Some Storm

This is a terrible picture I know. Mike came in covered with snow (and quite happy about it, he is a BC, after all). I wanted a picture of his completely white face, but he hates the camera. By the time I got this blurry shot most of it was melted....he got a ginger snap out of the deal anyhow.

We had a sort of mid level storm yesterday. Don't know how much snow and sleet actually fell, but I'll bet it was close to a foot. It started out as mealy snow, which generally means you will get a good crop of it. Then it turned to hard sleet, freezing rain, big puffy clumps of flakes, still more pelting meal.....truly a little bit of everything. The kids had a rough time driving into school and back (naturally we are back on the weekly storm kick, now that they are back in college.)

Anyhow, the stuff that fell was heavy and dense....Liz said it was like walking in sugar or glass beads. You wouldn't think it would blow, being so heavy and all, but when the wind kicked up about nine last night, it flung it against the windows so it sounded like BB shot. The whole house shook and rattled most of the night, with machine gun sleet to keep it interesting.
Now it is calm and clear and pretty much sunny!

There is something about being inside a big snow storm though, that is calming (except the part about your kids being out in it). Everything seems to slow down to just weather and getting through the weather. Focus. Cooking something warming and filling for supper grows in proportionate importance. People get hungry when it is cold and they are fighting for every step they take all day. I made some of the special baked hamburgers that evolved here through the necessity of cooking while the barn and using stuff that is never quite thawed.

We get our hamburger back from the meat plant in two pound plastic tubes. I thaw them as much as I have time to, then slice them into thick rounds and lay them out in a Pyrex baking dish. Top with homemade Italian seasoning. A little grated Romano. Some Parmesan, sprinkle of garlic. Slice of extra sharp Cheddar apiece. Dab of ketchup. Cover with foil and bake at 325 until you are done with milking and chores.....Sometimes there is homemade bread, although not last night.

The way you hear things changes during a big storm. It isn't exactly that the falling snow muffles sound so much as that it separates each sound into a separate entity. The rumble of trains is distinct from the thunder of the Thruway. A blue jay is not drowned out by the crows.

If we didn't have to drive in bad weather and work in it I think I might even like storms for the silence and the mental acuity that comes with them.
At least until the wind comes up.

I hate the wind.