SNOW DAY ~ TAKE II

Whereas yesterday, the snow was up to Ella's waist by sundown.... this morning she jumped from a snowbank into the pasture and couldn't move from there. Just had to stand there, like she was in a straightjacket. She asked me to dig her out but I had little sympathy, as I'd been out in that knarliness for two hours by then, shoveling a path through waist high snow to the barn and then from the barnyard door to the pile of composting cow shit. I knew I had at least six 5 gallon buckets of poop to carry out there so I figured I may as well make a comfortable path rather than trudge through each time. Els came out to roll around and have fun just as I was finishing barn chores and starting to tackle the project of digging out my car and making a walkable path to the mudroom.
In the barn, I herded the adult girls out into the yard to devour their hay. They each stuck their nose out the door and, like choreography, turned to look at me as if to ask if I were serious. In my mind, all I can think of is the Little House books when Pa would have to tie a rope from the house to the barn, lest he get lost in the swirling whiteouts in between.
Bill's at the mountain making turns. He called at 8:30 this morning and they were still digging out the lift stations.
This is the kind of snow that makes for spring floods. How's that for looking ahead? I guess I should go out and dig Ella out of the pasture now........

SNOW DAY ~ 12 hours later

We made and have been eating chocolate covered strawberries since 3pm. Bill came home with a nice bottle of Chianti at 5pm. The jungle house pygmee is officially in bed and the snow hasn't taken even one breather. In the very a.m. the snow leveled at Ella's knees. By sundown today, it was up to her waist. When she dropped to sitting position in the yard out back, she was practically swallowed by the storm.
I called off work this morning, rationalizing that I'd go in tomorrow to make up some hours. After my third glass of Chianti, I've reasoned that the roads will not be passable tomorrow either and I should just write it off as a loss. Dana will be here by 3pm, Ella's recital's at 7pm and then she and Bill are off to New Hampshire and I've the house to myself with Dana, her two friends from Salem and the makings for a weekend of chocolate martinis. Oh, and I'm sure we'll finish off the strawberries, too.

SNOW DAY!

We're getting our first Noreaster in more than two years. It started dumping snow here after midnight and by 6am this morning every school in Vermont has been closed. The storm is supposed to run straight through till tomorrow. Right now, the house pygmee is still asleep, Bill's on his way to work and I'm sitting here bundled up and wishing I hadn't offered to do chores so he could get to work earlier. I know, though, that by the time I reach the barn door, I'll be in heaven.
Ok, the house pygmee is now in my lap, hair all ascew, and she's wrapped inside my bathrobe, her arms running down the length of it's sleeves and her hands resting on my moving fingers. She's watching letters jump onto the screen. I've talked her into bundling up and doing chores with me. The bribe of hot chocolate afterwards might have been the clincher.
SNOW DAY!!