Quick, Quick... Write it Quick. Before the Power Goes Out Again

Last night we returned home after nearly a week away to find our world completely altered. In a climate where we seldom see substantial amounts of snow before January or February and sometimes not even then, a huge snowfall combined with a serious bite of cold is just freakish. Especially since we could barely get up our driveway and, since we got home, the power has been snapping on and off with the precision of a firefly. (Actually a good thing: just when we start worrying that things in our freezer will begin to thaw, we get a few hours of electricity and a reprieve. Hmmm, another freakish thing. Worrying about thaw during a snowstorm.)

And now, after a couple of months of bizarre rainfall followed by this amazing crescendo of cold and snow, it’s difficult to believe it’s just been four months since we were concerned with water shortages and even fire.

The photo included here is what brought the weirdness of the weather home to me. Today while we were walking through this pretty stand of young alder trees near our house, I said to David, “Gosh: everything is so lovely, but I can’t put my finger on it. What is it that’s different?” Other than the snow, of course. The snow was different, but he knew that’s not what I meant.

With his artist’s eye, David spotted it right away. “The leaves,” he said, “they’re green.”

And, as you can see in the photo, the leaves under Kai’s feet are, in fact, perfectly green. These particular leaves were probably a couple of weeks from turning fall colors... and now I guess they’re doomed to never fulfill their cycle. Mother nature had a plan, but cold and snow screwed it up. There’s something there, but I’m too tired to dig for it.

So this isn’t a rant and it’s not even a thoughtful essay on the nature of weird weather or snow where none should be. It’s just that I have a hunch we may at some point lose power again. Before that happens, I thought I’d let you know I’m alive and kicking and even kind of enjoying the blanket of perfect quiet the snow has thrown over the world. More soon.