It is just as bitter cold here as those of you not here have been told it is. With our first snowfall in late October, this winter already feels like several years' duration. In December there were giant frost swirls all over the porch glass, and outside the absolutely white snow showed snarled traces of deer circles. The snow was well over a foot deep, and Brian waged a heroic battle keeping up with the necessary shoveling. Over one weekend there was a four-hour period when I saw three bouts of shovelling; as the coward who stayed inside I am impressed with Brian's tenacity and capacity! When the temperature rose all the way to 20, though, I did suit up and walk the usual half hour, on mostly passable roads with just a few icy patches. We are telling each other how lucky we are to have power (and a backup generator, which makes my winter cold fears somewhat lesser)as hundreds of thousands of houses in all directions from ours were not so lucky. Looking out at the white expanse extending everywhere, I'm glad we don't have to go anywhere on a regular basis.
The night of Brian's art reception in NYC was the worst ice storm in years - we made it in, but had taken overnight bags just in case. When the few and the brave actually showed up that night, including our ABR pals Daniel and Tim, who live about an hour north of our house, we were able to confirm that going home was not an option. They were staying with family in New Jersey, and as they arrived several hours after we did, made it clear that no one was going back on our country roads that night. In spite of the horrible weather, we managed to have a good time, as Daniel bought a couple of paintings (another reason to love the dog people), and Hyla arrived with Lisa and Josh, quite literally stealing the show. I walked around the entire show, all 36 paintings, telling her about each one - and she seemed to listen! After the tour, Brian entertained her by crawling around with her on the floor, while the few other folks that arrived admired her motor skills and bright smile. We stayed that night at the home of Brian's kindergarten friend Sanford's, and just in case I needed confirmation, got real life experience proving I am way too old to crash on a couch any more. Driving back the next day was surprisingly easy, as the ice storm, having done pretty heavy damage all around us, was quickly melting away in an unseasonable heat wave. When we got home, we were relieved to see our house had not lost power - I think the monks and nuns next door have provided a blanket of meditative energy that we are lucky enough to be near! Truly, everywhere in every direction of us had power lines down.
Now well in to January, this past week's ice storm, while less damaging than the December 11th one, has hung on and on, as the temperature has not gotten anywhere above freezing in a week. So last night I went out to snap a few shots of the great outdoors, which looks very much like Narnia before the wicked witch was conquered. Everything is ice-coated, and while it does look quite beautiful in the sun, or this weekend's full moon, very sparkly and twinkly, now that it's been snowing yet again for several hours, and predictions are for another 10 inches of snow, we are on continuous generator alert, thinking the ice plus all the snow weight will probably bring down some trees or lines somewhere hereabouts. My digital camera efforts are not really doing justice to the scene, but you can get some idea.
And in conclusion, the only garden news in this seemingly endless winter is that yesterday I ate my first Aerogarden home grown tomato of this cycle. Delicious, but as with last time's try, even with free stuff that the manufacturer send me, it's about $10/per cherry tomato - and one would have to compare to small cherries at that! Oh well, soon the spring will come (I keep telling myself) and then I'll be back at full time weeding and foster dog care. And what is happening out your way? I'd love to know...
