First Snowfall

Two inches of snow fell here last night. This is the first snowfall of the year. At first the flakes melted when they hit the ground, but after a while the snow began “sticking” as they say, which could be short for “sticking around.” The wind was blowing about 25 miles an hour. I went outside to check that the crawlspace entrance was still covered, protecting the pipes from the artic air. The wind whipped plumes of icy flakes off rooftops and flung them into my face – a very uncomfortable feeling. The air was bitterly cold and well below freezing at 18°F (-8°C).

Today’s high temperature never got above freezing.  At 4 PM, it’s 28°. Tonight’s low will be 8°. There are colder places on earth, but I don’t reside in those places, and I’m not happy that the cold air from those places has come to visit my neighborhood.

Snow is not unusual in winter in central Virginia. When I was a boy the snow would regularly fall six or eight inches deep. Sometimes during the day the sun would melt the top of the snow and at night it would refreeze, causing a slick, icy crust to form. The crust was thick enough to support my weight, so I could walk on the snow without sinking into it.

One week when I lived in Richmond, it snowed fifteen inches on a Tuesday. The snowplow came along and buried my car. I spent several hours digging it out of the snow. Then two days later it snowed another twelve inches, and the snowplow came by and buried my car again.

Kids love snow. They love to watch it fall and they love to go outside and play in the snow. What surprises me is that dogs love snow. Why would a dog care about snow? Is it the novelty? Why do they love romping in it? I believe even sled dogs who are accustomed to snow still love it.

A few years ago I blogged about a diary entry I wrote decades ago. I wasn’t a child when I wrote the diary entry. I was in my twenties. Perhaps I should pull up that blog post and read it again. Ah, here it is: Me and My Shadow.