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| my backyard this morning |
The snow is truly lovely to look at. And sun on snow makes everything
look brighter. That’s particularly important to me today, since it’s day 11
that we are without power after Sandy’s roar-through.
In the
21 years we’ve lived in Montclair, we may have used the gas heater, installed
in the basement room, on five or six occasions. But during this power outage,
we’ve run it while we’ve been home. It’s managed to bring the heat in the
dining room up from 52o this morning to 58 o now. Still
cold, but with the outside temperature at 40 something, much more tolerable. The fireplace in the living room gives us
light, some heat, and comfort in the evening.
I have
developed great admiration for both the indigenous Native Americans of the area
and the early settlers. I can’t imagine anticipating an entire winter in a
poorly-insulated shelter, where the only heat is from wood I’d either chopped
or gathered, and the only evening light from candles, previously made, and moonlight.
However did they survive?
This is
the second year in a row when we’ve had an unseasonably early snow storm. Prior
to last year, I’d almost have bet my bank account that it would not snow before
Thanksgiving in this area. I remember how unusual it was that I actually went skiing
the weekend following Thanksgiving one November in the late 1960s.
Yet early
as it is, we are not talking an insignificant flurry; yesterday’s snow dropped
three packing-perfect inches, the kind of snow that just begs you to build with
it. Normally, I’d respond. But today, knowing there was no chance to warm up
afterwards, I had to merely take its picture and hope I’ll get another chance
to sculpt snow this winter—when I have heat in my home.
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