I didn’t expect last Tuesday to be my swan song. I bundled up and put on my Yak Tracks before venturing outside for another foggy, morning walk. Our little gravel road was spectacularly beautify. The hoarfrost, the thickest I’ve ever seen it, coated every branch, every blade of grass long enough to reach through the snow, every fence line. My walk took a long time, because I paused often to photograph the once-in-a-lifetime scenery.
Now I’m glad I did because walking outdoors has been impossible ever since. On Wednesday, an ice storm hit. A half inch of ice replaced the hoarfrost and turned the great outdoors into a skating rink for three days. Our gravel road is still treacherous, though the paved roads and sidewalks improved over the weekend. But last night the wind picked up, an unexpected four inches of snow fell, drifts are blocking the driveway and road, and visibility is terrible.
This may sound like old-timer talk, but this winter reminds me of the ground breaking winter of 1967-68. We had so many snow days in northwest Iowa, the state finally said we didn’t have to make them up. The snow was so deep the school board finally rescinded the dress code which prohibited female teachers and student from wearing slacks to schools, though we still couldn’t wear jeans. And they also quit requiring teachers to go to report to school when it was called off for students. I am not making this up!
It also brings to mind The Long Winter, one of the books in the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. This book recounts a terrible winter in the late 1800s, shortly after the completion of the railroad into De Smet, South Dakota. The winter was so bad, the trains couldn’t get through for months and the townspeople nearly starved to death.
When I read the series aloud to the kids when they were little (which we did more than once), Hiram refused to listen to The Long Winter. “It’s too depressing,” he objected. “Please, skip over it and go onto the next one.” Back then I objected to his censorship, but now that we’re living Long Winter: The Sequel in real time, his suggestion is worthy of resurrection.
What do you think? Should we skip over this season and move on to the next one in the series? I’m game. If you’re with me on this one, leave a comment about when we should fast forward to spring.
