It's not that bad, for snow.

Tuesday, we received, at least at my house, a foot of snow. Of course, that's not nearly as bad as the east coast and, actually, I would have liked that kind of snowfall. Yesterday and today, it's been clear blue skies for part of the day. Reflected off the pristine snow, the outside has a charmed look to it. By week's end, the snow in places will be black or brown from road grime and the inevitable freezing and thawing of the push toward spring.

A couple of us were told to come in and sit in the office on Tuesday. At 11, the boss called and, because his was the only phone call we had taken all morning, the office was closed and we were sent home.

Driving home wasn't as bad as these photos may appear. The pavement was wet from street traffic as well as the wet snow.





You just have to drive slower than you would on dry pavement. People who have never driven in this panic. If they have an SUV, they drive too fast. If they don't have an SUV, they drive 10 mph. I just want to yell, "If you are that scared, go home and don't leave your house until April!"

I've turned off the main drag and am heading into the neighborhood I call home. This street had been plowed, which was nice.








I am now 3 blocks from the house. Notice how the clear street has given way to snow covered with tire tracks. In these budget crunching times, plowing the streets a bit less saves overtime and gas money. We may know how to clear it better than our friends in Baltimore, but that doesn't mean we have an unlimited amount of funds to spend on snow removal. Coming towards me is a pickup truck from the city to which a blade has been affixed. The regular city snowplows were off keeping the main roads clear.

I'm almost home here. My driveway is almost across from that red car. The people across the street always have people coming and going and they will often park across from my drive or in front of my house. This can make it more than a little difficult to pull into the drive as I am trying not to hit something.

This was only 4 of the foot of snow received. It was coming down steady at this point but the heaviest snow had not yet arrived. I did go out and shovel the deck, front steps and part of the walk. The cats are still scared when I come in after shoveling. They still haven't gotten used to the foot stamping outside and the clatter of dragging the shovel in and through the house. It will take them a good 5-10 minutes to come out from whatever place they have gone to hide.

And I am very glad they are indoor cats at times like these. I can leave the back door open while I shovel the deck and not have to worry about trying to tempt someone back inside who decided to check out the back yard even with a foot of snow.

Beverage: Earl Grey Tea

Deb