No photo Friday

I have no photo today, though I feel that’s kind of appropriate. I am in the calm before the unknown of the storm ahead. It’s a cliché but one that is true—at least as it pertains to weather. I make no claims for the accuracy of the phrase’s non-weather uses.

This evening’s weather, the storm ahead, like anything that will happen in the future, is an unknown. That’s always a truth, of course, but it seems a bit more pointed on some days than others. At the moment, it looks as though a right blizzard will keep me at my cabin throughout the weekend. The forecast calls for a low end of about a foot of snow and a high end of about two feet of snow. A foot of snow is an amount that can be dealt with. Two feet will be a nuisance. When the snow ends, the wind begins and that may well be the worse part of this storm.

In any event, I am currently in the hours of calm before this storm. I have prepared by assuring I have enough supplies for me and the dogs, cats, wild birds and chickens. The snow shovels stand like sentinels on the front deck. We should all be cozy, if housebound, for a bit.

I am starting to reach an age where I no longer have a joy of shoveling. Many’s the time I’ve shoveled my entire driveway every two hours throughout the night to “keep ahead” of the snow. It’s much easier to shovel 2-3 inches at a time than 15, and I used to take pleasure in how easily and quickly I could clear the snow with what felt like minimal effort. Lately, I’ve found that regimen nearly as tiring as waiting until the storm is over to do anything. Perhaps it’s the lack of sleep, perhaps it’s the extended hours of exertion, I can’t say.

For this storm, especially if the snowfall reaches toward that 2-foot mark, I’ll be happy just to keep a path open to the chickens. After that, we’ll see.

Next blog post: Expect snow pictures!