someday very soon be looking for an absolutely perfect frame for my gift.