This morning Brattleboro is being treated to a very nice snow storm. It’s a heavy, constant snow, covering up all the dirt and grime of the previous storm. For a moment, it looks like a calendar, or snow globe.
We’ve had four or five inches so far, and more is falling. Is the snow falling to the ground, or the ground rushing up to meet it?
When I first looked out this morning, I saw flakes that were hovering in mid-air over the street, just bouncing along at a height of about 8 feet with no intention of dropping. Others were choosing to drop, but a certain class of flakes would have nothing of it.
I’ve seen no sign of the neighborhood animals – the squirrels, stray cats, and such that are usually out by now. I assume they’ve all tucked themselves in somewhere for the duration.
Construction-wise, our neighbor’s fort will probably see some expansion after this storm. It survived the slightly warmer weather of the previous weeks, got a good coating of ice yesterday, and the builders now have a fresh delivery of building material.
I expect to see some new snow monsters after this.
Put a lid on it
I have learned that for the peace of “man”kind, we need more blizzards and other might is right tempests to put a lid on the malfactionousness of the Uman race
Snow Day 2
Snow Day 2 (Feb 12) was quite astounding. Almost 24 hours of snow, adding a foot or so to what’s already here on the ground.
Looking around town, the landscape has been temporarily altered. Parking lots have new mountain ranges.
More on the way, too.
Beauty
The wind today blew sheets of snow. There are some pretty big drifts, and it’s all lovely. Wish I was a kid again.
the wind - it blows!
I think I saw a small snow tornado on Putney Rd this afternoon. : )
When I was a kid we would set
When I was a kid we would set out and see how much money we could make shoveling driveways (not much at 5- 10 bucks a shot), then I would spend the rest of the time and endless energy with the neighborhood gang sledding (sleds with metal rails) down our hilly, windy road which was perfect and make snow walls plow trucks would have to crash through!
go start the car
I remember being “allowed” to take the car keys and go start the car so it could warm up.
Chains
I remember after starting up the car as a late teen, my father would then come out trudging through the snow carry four heavy tire chains. each chain was untangled and laid neatly along side of each tire. Us older teens where dragged out bed at 5 in the morning in the dark to help put them on, in bitter cold, often snowing, windy in deep snow. This video of an officer demonstrating how to do it is pretty much what we did as one of our winter chores.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH3rL6tqUj0
.....we also made some pretty
…..we also made some pretty amazing sled trains, hooking feet and grabbing rear rails to form the links of many sleds then it was all up to the lead driver to stay the windy course as we screamed without control. We would also plow through the snow wall we made at the base of the road or finish line if the plow truck hadn’t gotten it first. Sometimes other assailing sleds would try to break up the train on it’s way down or latch on to take over the lead driver if they had a fast sled or just latch on to string’s the tail end if they could catch up as we had the advantage of momentum. Every run played out differently depending on the mood. This was all fun and games until the sanding truck came along the next day to ruin conditions and which if you were desperate to keep sledding was only good for getting the rust off your sled rails at minimum speeds hugging the shoulder where a lesser concentration of sand lay(no salt).
.. these neighborhood outings
.. back then these neighborhood outings of kids on sled train runs set the allegorical stage for what to expect in future life I think,
You had to ready yourself and commit to set out on a decided course as in life in agreement with those you surround yourself with and trust, find site line toward a common goal if you want to make it to the finish line in unison, while displaying some style along the way. You took the means to stay connected as a group locked into a mission to get there all in one piece. You did this by concentrating on doing your vital part which meant staying hooked up with others mutually doing the same with a synchronized flow forming one line of many moving parts.
But as in life, as it sometimes so happens, an detachment occurs internally on route in sudden reflex and adverse reaction to a unexpected kink in the steering line and the path of the pack dramatically jars and sways in and out of reach. All those of us on board for the ride momentarily lose their better control when they try to recover straining to the best of their abilities to the breaking point just to hang on and readjust. But the counter force on the outside turn proves to be too much sending some in opposite directions suddenly finding one flying headfirst lost into a snow bank that waits there to engulf the shot put rider who now becomes the missing link. The other who stayed on the inside survives by cutting a short sharp curve back to rejoin the remaining segment that carries on, maybe just by the chance of fate or placement.
All the way you have to watch your sides externally for those darting foe who come out of nowhere to cut in and break up the homogeneity. Sometimes they go as far as to take over and derail the general direction of the creative path as self proclaimed leaders disrupting an already working, well oiled machine to a runaway one without a destination.
If you can’t successfully fend them off you sometimes just have to ditch and go it alone solo, taking a path on the bumpy, less traveled side of the road that leads to the same place but passes contrasting, yellowed hydrants and storm drains grids like brake pads you have to bank around, both offering less overall satisfaction.
But in the end regardless we all hit the wall and we all end up unrecognizable, dusted in the same pile and heap laughing at each other, good for another run!.
Of course we never thought in these terms back then or anything of the sort thank goodness, choosing to enjoy the moment sledding in a snow storm until the dinner bell rang.
sled trains
Sled trains sound awesome and dangerous…a perfect kid thing!
I always liked that the metal rail sleds could be steered.
As I'm sure you remember you
As I’m sure you remember you have to have perfect conditions to have a really good run, ice under a packed layer of snow on a less traveled steep side road, no sand for the duration otherwise it’s onto snow fort construction, snow ball fights, and more shoveling!
Snow Day 3
Snow Day 3 (Feb 15) has begun. This time around, it is big heavy wet flakes starting out, changing to a more normal sort of snowfall a bit into it.
Funny to see trucks at the ski jump REMOVING snow.
Power outage in West B at the moment (3:30 pm)
GINORMOUS!!!
The initial half hour of snow had gigantic flakes- some of the biggest I’ve ever seen! From the comfort of my couch – with the company of my cats- it was quite lovely to watch. Having said that, I’m yearning for that first timid appearance of a daffodil in my yard.