Snow Day

Awaiting snow's demise

under bright blue skies

on the Farm...
 

 

 

We were in Charlotte on business when the snow began to fall in Grassy Creek and we saw that 6 to 12 inches were predicted. Unable to return before it started, we made the decision to stay in the flat-lands until the storm passed and then wait for mid-day with temperatures above freezing to climb the mountain. Caroline followed us in her Mini-Cooper for a weekend off before work becomes a frenzy again. The temperature only made it to 36 degrees but we were able to drive the Toyota Highlander (with four-wheel drive and winter driving features) all the way up to the farmhouse. Thankfully, Sussex Road had been salted and scraped and the driveway was still fresh snow and manageable in first gear.

The house was cold. Ruth had warned that she had been out of power for almost 24 hours and the map of outages for Blue Ridge Electric showed over 3,000 households affected, ours among them.

When we arrived, leaving Caroline's car at the bottom, our first job was to shovel snow from the porches and make paths. Then we had to load and unload firewood, stacking it on the back porch and start a fire. I rescued some heavy laden foundation plants by knocking snow off their bent and bowing branches and took photos (of course.)Traylor made a trip down to the pond and collected pond water for flushing toilets and by the time he got back, the living room was a degree warmer. Knowing that the power was out did not stop any of us from flipping light switches in every dark room!

We wanted to make dinner before dark, so Traylor started the gas stove-top and boiled water then poured wine (to warm up) while Caroline lit candles all around and transformed the coffee table between the couch and the fire into a dining table. Lobster tails had been on sale in Charlotte at Harris-Teeter, so what do you think we had for this adventure? With broccoli and butter! Not bad. And the wine was a gift of Merlot.

Expecting a drop to 20 degrees during the night, friends offered us places to stay with water and electricity but we planned the night with extra blankets and flashlights and cartons of water in the bathroom. Then half-way through the meal, a lamp blinked on. We squealed with delight. After singing praises of Blue Ridge Electric, we called and learned that our neighbors had electricity and water back on as well. Thank you to all the repairmen who braved the weather for us!

We slept warm and cozy and woke to a fiercely bright blue sky and rising temperatures. The greenhoues plants are mostly perennials now and dormant, but the snow cover kept it warmer overnight.

Even this morning, it is a wonderland still. As the snow melts on the roof, snow-breakers near the edge prevent it from sliding off in wide thick sheets and crashing onto foundation plants. The overhead crunch of ice breaking and slipping overhead, though, scares the dogs and they plead with me, panting. Sledding was the cure.
 

Rudy adoring Caroline his sledding buddy

I am warm, working on my computer and able to use the telephone here in the country, far from noise and sound pollution and I am grateful too for the technicians who, thanks to stimulus money, laid fiber optic cable last spring so we could have reasonably fast internet!

 Here, I record this memory of a snow day in January 2013.