A Winter to Remember

A long, long time ago (or so it seems) we had winters that started in October and ended around April Fool’s Day. With LOTS of snow. Living 20 miles or so from Lake Ontario almost always guarantees that.

But lately, that hasn’t been so. Call it global warming if you will. Last winter we had barely enough snow to say so. In February there was no snow at all and we were able to have our new fence installed in the back yard. This year started out a little warmer than usual. We had a 60+ degree day in late December.

But then came January. And it has snowed ever since. Every day in February and most days in January. And we folks here in lake-effect country are SICK. OF. SNOW. Earlier this week we had a day with every kind of precipitation you might imagine: rain, sleet, snow, freezing rain, grapple (look it up!) And high winds. And temps near zero.

“Well, move if you don’t like it!” you say.

I know, I know… but really, I love it here. I lived in Texas for five years when I was younger and I wouldn’t trade a snowstorm for a tornado any day. California might be warm and beautiful, but wildfires?

Nope. I’ll stay right here, put another log on the fire, and cuddle with my honey. When spring comes at last with early flowers and new green leaves, we will appreciate it all the more. And fall? You haven’t lived until you’ve seen the October colors in the Adirondacks. Oranges! Reds! Yellows! Purples! Aside from New England there are few places you will see such stunning fall colors.

So far, Syracuse has officially had just under 100 inches of snow. And north of us? Well, let’s say they won’t be digging out for a long time. In Palermo, a small town not too far from Oswego, they had 8 feet of snow in 8 days, and another four feet expected today (as I write this, it’s Wednesday, Feb. 19). Another small town a little further north, Copenhagen, has had over 300 inches of snow so far. You can’t fathom that if you haven’t seen it. But imagine a highway so overtaken by snowbanks that you can see only the tops of the tractor trailers as they pass by. You might get an idea from the image at the beginning of this post (taken a few miles north of Rome, NY): the guy in the photo is around six feet tall!

In the meantime, I’ll be right here, working on my latest novel, Nostalgia. Here’s to comfy winter mornings, (*raises a cup of hot coffee*) and see you come spring.