“There is no good in arguing with the inevitable.
The only argument available with an east wind is to put on your overcoat”
James Russell Lowell
The only argument available with an east wind is to put on your overcoat”
James Russell Lowell
For days now we have been hearing that a winter storm is expected in our area. I believe weather forecasters love to have something bad to look forward to. How boring it would be to have to report every day that the weather is sunny and warm and a gentle rain will fall from 2 AM to 4 AM in the morning.
The traffic reporters were almost apologetic that the snow had not arrived in time for the afternoon rush hour. "But it will surely be here for the rush hour tomorrow morning if it ever gets out of Ohio. Check us out at 5AM for cancellations."
No doubt bad news is good for ratings.
Yesterday we took the dog on his accustomed long walk after a week of extreme cold necessitated short walks. He ran through the fields as though he was half his age and made sure we took no shortcuts. This meant climbing a very steep hill that is a favourite local sledding slope. The paths are well marked and we hit knee deep snow only a couple of times. The top of the hill gives a fine view of the city and the sky. The day had been clear and as we stood there, the leading edge of the promised stormy weather front approached from the east.
In years past, this sky may have been the first signal of poor weather to come, unless your rheumatic joints were better forecasters. From the wisdom of the Bible to the wisdom of Mary Poppins we learn that the east wind brings change. Joseph Conrad said in the last century,
“The East Wind, an interloper in the dominions of Westerly Weather, is an impassive-faced tyrant with a sharp poniard held behind his back for a treacherous stab.”
The wind today surely feels like a stab in the back and there is no hill climbing on the agenda for this evening. I could hunker down in front of The Weather Network and watch satellite images of the approaching snow. Better still to sit in front of the fireplace with a good book, listening to the east wind howl outside the window, knowing this too will pass.
I was looking forward to a big snowstorm, but so far it's just raining ice - very unimpressive!
ReplyDeleteThe weather people do love to make a big fuss of things, don't they?
You can't trust the weather forecasters - they blow everything out of proportion. Better to hunker down and wait for the real thing. We are having severe rain and wind right now and I'm wondering how in the world I'll get my dogs out to pee tonight!
ReplyDeleteOur snow was supposed to start at 5PM, it finally started and it's a fine snow - it was supposed to be very heavy. That will at midnight, supposedly, along with the wind. I'm not looking forward to looking out the window tomorrow morning to see what I have to shovel.
ReplyDeleteI agree, reading a good book is much better than watching "the sky is falling" weathermen.
I've known people who actually sit and watch The Weather Channel all day long, and you've just got to wonder what our ancestors would have to say about that! LOL... much easier to trust your gut and the sky. Hope you all weather the storm safely and say warm and dry.
ReplyDeleteLaura- Snowstorms are definitely more fun than ice storms. Hope the storm wasn't too bad in your area. The US was hit far worse than Canada.
ReplyDeleteMary- Our dog will hold things for 24 hours rather than go out in the rain. He doesn't mind deep snow though. Sounds like you have had the same weather system without the freezing temps.
Naturewoman- Sounds like you ended up with waaay more snow than us! Hope you have a plow or a snow blower!
Jayne- Most people are so out of touch with the natural world. I have met people who are glued to the weather channel. So repetitive!
ReplyDeleteWell, it finally got out of Ohio, but not soon enough for my taste!
ReplyDelete*Susan, buried under 8 inches of snow and 2 inches of ice*
Susan, every time they mentioned that the snow was still in Ohio, I thought of you! We are far enough north of Lake Ontario that we missed the worst of the storm. All that ice, no power in the cold...not nice.
ReplyDelete