Indian Winter

I have been been very neglectful of this blog.  A whole month plus a day since I last posted.  Well, I do have a bona fide excuse.  We have had a break from winter--a kind of Indian winter.  

You know how we call that last lovely bit of summer, after a frost and the hint of autumn around the corner, "Indian summer"?  We have had such a miserable winter, here on the East Coast of the U.S., that we decided we needed a sunshine filled break.  As it happens, our son and daughter-in-law live in San Diego.  PERFECT!  Just the place to go to catch a break from winter blahs and yet one more snow storm.

Part of our time in southern California was spent going to Indian Wells (see--I had another reason for the title of this blog).  There is a major tennis tournament played there early each year.  It is a place where big name players can be seen, especially in the early rounds of play.  

We saw Roger Federer...

...and Maria Sharapova.

The desert air is clear with very little humidity.  The sun was shining brightly--a perfect antidote to our frozen eastern bodies.

There is always the Pacific Ocean--with waves crashing and pounding.  Just the sound of the ocean is enough to restore us.

Of course, the real treat (for me at least) is watching yet another lovely sunset over the Pacific.

We flew back to central Pennsylvania, completely rejuvenated...and ready for the next snow storm.  (Not really, but we have to be prepared.)  

Welcome Winter! (or How I spent Valentine's Day)

My oh my, but winter has arrived. I am one of those folks who genuinely likes cold weather, but with the storm that blew through the northeast over the last several days, I may have to change my preference.

(I took this photo out of a window this morning, then saw Cathy's wonderful icicle shot.)

I mean, when I said I like winter, I didn't mean WINTER. And that's what we got with this storm. I know, I know--all the folks in upstate New York would trade for our piddling snow piles. Or folks in Manitoba might say--you call that snow? Sigh.





We had snow, then sleet, then rain, then snow. The result was a leaden soggy heavy icy mess. Yesterday, my husband and I cleared out the driveway and sidewalks. We are good township citizens and try to honor the 24-hour clear sidewalks rule.

Ten years ago, we bought a new snow blower. It is to regular snow blowers what Tyrannosaurus Rex was to regular dinosaurs. It is a behemoth.

It all started this way. A bit more than ten years ago, our son and his fiancee were living in Troy, NY. When they decided to move to Pittsburgh, they asked for our help, which consisted of my husband helping them to move, and me staying here and caring for pets--theirs and ours. Right about this time there was a ridiculous snow storm which dumped about 4 feet of snow on central PA. To avoid the snow, my husband took a most unusual route to get from Troy to Pittsburgh--basically, he traveled to Buffalo, then headed south! Who would think that the Buffalo route would be the one to avoid snow.

Anyway, I was staying at our house, watching the snow pile up. We had a snow blower, but when it came to blowing snow 4 feet plus to get over the existing snow banks, well, it just couldn't do it. That's where behemoth blower comes in. Right after that storm, we purchased the new blower which could clear 4 feet easily. And, of course, global warming set in, and we have barely had to use it in 10 years, so it sat in the back of the garage waiting.

Until yesterday. Yesterday, my husband dressed warmly, even breaking out new boots (!) and headed out. He started up the behemoth -- oops, blower -- without too much trouble. And then the moment of truth. It was like trying to snow blow a frozen pond. Because the last part of the storm was rain it had mostly sealed the top layer. So, I went in front of him with an edger chopping up the hard crust so the teeth of the snow blower could dig in. Well, we won. But only after over-doing our muscles and exhausting ourselves.

I had a passing thought about women in Africa who I have seen beating corn maize in a large mortar and pestel arrangement. And that's how I felt chopping up the snow.

Ah--Valentine's Day, when two people who love each other and have been together for a long time, want only to spend time together and . . . clear the driveway!

Midnight Snow

Yesterday afternoon, I watched the sky as dusk approached. I was hoping for a lovely sunset, given the prolific clouds. So, I took this "before" shot hoping the "after" would be spectacular. Well, the clouds kept gathering and the sunset went pfffftttt! But the late afternoon light was great to see.

It finally feels as though winter has arrived. About time--it is January, after all.

But it wasn't until the middle of the night that I could really revel in winter. Our dog is on prednisone--our vet has determined that she has a low platelet count due to Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia. The cause of this disease is unknown, the effect is that she can begin to bleed and not stop, and the treatment is sufficiently high enough doses of prednisone to get her body to stop destroying its own platelets. ANYWAY--the medication causes her to be ravenously thirsty (and hungry). So she drinks alot, and wants to eat as much as we will feed her. You guessed it--what goes in must come out. That means getting up in the middle of the night to let her out.

Last night, I climbed out of bed, put on my long down-filled coat, and took her out. Wonder of wonders, it was snowing lightly. In the dead of night, swirling snow is a wondrous sight. And, given the dark, it is not really photographable (is that a word?) but utterly beautiful. Despite the cold, I stood watching the snow for a while.

Then, of course, I went back inside with the dog. As I snuggled under the covers, warmed up a bit, I kept seeing lovely fluffy snowflakes in my mind's eye. Midnight snow!