Lots of snow here in New England. So far, about a foot has fallen.
Usually, I’d be quite upset. Snow is fun and beautiful to look at but driving in it is awful. Shoveling is hazardous to your health.
Today, however, I’m celebrating the return of winter. I’m grateful it’s no longer eerily warm. Fifty degrees in January was crazy.
I know it won’t last. Meteorologists are saying it will be near fifty again by the end of the month. But for today, it’s really cold. And I’m happy about that.
It’s unseasonably warm here in Connecticut. The leaves are only now turning and falling to the ground. Yesterday and today it hit 80 degrees.
That’s crazy.
We took advantage of the warm weather to put away much of our outdoor furniture. It’s a majestic view, the red and orange, beige and brown leaves covering uncharacteristically green grass. We also put out halloween decorations and of course, dressed-up our babies.
In case you’re wondering, these are Lee MIddleton Dolls. Their faces were sculpted and their bodies signed by one and only Reba Schick, an artist who sculpted the most beautiful doll faces. These two are especially precious to me because my partner and I chose their hair and eyes and bodies. Aren’t they adorable?
Happy Halloween. Welcome to Fall.
Theoretically, Spring began on March 20th here in Connecticut. But March did not go out like a lamb as promised. In fact, we’ve had a couple of Spring snow storms. I am so tired of cold weather.
You may be wondering how global WARMING can cause colder weather. This Forbes article might offer some insight. But what I know from observation is that the ice cap is melting, average temperatures are on the rise, and our weather is changing. According to EDF (the Environmental Defense Fund), heat waves are hotter, cold is colder, storms surges are fiercer.
We used to have 4 seasons. Spring was my jam! Moderate temperature, warm rains…but it is as likely to be cool as the summer is likely to be crazy hot. Although it may be too late to turn global warming around completely, we have to give it a try.
Green America offers some ideas about what we—you and I—can do about global warming. Ideas include
We can stop wasting food. Buy what you need. Eat what you prepare. Donate extra to food banks and shelters.
Eat less meat. I don’t know about the whole gassy cow rumor, but it takes a lot to raise the animals we eat—land, water, food. According to Bloomberg, livestock consumes most of the corn and soy grown. Our collective footprint would be less if we raised fewer animals to eat.
Use clean energy. Anything you can do to move away from fossil fuel will help.
Insulate our homes and offices better.
Recycle. Buy less. When we recycle and/or reduce our consumption, less junk ends up in landfills.
I understand if it doesn’t sound like much. But remember, individual drops of rain overflow rivers. If each person takes a few easy steps, all of us, future generations, and the one and our one and only Earth may survive.
I strive to post new blogs each Tuesday, but I didn’t have it in me yesterday. With the heat index, it was 105 humid degrees in Connecticut. It was all I could do to move. There are many other places around the country that are in far worse shape. For example, Oregon reached around 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
The extreme heat advisory is in effect through at least tonight at 10PM. It’s currently a functional 103. Although we don’t have central air, I’m fortunate to be in the position to have high capacity portable AC in the major areas of my home. But my air conditioners are struggling to keep up.
Prolonged exposure to extreme heat is dangerous. It can lead to a condition called hyperthermia, which can cause confusion, nausea, vomiting, profuse sweating, cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Take a look at the CDC’s recommendations at the link below. You’ll find an informative infographic that includes a list of symptoms and actions you should take.
If you, or someone you know is suffering in the heat, you may not realize that relief is available in the form of cooling centers. A cooling center is a site with adequate air conditioning for people who are at risk of heat-related illness because, for whatever reason, a cool and safe environment is not available them. During the day, you can go to a center and read or work on your laptop, chat with others, etc. while you avoid the potential effects of the heat.
These centers are located in cities and towns all over the country, usually on public transportation routes and operated by municipalities and nonprofit organizations.
There is no cost to take advantage of this life-saving service. One way to find locations and other details about cooling centers in your community is through the 211 network. https://www.211.org
Of course, many of us love sunny warm days and no one is suggesting that you can’t enjoy them. But you have to be smart. At this very moment I’m sitting in my air conditioned living room with two ice packs (one on my head), a tall thermos of ice water, and an ice pop in the freezer with my name on it. Anything I need to do outdoors can wait until the temperature decreases later tonight. Why not do the same?
Stay hydrated, stay vigilant, and stay cool.
I love snow. I’ve said that many times. But the recent storm has outdone itself. It started Sunday evening. I shoveled the steps and a walkway for the dogs
And went to bed.
Monday brought a surprising amount of snow. I had put the garbage can out the night before and the snow was deep enough to cause a problem getting it back up the driveway. Snow was past the bottom of the doors and I spent much of Monday shoveling the steps and walkway for the dogs. The snow was coming down so heavy that 30 minutes after I shoveled, the trench would be filled again. The dogs were not happy. Unless forced, they would not have left the steps.
To keep snow from getting too deep. We cleaned off the cars and shoveled snow throughout the day. We were proud of ourselves for staying ahead of the snowfall. We went to sleep expecting a fairly normal Tuesday.
But instead of the planned relaxing day of stretches, breakfast, and a day devoted to writing, we woke to snow deep enough to prevent opening the doors and snow literally up to our car’s doorhandles.
One of my favorite fantasies is curling up in front of a roaring fire, drinking hot chocolate, and napping or reading. Just enjoying the snow. While I have seen a lot of snow and drank a lot of hot chocolate, I have never fulfilled the rest of this fantasy. Today was not to be the day to live this dream.
Instead, we spent the day shoveling snow and brushing the snow off cars. Lest you think this was easy, remember that the snow was up to the doorhandles. And some genius decided to use a snow blower that threw THAT snow onto our car.
We didn’t shovel every moment, but my muscles would debate that. We shoveled enough that coming inside and using ICE PACKS on our backs was necessary. We had scraped and shoveled the driveway to the street. And driven over patches of snow to get our car near the end.
As evening fell. I went outside to survey our progress. The city trucks had made a couple of passes and our driveway was blocked by a wall of snow and ice we could not possibly drive over. Snow had slid off the overhang and covered a good part of the area we had shoveled with 3-5 inches of snow.
At this point, I had the choice of crying or watching a few episodes of my current favorite TV show. To quote Scarlet O’Hara, “after all, tomorrow is another day.”
Join Trevann's Community of VIP Readers!
Welcome to Living After Midnight, Trevann's Community of VIP Readers!
