Winter is here!

I hear people complaining a lot about the cold or the snow this time of year.  Which I think is hysterical, having grown up in a place where temperatures can fall significantly below zero with wind on top of that.  A place where winter seems like it lasts for about six months out of the year and the cold becomes its own entity.  

I remember one Christmas when I was growing up.  My family was driving to visit my grandma for the day.  The actual temperature was about -35 degrees, and the car heater couldn't overcome the cold seeping into the car.  So we wore our winter boots and parkas and hats and gloves for the whole three and a half hour drive (and then again on the way home).

Or the time I was in college in Iowa and headed home for Christmas break.  There was a big storm that encompassed multiple states.  The biggest problem was getting through Minnesota.  There was so much snow that even on an interstate highway with every college kid in the tri-state area trying to find their way home, it was unclear exactly where the road was.  And it was so cold that I had to pull over periodically to scrape the ice off my windshield because the defrost couldn't keep up with it.  I made it to a friend's house in Fargo, ND around 1 am (I think I'd probably been on the road around 10-12 hours at that point) and stayed overnight.  I think both interstates out of Fargo were closed not long after I got off the road.  (Yes, that is a thing.  Roads literally have barriers that can be closed if the weather is bad.  It doesn't happen that often, but it does happen.  Here in Virginia, I guess the Department of Transportation relies on accidents to close the roads...)  The next day my friend helped me shovel my car out of about three feet of snow, only for me to discover that the alternator had died.  So I had to stay another 2-3 days to get the car repaired before continuing on for the next 300 miles to my parents' house.

These are just a couple of examples of what my experience with winter has been like, so when people complain because it is 38 degrees and cloudy outside, I laugh to myself.  Or sometimes out loud.  Because it just doesn't compare to what I grew up with.

Of course, everyone adapts to the location where they live, and I suspect even I would be intimidated by winter in New England states.  I've seen pictures and the sheer amount of snow is mind-boggling.  On the other hand, I wonder what it would be like to live there.  Now that I appreciate the slower times of the year, I imagine how nice it would be for nature to insist that people slow down.

We've had a couple of really warm and notably unsnowy winters here in Virginia.  Thus, the population was lulled into thinking that Virginia had been converted into North Carolina.  December was full of 60 and even 70 degree days and zero snow, setting an unrealistic tone for the winter.  So we were caught off guard when we got almost 11 inches of snow where I live and more than that in other areas.  And it wasn't just any snow, it was heavy, wet snow that took down trees.  And the trees took down power lines (because in Virginia, it apparently makes sense to run power lines through big trees).  And I suspect the rest of the country watched the train wreck that was I-95, where an accident involving six semi-trucks started a chain reaction that defied belief and led to a complete blockage of the interstate in both directions for something like 27 hours, leaving people stranded with no way to get out or be rescued or even eat.

After two years of mild winters, no one could believe that we were actually getting real winter.  I admit to being one them.  After all, it was literally 65 degrees outside the day before it happened.  I couldn't imagine how snow would even accumulate on such warm ground.  But as the temperature dropped quickly overnight, and the snow started, accumulate is exactly what it did.

I spent most of the day beating the trees in our yard with a broom, trying to save them from the ever-increasing weight of the snow that was bending them to the ground, while my husband and daughter cleared snow from the cars, driveway, and sidewalk.  I honestly didn't think either our dogwood or our magnolia would make it.  But they did.  All of our trees survived.  But many other trees did not.  Evergreens were particularly vulnerable, but I saw some trees that were probably either oak or maple that just had the trunk standing.  All of the branches collapsed and fell to the ground, as if the tree simply given up.

By about 2 pm, the storm was over.  In mere hours, Mother Nature had wreaked a havoc that we haven't seen in a long time.  Perhaps by way of apology for the devastation, the sun even came out and started melting the snow.  I took that as my cue to head out to the barn.  I wasn't sure I would make it.  The horror stories about the roads were still coming in.  But I figured if the road was blocked, I would just turn around and come home.  I knew the horses would be OK, but I still wanted to check on them.  None of them were wearing blankets and the barn owner had told me Star was shivering that morning, although Freya and Donut seemed fine.  I asked the owner to bring Star in, so she could spend the day in Donut's stall warming up, and I wanted to assess the situation.  (I couldn't put blankets on the night before because it was so warm.  They would have been sweating like crazy.  In hindsight, I should have gone out to the barn at midnight-ish to put the blankets on, but I really wasn't sure where the line was for either Star or Freya in terms of when they would get cold.  So note to self for future events where it is 65 degrees and then 20 degrees 12 hours later.)

Amazingly, I didn't have any issues getting out to the barn.  Our neighborhood hadn't been plowed at all, but the four-wheel drive in my truck handled the snow like a hot knife through butter.  After that, the roads were clear.  No abandoned vehicles.  No accidents.  And no traffic.  Everywhere, trees were drooping to the ground and power lines were at risk.  It was a very surreal experience.  

The road just before getting to the barn.  You can't see them, but there are power lines in these trees.  I was torn between seeing how beautiful the snow was and terrified that one of the trees would fall on me.

I was happy to find Star in the barn, looking warm and munching on hay.  I brushed her to make her coat fluffy and then put her new blanket on before turning her back out.

Star takes everything in stride!

 

How fun is the pattern on Star's blanket!  It makes me happy to look at it!

Next, I brought Freya in and did the same.  Gemma really wanted her to have a blanket because it was supposed to be in the low 20s overnight and even colder the next day.  The horses had handled temps in the teens already with no blankets, but I ended up putting the blanket on.  Mostly because I felt guilty that Star had gotten chilled.  And yes, I know Freya did not get chilled, but guilt is a funny thing...

Freya's blanket is so colorful, I'm convinced she can be seen from space! LOL!

 

I didn't feel the least bit guilty about Donut, though.  She has never worn a blanket in her short life and has seemed to handle whatever nature can throw at her just fine.  Also, early that morning, I had gotten a picture from the barn owner showing Donut on the wrong side of the fence.  For the second time, she had broken out of the field.  She has figured out how to pop the fence boards.  She only escapes to a place she can't get out of, which is sort of bizarre, but I can only imagine what she would do with a blanket.  She routinely picks them up off the ground and tries to play with them, and she demolished a saddle pad that she somehow snagged from a saddle rack outside her stall.  I think it took less than five minutes.  So no blankets for Donut unless it is a medical emergency or she develops a better sense of respect for my stuff.

Donut is perfectly happy with no blanket.

After I was certain the horses were fine and well-fed, I headed back home.  It took days for the thousands (or maybe even tens of thousands) of households to get their power back, especially because we got another mini-snow of a few inches a day or two later.  But eventually the snow melted and life returned to normal.  For a short while...

We had more snow yesterday.  Not nearly as much as a couple of weeks ago, but this time, people took it more seriously.  And I prepped the horses the day before because I wasn't sure if I would be able to get out to the barn.  In fact, I spent all day doing stuff to keep my mind off the fact that I wasn't supposed to go to the barn.  I was going to be a responsible citizen and stay off the roads during the storm so the plows could do their thing.  I painted.  I printed pictures.  I hung out with Gemma.  I read.  I spent too much time on Facebook.  I made chili.  I cleaned one corner of the living room while averting my eyes from the other three corners so as not to be overwhelmed with the amount of clutter that still needed to be picked up.

But by 1:30, I had reached the point where I was either going to have to fold laundry (the horror!) or go to the barn.  The snow had only started at 12:30, and there wasn't much accumulation yet.  I finally decided to go because I knew I'd obsess otherwise.

The roads were not too bad at that point.  Traffic was light and plows were out, although it didn't appear that they were actually doing much plowing.  Visibility was OK at about a half mile, and honestly, it wasn't the kind of weather that I would categorize as a storm.  It wasn't nothing, but it didn't seem dangerous.

This time I brought a sidekick.  We got a new dog about six months ago.  She is a rescue from South Carolina, and I'm pretty sure she'd never seen snow until a couple of weeks ago.  She decided that it really isn't her cup of tea, but she loves car rides more than anything.  She wasn't able to get out in the yard as much as she is used to because of the cold and the snow, so I wanted to give her something to do instead.  She happily hopped in the truck with me and was a lovely companion - no backseat driving!:)

Yes, her doggie blanket matches Star's:)

This time the road to the barn was not as pretty, but still quite passable.

 

I got to the barn in good time, and found all the horses perfectly happy eating at the round bale. 

"What blizzard?" they seem to say.

Donut was not bothered in the slightest bit by the crust of snow forming on her back.

Because they all seemed comfortable, I gave them some treats and headed home.  I had gotten my horse fix for the day and I had chili on the stove!

I know that lots of people are sad about the winter weather, but I'm thankful for the rest and the lack of bugs.  And I won't even mind if it snows again next weekend!