First Snow of Winter

HI!

One of the things I'm slowly getting used to is Winter. Last year we moved into the house on Deb's birthday - November 17th and missed the run-up to the snow and cold. 

Deb says we were lucky to get a South facing driveway - I say skill. A South facing driveway means that the snow comes and soon after, the skies clear and the bright sun begins to melt it. Usually it's gone in a couple of hours and there's no need to shovel.

Not true in the North facing back yard. The snow comes, and because of the design of the courtyard, the swirling winds build drifts against the walls and the snow can get up to a few feet deep. No sun means no melting back there, and like Rochester New York, where daughter Kelli lives, the snow comes and stays around seemingly forever.

There's another lesson that the cold here is teaching us - the lessons of preparing for Winter. We completed the landscaping in late July, and (grrrrr) have a sprinkler system that needs to be drained. I have to find my snow shovel cause sooner or later I'll have to do some shoveling. A few years ago there was enough snowfall in Roxborough Park to strand people in their houses for a couple of days. Last year was the salt lesson. At the local grocery, one can buy bags of salt to sprinkler on the ice to melt it. Trouble is , the salt also ruins the finish of the sandstone deck and the concrete driveway; no more salt this year.

So, the succulents of Summer have been safely tucked away, we have anti-freeze car windshield washer fluid reservoirs filled, the hoses are off the spigots, the freezable water lines have been drained and we're getting ready for Thanksgiving.

All-in-all, I'm looking forward to learning some new (hopefully inexpensive) lessons this year. If El Nino comes true and we get dumped on, we'll get into snowshoeing big time. Watertown Canyon is the perfect place to learn. And, seems like I heard there are a few ski areas around; maybe it's time to find out if that sport is still available to me.

We are well; hope you are too.

Cheers!