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| March 11,
2007 Do You Think It Will Snow? I heard once that snow is like sex: you never know how long it will last or how many inches you'll get. Isn't that just the truth? "Do you think it will snow?" That's the question that is on everyone's mind, at least those of us who live above that imaginary separation between "us" and "them," the snowline. Will it happen? If so, when? How much will we get? Will we be ready for it when it comes? Do we have enough wood? Did I remember to shave my legs? Hmmm. Maybe what I heard was more right than I thought at the time. I have to laugh when I hear some of the crap realtors tell potential clients about Grizzly Flats. "You're above the fog, but below the snow!" "It only snows enough to be pretty!" "Of course you don't lose power! This is the twenty-first century, you know!" When Eric came up to look at our house for the first time, it looked like this outside:
Yes, that is what would eventually become my back yard and that is the little smattering of snow that was in it when he came to claim it. That photo was taken March 7, 2004. That year, we did not get any further snow with the exception of one really wild weekend when it snowed and hailed and did all kinds of crazy things, then just stopped. By Monday afternoon, it was all gone. It was just enough to make us flatlanders squeal with glee and think that we'd moved inside a magical snow globe. So yes, it's possible that we have experienced the worst of the snow that we will get this year. Lord have mercy, we were unprepared for the winter of 2004-2005. It started late and just kept on coming. We were surprised when we asked around to find that no, this was not a particularly heavy snow and no, it was not at all unusual to have snow banks that were over 6 feet tall on the sides of the roads and no, it was not anything out of the ordinary to not be able to get out of your driveway. It was life in Grizzly Flats. Last year, we had snow on the ground into the first week of May. The kids were going to be out of school in less than a month and we still had some snow! We had a huge snowfall in early March and before it got any significant melting done, we had another huge snowfall on top of that and it took forever to get rid of it. To hide Easter eggs for the kids, you just colored them (or not, hahaha) and flung them out into the back yard. They got to look for the holes and then tunnel down to them. So you just never do know. One thing that is for sure is that there will always be a snow that comes after the dogwood trees bloom. The best indicator tree, I am told, is on the corner of Logan's Grade at the top (Grizzly Flat Road) and Pine Ridge. The dogwood blooms, they look like this:
...and then the rest of the snow comes. Will it snow? It absolutely will, whether it is one crazy weekend in the middle of Spring when all manner of weather comes in one day or another month of struggling to get out of your driveway and trying not to kill yourself going out for milk, it will come. There's one thing I can tell you, though:
It ain't gonna be this week and that's good enough for me! Booya! Nope, Mama don't like the snow. I'm told we need it for our water levels to stay up there (the snow run off evaporates more slowly, so it feeds our streams and rivers all through the year rather than the rain water which evaporates at a much faster rate), but I'd gladly pay a bigger water bill if I could forego the snow. I don't like cold and never have. This Winter has been much more tolerable for me because I know what to expect and how to deal with it, but given my choice, I'd be praying for rain. There is little I like more than a good rainstorm with the emphasis on storm. Bring on the thunder and the lightening and a good, warm blanket and a cup of cocoa and I'm a happy girl. Rain is cleansing and it feeds the land and my spirit all at the same time. One of the reasons I chose Sacramento as my potential home was because it rains in the Winter instead of snowing. The first year I was there, it rained for weeks straight and I was in heaven. I don't ski, snowboard, sled, skate or find snow the least bit recreational. Snow is pretty for about four and a half minutes and then it turns into an impediment between me and whatever it is I need to do, whether it is go to town, go for a walk or run, deliver the mail, get wood from the shed, walk to my hot tub without freezing my feet or letting my dogs out to pee. I don't see the charm at all. Eric is still hopping around fussing about how
he didn't get his complete snow fix for the year.
Nope, I can do without it and if this is the year that the dogwood turns out to be a damned liar, then I'm good with it. So tell me...do you think it'll snow?
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