Winter Weather @ MindSay 
And one more question
Where were you?
Where were you?
Alas, this winter drags on and on with no end in sight. Just when it seems as if things are on the verge of changing for the better we are hit by another cold front and another wave of snow - what the local weatherman once referred to as nuisance snow. And that is a fitting name for the snow for it sticks around just long enough to screw things up and then, poof, it disappears...
It is amazing that the weather can have such a profound affect upon the human brain, but I am sure that this is just a by-product of our past and the billions of years of evolution that brought me to this point where I sit and type about the weather. Somewhere deep down, long forgotten, there is a part of me that is suffering a great deal of distress over the fact that I am still in the clutches of winter - I should be holed up, safe and warm. And that is what is on my mind as I sit here holed up, safe and warm from the approaching storm. And it will be here soon for I can feel it in my bones and I can feel it even deeper at the very core of my soul...
And funny it is to wish that I will still be alive when the next ice age plunges the Earth into a deep freeze. I wish I could be here when everyone is running around like a chicken with its head cut off yelling, "What will we do? How can we change the weather so that we can return to the climate we once knew?" And I will laugh at how naive the race still is thinking that they can somehow mess with the weather and stop the freeze. It amuses me when humans think that they are some kind of supernatural beings and that they can find the solution to things that are part of the natural process and do not need any out interference to continue on their merry way...
And change is the only constant in this universe. Everything will change in the future and there is nothing that can be done to prevent it from happening. Humans as a species think that they can somehow prevent change from happening, they think that they can somehow change the course of their existence just because they think that they are smart enough to accomplish this feat. And it is a pity that their intelligence actually blinds them to the fact that in terms of their thought processes they have barely left the trees. And when the time comes for this world to die, I am sure that there will be those that will be convinced that they can somehow think their way out of the inevitable...
And I grow tired of winter...
This is the Word of the AntiCrust...
Praise be ye who Read the Word for ye are Blessed amongst humans...
I was talking with my favorite teacher on Thursday last week (who I will sadly lose soon due to maternity leave) and the topic of weather came up. It's been chilly lately, but nothing I can't handle. We've even had some snow, but nothing that accumulated. It was snowing that day and my teacher mentioned that the temperature must be near 0 (Celsius... sorry). This made me wonder what February might be like, so I asked.
"Oh February is the worst!"
Don't need to tell me that, but she continued.
"It's so awful... like 7 to 15 degrees every day!"
Wait... that's a bad thing? Mind you, this teacher in particular has only ever lived in Osaka and southern California, so I can forgive her shortsightedness.
"That's not bad" I said dismissively. "I'm used to like 10 degrees Fahrenheit daily in February and half melted snow all over the place. It sounds nice here."
She looked a bit puzzled. "10 degrees... lets see, that's like... uh..."
"Around -12 or so. It can get much colder but that's about average."
At this point she is staring at me slack jawed. Surely my calculations were wrong (they weren't, I looked it up just the night before because I was checking the weather back home). I mentioned about my interview last year and how it was basically ruined by February weather. She conceded that I won't have any problem with the weather this year.
I always have to laugh when this kind of thing happens. People know that parts of the world get that cold, but they are always impressed when they meet someone who actually lives there. I haven't heard the question yet, but I know they are thinking "You do know there are way warmer places just south of where you live... you want maybe to draw you a map I could?"
Admittedly, I would rather live in warmer environment then Illinois and Michigan once the winter hits, but I have sort of this weird pride that I not only can but do live through such harsh conditions every year. It's like I'm part of an exclusive club that only lets in people who don't complain about being a little chilly and just put on a damn sweater. I hope living in this cushy environment for a couple of years doesn't make me less resistant to the cold. Like they say, "Live in California once, but leave before it makes you go soft." I guess the Japanese version would switch Cali with Osaka (or possibly Yamaguchi, except the summers down south get pretty ridiculous).
-Maru!
That isn't about to happen. Not for a while anyway. After 2 days of snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow, sleet, snow etc, (Not necessarily in that order) I decided it was about time to go out in the cold and clean up the mess yesterday. It wasn't all that bad even though the temperature was in the low 20's. Since I had not been out doing much recently it was probably time I did something constructive. "I guess I needed the freak. .in exer. .cise" *I mumbled somewhat loudly in my best Jack Nicholson imitation*. (Since you couldn't hear me just assume it was my best imitation). Besides, playing in the snow is fun.
I didn't want to bring my good camera outside with me so I used my cell phone camera to take a few pics. Since I have a Verizon cell phone I thought maybe I would be able to get some of the thousands of network assistants to help me out so I could finish faster. You know, the ones you see on the commercials for Verizon who follow the customer all over the place. I couldn't seem to find even one of them. I guess it was too cold out.
Since I realized I was on my own I decided to take one more pic and get busy cleaning up the mess.
The snow was basically powder on top but wet and icy underneath. Time to start digging.
While cleaning up the snow it just made me more aware of the mess of leaves that were still packed underneath.
It made me start to wonder if I should have left the snow there. At least it looked a bit nicer without all the leaves sticking out all over the place.
With most of the snow cleaned up it was time to clean up my snow clearing buddy, Mr. Snow Blower. Then park him back in the garage to be ready for the next Winter Wonderland Adventure.
More snow is on the way for tomorrow but probably not all that much. The next storm heading this way may bring more in the way of freezing rain towards the end of the weekend. Mr. Snow Blower won't be much help with that.
Have a safe, warm, comfortable and cozy evening.
Here Comes The Crud
Here comes the crud, here comes the crud
And I say it's turning all white
Little darlin' it may be a long cold lonely winter
Little darlin' it feels like it's rising past my ears
Here comes the crud, here comes the crud
And I say it's turning all white
Little darlin' the smiles are exiting their faces
Little darlin' it seems like it's rising past my ears
Here comes the crud, here comes the crud
And I say it's turning all white
Crud, crud, crud, here it comes
Crud, crud, crud, here it comes
Little darlin' I feel the ice will never be meltin'
Little darlin' it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the crud, here comes the crud
And I say it's turning all white . . . .
Over the last 2 days we have had just about every form of precipitation imaginable along with off and on high winds of over 50 MPH. Not bad for the first bad weather of this winter season. Yes, I suppose it could be worse. The midwest probably has had more snow and freezing rain. Today the west coast had to put up with huge storms, high winds of over 100 MPH and massive flooding. We have had a foot or more of snow in the higher elevations. More 911 calls for vehicle accidents than you can shake a bent bumper at. I guess it is a good time to stay off the roads for a while until all those who have forgotten how to drive in this weather have wrecked their cars. Then the roads will be safe for a while. Then there is the beginning of the road salt season. The time when everyone rushes to the car washes on the days when it gets above freezing in hopes of slowing the deterioration of their vehicles.
We started out with snow, then freezing rain and sleet, then rain, then back to freezing rain, then rain and now back to snow. The following image shows some of what we have had.
This is just a tease from Mother Nature to get us ready for what may be a long and cold winter ahead. But then again the long range forecast calls for a bit of a warming trend for next week. Since my lawn has not been cut for the winter and I still have tons of leaves on top of that currently buried under a blanket of snow, maybe I will get a chance to clean it up later. If not it will be waiting for me when spring arrives. If I get a little ambition tomorrow and it is not too cold and miserable out perhaps I will get out and get some pictures. I will have to see what tomorrow brings and if I can find some photo worthy scenes. The winter weather has just begun and we will not really know what is in store until it gets here. We shall see.
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