Snow Day!

 This time, they really meant it!  Again and again this winter, weather forecasters have threatened us here in Saratoga Springs with huge snowstorms, only to have them pass by us completely or bring us only a meager two or three inches of snow.   Well, this time the forecasts came true!

 We're lucky we have only 40 feet of sidewalk to shovel, although the snowplow heaps between the sidewalk and street were heavy as concrete and nearly waist deep.  A very kind neighbor brought over his snowblower to help us carve a path through them, for which I was very grateful.  I actually love to shovel our front walk, greeting our fellow shovel-wielding neighbors  and sharing stories of snowfalls past.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and in the waiting room started a conversation with one of the other patients.  What fun we had, recalling our winter adventures of 40 years ago, when winters in Saratoga were far colder and snowier than they've been in many years.  I told him of how my breath once turned to snowflakes inside my car when the radiator froze up at 40 below, and he told me of how his car engine died on a desolate road because the whole area under the hood had become packed with snow from him trying to push his way along drifted roads.  He recalled the gooseneck of frozen cream that protruded from milkbottles set on the porch, and I told him of how our five-year-old daughter would disappear behind snowbanks while walking to school, or how a garbage sack froze to the floor while waiting to be carried out.  And on and on, one story after another of how we made it through old-fashioned Saratoga winters.  What could be more fun than tales of past adversity told from the prospect of present-day comfort and safety?


My husband, Denis, was looking after the comfort and safety of all the wild animals that come to our backyard feeders and heated birdbath.   The birdbath was totally engulfed by snow until my kind-hearted hubby cleared it away.  Bless his heart.  And bless our helpful neighbors and all who  have to cope with whatever winter brings.  I hope you all are safe and warm.