Snowstorm

Darkness’s Secrets – Day 814

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Pristine @ 10:56 p.m. – Photo: L. Weikel

Darkness’s Secrets

You just never know what’s going to be lurking around outside when the lights are out. It’s no secret I’ve had my share of vicarious encounters (mostly courtesy of Spartacus barreling out the door in milder weather only to bowl over an opossum snacking on sunflower seeds or a skunk snagging a couple peanuts from under the peanut coil). But last night I wouldn’t even have known we had a visitor at all had the snow not been quite so revelatory of darkness’s secrets.

My photo at the top of this post was taken last night at 10:56 p.m. I was preparing to write my post and Spartacus needed to make a quick stop outside before heading upstairs to cuddle with Karl. Spart wastes no time dilly-dallying outside when we’re in the midst of a snowstorm.

The stillness was lovely – the only sound being an eerie one note tone resonating ever so softly from our wind chimes. The pile of snow perched atop our metal fire pit cover was one indication of the 18” or so of snow we got. (I was astonished when it continued snowing throughout this morning.)

I took the photo at 10:56 p.m. because of the utter absence of footprints anywhere. It was too deep for Spartacus to bound into (especially this late at night) for the purpose of relieving himself. Even all the bird prints underneath the feeders had been covered by additional snow falling long after the birds had nested up for the night.

2:33 a.m. – Who Goes There? – Photo: L. Weikel

So…What Was THAT?

So when I turned the lights on one more time before heading up to bed myself last night (at 2:33 a.m.), I was a little surprised to see the obvious footprints before me. But then, when I looked a bit closer, I was even more surprised and not a little bit puzzled.

I tried zooming in on the photo I took, but that doesn’t seem to translate well into a blog post. (I’m including it at the end anyway.) So the best I can do is include the photo as it appears in my iPhone, and if you’re interested, you can zoom in on it yourself.

So Many Questions

I find a few things intriguing about these footprints:

  • They don’t come all the way up to the feeders. So…no snacking on birdseed (or peanuts, although the peanut coil is not in this frame);
  • Although they don’t come all the way up to the feeders, there’s also no indication that they were either spooked and fled quickly OR that they turned around. So…how did they make their way back into the woods from which they came?
  • There is a huge space between ‘strides’ of this animal. Was it huge? Was it hopping? I might think a jack rabbit (but they don’t live around here), so…might it have been a fox? I’ve seen videos of them sort of hopping through snow. But it still flummoxes me how they got themselves turned around so they could return to the woods, though.
  • There seemed to be at least two, maybe three or even four different animals out there at the same time. There was the ‘big strider’ over toward the right, just beyond the cone of the fire pit snow, but the prints on the left look decidedly smaller and the stride is so much more abbreviated it makes me doubt they were the same species.

And all of this happened under the cloak of darkness in the span of 3.5 hours. While I was sitting inside writing my post and reading my book, living and breathing beings were hanging out in my yard, deciding whether or not to indulge in some birdseed, retreating back into the forest without obviously turning around, making choices based on who knows what information or intuition?

Just another couple of darkness’s secrets, I guess.

Closeup – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-297)

One Thing Better – Day 812

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Feeder in Winter Snowstorm – Photo: L. Weikel

One Thing Better

I’m luxuriating in the cocoon created by a luscious snowstorm. There’s nothing better than the muffled whisper of snow falling in the midst of a forest. Well – maybe there’s one thing better: the prospect that the snow may fall even harder and faster tomorrow, and we’ll have the chance to enjoy the wintry isolation yet another day.

Karl and I walked this evening, well after dark, and not a single car passed us on our two mile trek. The silence was exquisite. The firelight flickering across the snow from the neighbor’s bay window was warm and inviting, and I could just imagine him wrapped in an afghan reading a favorite book.

The Outset

Knowing that there’s a good chance we’ll get a decent amount of snowfall in this system, I took a few photos of my feathered friends as they stocked up on the sunflower seeds I’d just packed into their feeders. The photo at the top of this was taken at 12:12 this afternoon – only shortly after the snowstorm arrived.

I don’t know if you can see it, but a chickadee was in the midst of making what could almost be called a crash landing into the feeder just as I took the shot. It’s too bad you can’t get the full flavor of the ‘live’ photo; it was rather amusing.

I took this photo, though, to document the progression of the storm. I intend to take another photo at 12:12 tomorrow (Monday) – just for comparison’s sake.

The photo below is simply offered to document the fact that we have some ginormous wrens in our neck of the woods. This particular wren has to be twice the size of the others I’ve seen. It’s tough to get a photo of it for comparison’s sake, though, because it seems to almost stamp its feet at the smaller wrens, scaring them away.

Franken Wren – Photo: L. Weikel

Enjoy the Moment

Wishing all of you a delectable Monday. I hope no one needs to drive anywhere and you can get whatever pressing obligations you have taken care of expeditiously enough to allow you some time to just be. Maybe the snow will continue falling long enough for you to take a walk tomorrow evening, too.

Happy Imbolc. Happy 1st day of February.

Wren is larger than it appears – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-299)

An Observation – Day 765

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Sunset 12/15/2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

An Observation

I had to run out to the grocery store – two, in fact – today. I needed to stock up on the ingredients necessary to fulfill my lofty snowstorm baking aspirations. In the midst of doing so, I made an observation that I wasn’t expecting: there seems to be an air of anticipation and happy excitement ahead of the snowstorm that’s supposed to arrive tomorrow.

Usually people are grumbly and cranky over an impending snowstorm. And one might think, given the severely restricted nature of our lives over the past year, that the prospect of being cooped up in our homes (yet again) as a result of a snow dump might just have people sidling even more toward the surly edges.

That did not seem to be the case. Instead, I witnessed cheerfulness and a bit more warmth from fellow shoppers and store employees than I was expecting.

Retreat

Could it be that everyone wants to get snowed in?  Is the realization of how much and how quickly the Covid-19 virus is spreading be sinking in? Is it possible that everyone just wants to hunker down and not have to think about washing their hands or making sure their mask is covering their nose and their mouth?

If we’re forced by the weather, something visible and tangible, to stay inside, then it just restores a sense of normalcy to our lives, even if fleetingly. Because let’s face it, our everyday work lives are not normal. Every day we get up in the morning and, if we have to deal with the public or report to an office or a courtroom or a nursing home or a prison, we have to entertain the possibility that we might get sick. Even if we wear our masks and stay 6’ away from everyone, the possibility exists that someone we’re talking to or walking behind may spread it and not even realize it.

And that’s a huge stress.

Find Joy

It sort of feels as though we’re all just so darn ambivalent. Of course we want to work. Not only do we (hopefully) get a sense of worth and purpose from our work, but let’s face it, it pays the bills. And yet the script that’s running quietly at the base of our skulls just keeps on whispering its relentless litany of ‘what ifs.’ A nice thick layer of snow feels like the perfect muffler to drown out the incessant worry.

May we all stop tomorrow and listen to the snowflakes as they click softly into place, piling one on top of each other. If you still have to work, may you find joy. If you get to leave your workplace early, give yourself permission to play – even if it’s only fleeting. Play. Laugh. Find joy. Remember, too, to look for it.

Sunset from the grocery store parking lot – Photo: L. Weikel

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Snowstorm Mish-Mash – Day 385

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Snowstorm Mish-Mash

What snowstorm?

I know there’s a chance we may wake up tomorrow with snow falling and the possibility of 8” or so of the white stuff actually accumulating throughout the day. But at the moment, at least, it doesn’t feel like it’ll materialize.

All day today, I felt as though I was waiting for something to happen. I’m not even sure, really, what I was waiting for or, more importantly, why. Who cares if it snows? And why should it matter one way or another?

The Damage Was Done

It didn’t matter what happened today, weather-wise, because the damage had been done. Out of a sense of prudence and caution, our kids went home early. They live too far away and directly in the path of this slow moving precipitation event to mess around with simply hoping the rain wouldn’t change to ice or snow.

It was a particularly disappointing and abrupt end to the Thanksgiving holiday because it seemed as though every day they were here entailed visits with other family and friends. The visits weren’t the problem by any means; but we ended up with no days to ourselves.

Alas, not a single game of hearts was played.

Not Even a Walk

And then there was the frustration of the non-stop rain today. We didn’t even manage to fit in a walk, which, quite obviously to anyone reading this, contributed to a build-up of crank-monsters in yours truly.

Nevertheless, I am grateful that our holiday was spared any mishaps – caused by weather or otherwise. I hope the same is true for all of you.

EoP Biodiversity Process

I forgot to remind everyone that today is (or was, technically, for many of us) the 1st of December, and thus the day to use your Essence of Perelandra to work with Nature on the EoP Biodiversity Process. That less-than-one minute process is such a simple way to join other like-minded people around the world in coordinating with Nature to make a difference. By engaging in this process, we provide a network of stabilizing strength for all living beings to draw upon as our planet undergoes major changes.

Hopefully, some of you may still have time to get the job done if you live further west. But if you didn’t remember this month, I personally think it wouldn’t hurt for you to do it right this moment, as you’re remembering it. Adding your intention to all the efforts of those who performed the process on the 1st can only be a boost to the intentions of all.

You can also set your calendar so you remember to perform the process one month from now: on the first day of January, 2020. I will also make a point to remind us as well.

Cocoon

And if we do end up having some serious snowfall tomorrow? Perhaps we can nestle into our warm cocoons (if we’re lucky enough to have them) and dream some dreams for 2020.

(T-726)

Snow Day?!? – Day Ninety Two

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
“Ice Storm Aftermath – 2014” – Photo by L. Weikel

Snow Day?!?

Oh, how I would normally be loving this evening’s weather forecast! I’ve not yet reached that place of bah-humbug-ism that gets cranky over a potential snow day, and if I haven’t by this late date (read: age), I probably never will.

But I do find myself lamenting the fact that I cannot revel in the anticipation of a day of unexpectedly being forced to stay at home. My revelry is stifled by the need for me to be in the very heart of Philadelphia tomorrow morning. By 8:30 a.m., ideally. That’s early.

Winter Storm Warning

It’s early considering how every time I’ve driven there over the past couple of weeks I’ve hit nearly standstill traffic just about eight miles outside the city. I’d be trucking along, making great time, and wham. All of a sudden, everything slows to the closest thing to being a stop without actually stopping. It is maddening.

But now, drastically complicating matters, there’s a Winter Storm Warning in effect from now until midnight tomorrow night. And under the heading “Precautionary /Preparedness Actions” the Weather Alert states: “A Winter Storm Warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet and ice will make travel very hazardous or impossible.”  The emphasis is mine – all mine.

Ordinarily, I don’t mind driving in snow. In fact, I usually relish the challenge and special effort it takes to navigate well in snow. (Ice, as they say, is another matter entirely. Nobody “drives” in icy conditions. Rather, they get behind the wheel and hope there’s no one else anywhere near them when they have to brake or turn a corner, for momentum is everything on ice. Let’s face it: ice can result in some scary shit.) But I don’t even have my own car to drive tomorrow. I have a loaner from my mechanic because my beloved Prius is having “coolant issues.”

Not My Car

I’d make a crack about her having hot flashes but they’re actually cold flashes and I wouldn’t find it amusing anyway. The poor car has 306,540 miles or so under her belt. She’s allowed to have thermal regulation anomalies. She’s earned her pecadilloes!

Much as I don’t usually mind driving in snow, (a) we could have up to 2/10ths of an inch of ice lurking under the snow tomorrow; and (b) I’m obviously not as ‘connected’ to the loaner as I am to my Prius. I prefer, if I”m going to be driving in snow, feeling like the car I’m driving is an extension of myself. And after logging over 306,500 miles in my car, I can safely say I know my car and how to maneuver her in dicey weather. I can’t say quite the same for the loaner.

Septa, Oh Septa – It’s Been a While

Of course, my other option is to take the train. That would be a trip down memory lane! When I commuted to Center City during the four years I worked at the Women’s Law Project, I adored my train, the Septa R5, and the extended opportunity it gave me, morning and night, to either write in my journal or read lots of books.

But alas, in order to get to my course on time, I will have to catch either the 6:30 or the 7:00 a.m. train. That’s early. And from the sound of the forecasting, it’ll be the in the think of the storm. Did I mention I’m not a morning person? Ha – yeah, I think I did.

Whatever tomorrow morning has in store for me, I need to get to bed now if I’m going to face it with any equanimity whatsoever.

Here’s hoping you’re reading this from the warm coziness of your home, having decided to stay home today and enjoy a good old fashioned “Snow Day.” Indulge your senses, whether they’re taking in the crystalline beauty of the precipitation as you take a walk outside or melting into the snuggly goodness of being wrapped in a blanket and losing yourself in a book for a few hours.

And even if you have to go to work, give yourself permission to tap into the excitement you know lies deep in your heart – that “Snow Day!” exuberance we all felt as little kids.

(T-1019)