Walkin' in a Winter...I mean SPRING...Wonderland!

Eugene got about six inches of snow yesterday.  Yesterday….the day AFTER the first day of SPRING!  Not a big deal, really, but you have to understand: Eugene, Oregon is on the Willamette Valley floor…..we’re only at about 300 to 400 feet elevation.  We RARELY get snow and six inches is practically unheard of.

I love snow.  It’s so beautiful and quiet outside.  What I love more, though, is the reaction of people in this area.  I can only imagine the laughter of those in the mid-west who experience several FEET of snow every year.  The quiet outside makes it almost possible to hear them laughing when we name it: Snowpocalypse 2012……The Great Storm of 2012……Silly Spring 2012.  One newscaster actually said, “Snow-M-G!”

Speaking of newscasters:  why do they insist on interviewing the

not-so-bright in our community?  “You were outside taking a picture of your snow-laden tree and it fell?”  “Yeah, it could have killed me!”  First of all, these things don’t happen quickly – there are little warning signs…..like creaking and moving and such.  Get out of the way.  Second, stay inside and take a picture from your window like the rest of us!

I love severe weather: snow, thunderstorms, even extreme heat - especially when I can just watch from the safety of my house.  I have my “OK-you-can-stop-now” moments, but for the most part, it just fascinates me.  I saw a photo of an upside-down snowman once and thought, ‘I am totally doing this if we ever get any snow.’  I chickened out yesterday but Em didn’t.  She got out there and made a snowman.  We didn’t have anything for eyes and a mouth so I handed her two pieces of red/white-striped candy for eyes and a piece of red licorice for the mouth.  The colors ran, so he sort of looked bloody.  She used my grandson’s boots to make it look upside-down, so he looks like he fell off the roof.

OK, so Punxsutawney Phil was right.  Just haaaaaad to have the last word, didn’t you, ya little fur ball?  I got my snow fix, you can go now.  It was really pretty yesterday….now it just looks like work.  I wonder if this means we are in for one super hot summer?  I hope so….I’d like that too.