I was looking at the Accu-weather forecast for Dunwich. There was a special miasmal ectoplasm alert on for the area (as usual). But the temperature forecast was eye-catching:
Tonight: Clear and bitterly cold. Lo: 4°F
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny and cold; the coldest day until next winter.
That was an interesting statement. Now don’t get me wrong. Hearing that it would get down to 4°F was in no way cheery. Single digits and below is a special part of the “charm” of New England. Camera Girl and I prepare for this by stacking two hundred pounds of blankets on top of ourselves in bed and use snorkels to get air. So, no, I’m not looking forward to tonight. But to hear that from now on until next year it will not be getting horribly cold again is like being someone trapped in a flooded building where the water line is only inches from the ceiling and you’ve been dog paddling for dear life and breathing the last few inches of air for hours praying you wouldn’t drown and finally the tide begins to recede. You experience a sense of relief and victory over a horrible enemy.
It snowed today but I waited until about 2pm and the sun came out and melted the dusting on the driveway. I went around trimming back the ten foot piles of snow along the edge of the driveway just to show them who’s boss and how limited their remaining time would be. I think as I struck with my shovel I taunted the snow in a somewhat insane manner. It’s been a long winter. The other day I was able to get the snowblower working. I poured warm water down the chute and like magic it was completely functional. So, all of the horror from last week was unnecessary. But uncertainty ruled and I didn’t want to use up any time fiddling with the machine when I knew I barely had enough daylight to shovel myself out from a foot of snow.
But all of that is behind me. From now on melting snow will be the reality and preparations will begin for spring. Already we are preparing for the next milestone. St. Patrick’s Day is coming up and Camera Girl will prepare her version of corned beef and cabbage. Lately she hasn’t been boiling it. The cabbage is sauteed and the beef is pan fried but it still connects us with the patron saint of the city of our birth (before Mamdani installed the minarets on St Patrick’s Cathedral). After that Easter is right around the corner and dare I hope some lamb could be on the menu? Camera Girl despises lamb. She prefers ham or pork for Easter but every once in a while, she’ll provide a lamb alternative for lepers such as myself who enjoy a little flavor at Easter.
But all of this is premature. Tonight, I’ll add another hundred pounds of blankets to the pile and we’ll hunker down to 4°F one last time. And who knows, in a few weeks I might even start saying, “Boy I hope it cools a little, I’m stifling. Must be global warming.”
Loading ...
