Another holiday of sorts. Valentine’s Day celebrates
romantic love in many cultures. Sharing written greetings with one another is
one ritual of the day; another is gifting candy, flowers and other baubles with
the person to be doted on. Some people choose this holiday for their weddings.
We did. [Happy Anniversary, Rocky!]
For those not romantically inclined, February 14th
is just another cold day in February, a month seriously embalmed in winter
weather! Ice, snow, piles of both, and slippery sidewalks and streets. The
second cold or flu bug hits around this time, as well. Broken snow shovels,
dented cars, and landscapes seemingly ruined by massive efforts to tame winter.
One wonders how the rose bushes will ever bloom again, or the lawn burst forth
as green in April and May?
I remember one horrid winter (1978-79, Illinois) in which we
received 94 inches of snow. It was a brutal season. We literally shoveled off
the garage roof to keep it from collapsing. Snow was piled 10 feet high on both
sides of the driveway. It was like driving through a canyon to park the car in
the garage.
At the worst of the season more than four feet of snow sat upon the
lawn. Months later, as the snow melted away, I gasped to discover a once muddy
patch of the front lawn growing vibrantly green and thick. Grass seed hastily
thrown down in the fall before a forecasted major storm, took root in the
silence of snow pack over the months. Spring brought its green shoots to being,
and roots had dug deep into the well moisturized soil for those many months. A
miracle! From tundra to sod!
This year is no match for 1978-79; but we just finished a
9-day stretch of snow; no one day was impassable, but we accumulated maybe 14
inches of white stuff. Snow removal equipment labored 20-hours a day clearing
the stuff and stacking it for eventually melting without flooding. The
beep-beep-beep of plows and skip loaders backing up for yet another run at a
snow pile, echoed throughout the day and night.
Winter is with us. This week a short thaw is forecast so
some of this white stuff will be history by the weekend. Hopefully most of it?
After that we can get back to work and planning for spring.
After all, the groundhog said we only have a few more weeks of winter before
warmth returns. And green! The blessed green of spring and summer.
Soon, please. Even earlier, if you please! Meanwhile, Happy
Valentine’s Day! And hope for good things in the near future!
February 14, 2018
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