I Hate Winter And I Hate Snow.....

I didn't even make it to winter and I'm already complaining.

Rick gets off work at 3:15. He was on his way down to pick me up and then we were going home. I get off at 4:00. At 4:30 he called me to say that he was stuck on the hill in traffic. It was ugly. He finally got here at 5:15, only because he was able to reach a side road and get to my building that way.

So we head for home. Only to find out that both the north and south lanes of our major highway were completely closed. Trailer trucks caught halfway up hills, car accidents. Again, trying a back way home. We took a back road, but decided it wasn't too great to try to go over the mountain and tried the main road again.

Both lanes still closed. And there we sat. And sat. The snow was falling steadily and then it started to sleet. Lovely.

We finally made it to our turn-off and hit our back road; the only reason we made it to our road is because people got tired of waiting on the highway and turned out our road, too. We had just enough room behind a truck to hit our road and go home. Made it up the hill with no trouble. And got stuck in the driveway. At that point, we looked at each other and said, "Walk!" We gathered our gear, walked up the driveway, and opened the door to five furious cats whose suppers were very late. And a poor Beast who was crossing her hind legs because she had to pee that badly. It was 7:00. Who knew that it would take that long to drive 7.5 miles?

We ended up with about 11 inches of snow. Would have been more, but it had changed over to sleet and freezing rain. Then it changed back over to snow during the night.

I'm at work. Rick and I got up, shoveled the car out, and came on in. It's not even winter and I'm sick of winter.

I'm one of those annoying people that loves snow. I also love this metaphor for life.

I was thinking about you guys Winchester when I saw the forcast yesterday...I knew you would be muttering some curse words...

I woke to 5 inches of snow here. I left the house at 530 and got to work 630. The dumdums stayed in the right lane but actually drove a reasonable pace. The left lane was complete garbage on the highway. It was snowing when I left. Then when hit Dover it was rain. So it looks like we almost made it to Thanksgiving before snow...normally we get snow on Thanksgiving day or after....I actually like the snow...it gives me a reason to be lazy and no mowing, allergies or weeds. Bad for the cats cause they dont like the snow. Honeybee will go out if it's 40 even in the rain. But not snow. My angel Floey loved the snow. She used to chase snowballs across the deck and just run around in it like a dog. I sure miss my catdog kitty.


Well it will melt next week probably! Probably get 60 degree days so I can ride my bike!

Living here inWNY, snow is no big deal. 6 inches on the road?, we shrug our shoulders and go on about our business. Several years ago, I had to go into work during our Christmas- New Year shutdown. There were no windows in the building, and I got a little concerned when the guy on the radio was telling about all the road closures. I finished my repair job, and when I went to leave, I had to force the door open. The snow was waist deep and still falling. I had to get our front-end loader and dig my truck out of a snow drift, and then plow my way to the street. By the time I drove the 30 miles home, it took me almost 5 hours. By the time the snow stopped, we had gotten almost 7 feet

I hate living on these back roads, it gets so dangerous in the winter. 30 minutes drive to get anywhere and there are stretches of road with no houses or cell service. I can't wait to move back to civilization.

maggiedemi said:

I hate living on these back roads, it gets so dangerous in the winter. 30 minutes drive to get anywhere and there are stretches of road with no houses or cell service. I can't wait to move back to civilization.

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What's this "civilization" you speak of? Here's a view of our place today.

And it's still coming down.

But I'm only here half the time. Tomorrow I'll drive (on the back roads which will hopefully be more cleaned up than they are now) to my apartment in the city.

m3rma1d said:

What's this "civilization" you speak of?

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If I drive 30 minutes to the left I come to a real town, with stores, restaurants, etc. There's nothing out here anymore but a school and a few gas stations.

When I was a kid, living on a farm, we lived way back in a lane- something over 200 yards from the road. About halfway back, a railroad branch line crossed our property. To get to the school bus, we had to walk about a half-mile down the tracks to a road crossing. As our school district didn't close unless the apocalypse came, there were almost no snow days. One year, when I was in the first grade, it was snowing so hard that they actually closed early- but not early enough, and our bus got stuck. By the time we got to our drop off, the snow was up to my chest, so what I did was back up as far as I could, and then fell over backward, packing down the snow for my 8-year old sister. Then, I would repeat the process so we could go a little farther. Then, out of the storm came my 14-year old brother. He picked up my sister and carried her, but I was on my own to follow as best as I could. Such fun we had.

And that is why I love the deep south.

maggiedemi said:

I hate living on these back roads, it gets so dangerous in the winter. 30 minutes drive to get anywhere and there are stretches of road with no houses or cell service. I can't wait to move back to civilization.

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I love living on these back, remote roads with one exception: emergencies. If there's a serious emergency, getting help or getting TO help is a really, really bad problem.
We also have no daily commute, all our work is right here, so that helps quite a bit. HAVING to drive to or from work in weather like weather we get would make me pack my bags and move to Tahiti.
What I hate is the butt numbing cold that arrives when things outside need to be done. Give me a foot of snow over temperatures that are so cold the outside thermometer breaks. I'm trying to work and unload supplies, and my hands go numb. (Hot Hands packets REALLY help.)
But when the stray penguin you're feeding says "forget this weather" and calls a cab to escape to sunny, balmy Antarctica, you know you're ready for spring.

Honestly that's another thing I loved about today's blizzard, it was in the mid 20s instead of the mid teens that it was the past coupla days. Sweet, balmy mid-20s, ahhhh

Yeah, I'd rather have snow than 2 weeks of 20 below zero dry weather: when it's that cold you can't go outside without being entirely covered, my bathroom pipes froze, nobody's car wants to start, etc. Even if there's a lot of snow, at least you can eventually push it somewhere else and ignore it until spring, lol.

blueyedgirl5946 said:

And that is why I love the deep south.

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Me too. We moved to Illinois from Atlanta in 1977, and the '77-'78 and '78-'79 winters were the worst you can imagine. One of those winters we had three feet of snow out in the yard. The whole Chicago area was completely sold out of snowblowers. People put flags on their car antennas so people could seem them above the snowbanks, which were over 6' tall.

This winter reminds me a lot of those days. It started just like it is now, with snow before Thanksgiving. Those winters we had snow on the ground from Thanksgiving to Easter.

Winchester - I feel for you. I had the same experience in a Valentine's Day blizzard some years ago. I left the car stuck in the driveway and didn't go to work the next day.

DreamerRose said:

Me too. We moved to Illinois from Atlanta in 1977, and the '77-'78 and '78-'79 winters were the worst you can imagine. One of those winters we had three feet of snow out in the yard. The whole Chicago area was completely sold out of snowblowers. People put flags on their car antennas so people could seem them above the snowbanks, which were over 6' tall.

This winter reminds me a lot of those days. It started just like it is now, with snow before Thanksgiving. Those winters we had snow on the ground from Thanksgiving to Easter.

Winchester - I feel for you. I had the same experience in a Valentine's Day blizzard some years ago. I left the car stuck in the driveway and didn't go to work the next day.

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I have some friends that were in your area during the famous "Blizzard of '78" and it sounded fun, if you were a pioneer or under the age of 5. For a day or so. That was a doozy.
It's an hour long so if you pass it by I understand but this was one heck of a storm.
PS: No, I'm not THAT old, to remember this one.

I was in utero during the blizzard of 78. 2nd trimester. A magical flake might have entered Ma's (and thus my own) bloodstream somehow, making me love snow. Yep, that's gotta be the explanation!

"The Blizzard of '78" ? Which one was that?

Actually, I remember 1949. The snow was deep enough then in Virginia for me to make tunnels in the snow under the top crust. I loved it.

m3rma1d said:

I was in utero during the blizzard of 78. 2nd trimester. A magical flake might have entered Ma's (and thus my own) bloodstream somehow, making me love snow. Yep, that's gotta be the explanation!

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My parents always liked snow (most of the time) and encouraged us to play in it and accept it as a part of life. My siblings taught me to build forts and have snowball fights and all that stuff. The first snowfall when I was a kid was ALWAYS magic, we'd bust down the door the minute flakes started falling and run around. When the first snow was forecast it was like someone injected our house with adrenaline, we'd be unstoppable and crazed until some snow finally fell then there was an outlet for it.
I only get really mad if I have a plan to be on the road most of the day and wake up to a new 6 or so inches of snow on the ground, with no end in sight. Then I get irritated. And usually find an excuse to postpone my plans, then I'm not mad anymore.
Anytime we have little kids around I love making snow fun for them, especially around Christmas time. I'm pretty much convinced most toddlers and small children I know think I'm a total dork, and they're right...but they join in the fun.

DreamerRose said:

"The Blizzard of '78" ? Which one was that?

Actually, I remember 1949. The snow was deep enough then in Virginia for me to make tunnels in the snow under the top crust. I loved it.

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The one I know of hit the Great Lakes/midwest area in '78 and took on a hurricane-like pattern. Our friends lived in Northern Ohio and according to them, it just stalled out and kind of "spun" in a weather pattern like a hurricane does, rather than move along like a normal weather pattern moves. It just hung over them and kept spinning like some weather cloud that was emotionally attached to the area and refused to move it along. It was crazy.
People were out of power for days, snow up to the roofs on two story homes, people walking to stores to find supplies, etc. I think the Northeast got slammed too.
Oh, do I even need to mention the amazing nature of thunder snow? Being in a near blizzard, seeing a flash of lightning and then a huge clap of thunder is one of those things that makes you appreciate how weird and wonderful Nature can be.

Oh, yes. That must be the time we shoveled the roof. The shoveled snow completely covered the family room windows.

DreamerRose said:

Oh, yes. That must be the time we shoveled the roof. The shoveled snow completely covered the family room windows.

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Back in the Land Before Time emails didn't exist, and we later got a letter with a picture from our friends hanging out on a snowdrift that almost covered their second floor windows!
I consider snow the same way I consider bodies of water. I love snow, I love big bodies of water, I enjoy them both....but damn, I respect them both, and their power and ability to paralyze humans and civilization in a moments notice.