April Showers Bring...May Snow?

It snowed all day Thursday and Friday, May 2nd and 3rd. I've never seen snow in May. In all my years I don't remember a single day in May that had snow. Except this year. Most of the midwest got hit with snow. My poor brother and his family got socked with a full foot of snow. They lost their tree. For the first day it hardly collected. And the next day it wouldn't stop.

I covered my strawberries in the hope that they would survive the snow and cold, which they did. In fact they look better than I've ever seen them, big and tall and ready to send out berries. I improvised on the covering, (an old storage box) which worked beautifully. It was windy enough to blow the container away so I placed a frozen bottle of water on top for some added weight.

When the snow came I loved the way the grass looked. The bright green grass and the pure white snow was lovely. So I took pictures. And didn't mind the snow on Thursday. It was Friday that bothered me. I saw the results of a head-on collision on my way to the office that morning. Someone had been going too fast and wasn't able to keep traction on the curve. Both cars suffered but thankfully there didn't appear to be injuries.

It was slick going in that day. The pretty green grass was gone, under a blanket of white. The snow continued all day. The ground was slick and slushy, the snow was often intense, and the wind never let up the whole day. It was cold and horrible. And I just kept thinking how it was May, and it shouldn't be snowing. I called Jeff on my way home from work on Friday to complain, but he was in too good a mood for that. He laughed and told me he "made me something". But he wouldn't tell me what it was. It was only when I pulled in that I found this guy.

I guess it was perfect packing snow. It took Jeff 20 minutes to make him. I love the frown on his face. As soon as I saw him I lit up. I couldn't stop smiling. The embodiment of winter in the middle of May. He was gone by mid-day today. The rain has brought him low. But for a moment I was smiling and happy in the middle of the spring chill. Clearly Mr. Snowman was not.

More Portents of Winter

They are predicting our first snowfall tonight. The beginning of November! This is way too early for a first snowfall. Our furnace hasn't even been turned on yet. I'm pretending that it will stay rain in the hope that this isn't actually the beginning of winter (In my mind, it is officially winter after the first snowfall). But even if it doesn't snow tonight, in my heart I know it's coming. I'm suddenly cold.

My second omen that winter is right around the corner is that I cracked open my first pomegranate this evening. Those shiny red fruit are my winter addiction. I tasted a couple of the seeds and they had an acidic aftertaste that wasn't great. I'm guessing it is still too early in the season. It was heavy but not really heavy enough to be fully ripe. But another reminder that the dread season is coming. Bleh!

Epic

I'm at home today. I decided to spend the day at home after one of the worst blizzards in the history of Des Moines hit last night. I went to work yesterday with the snow flying. When I left the office there was about 7 inches of snow on the ground. The drive home last night was slippery but not horrible. But that was not the worst of the storm. Last night we got an additional 8 inches. And then the winds kicked up.

It has been a full blown blizzard all day. That combined with the current 15 inches of snow has produced one of the most dangerous storms I've ever seen. Many of the interstates have been shut down for most of the day. The National Guard was called out to rescue people who traveled and ended up in ditches. The National Weather Service referred to the storm as "Epic". And the Governor warned last night that people shouldn't drive if they could avoid it.


So this morning I emailed my boss and told him I was taking a furlough day. I have to take seven of them anyway. And this seemed like the perfect day. Here is the view out of my front window. That rapidly disappearing block in the middle of the patio is our air-conditioner. The car was even more buried.


But not even the second floor was immune. Here is my back bedroom/studio. I walked by and noticed how dark the room was. That's when I realized that the bottom half of the window is completely buried with drifts.


I worried this morning about whether I should go in or not. My father did go in to work. He described the roads as horrible. I've been watching the conditions deteriorate all afternoon. I'm glad I stayed home. I hung out with Jeff (whose school closed for the day), shoveled a bit of snow, drank tons of hot chocolate, and read most of the day. Now I'm planning to curl up, watch Mythbusters, and drink some coffee. It was a wonderful day...for those inside.

Isaac's Storm

They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Isaac's Storm is a perfect example of this.

About two years ago I read Erik Larson's book The Devil in the White City at the insistence of my mother. Now that is noteworthy for the fact that my mother is not much of a book reader. It is rare that she makes recommendations so I tend to read them. The book told the juxtaposed stories of the construction of the World's Fair in Chicago, and the story of H.H. Holmes, a brilliant serial killer who supposedly killed more than 27 people. The stories may seem odd bedfellows but Larson intertwined them in ways that just make sense. And kept me fascinated. I devoured the book and started seeking out more of Larson's books. I bought Isaac's Storm but it ended up relegated to my shelves until this past trip. I figured with a hurricane just missing the Yucatan Peninsula where I was going, this would be perfect beach reading.

Isaac's Storm also tells multiple stories. The first is about the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. The storm has been considered one of the worst natural disasters to ever occur on U.S. soil. It killed over 6000 people and almost leveled the entire city of Galveston. The reason the hurricane was so devastating is mostly because the town never had any indication that it would be hit. The storm simply wasn't predicted. And that leads to the other stories in the book. Larson also tells the story of Isaac Cline, the chief weather observer for Galveston and provides a history of meteorology and hurricane prediction. In the early 1900s the Weather Bureau in the US was just starting out and so many of their predictions were based on the current knowledge. The "law of storms" as it were. And the "law" stated that no hurricanes ever went that far into the Gulf of Mexico. Because of that Galveston never built a seawall to protect itself from hurricanes. Because of the known "law of storms" the chief meteorologist never noticed the classic signs of a major storm. And because of this arrogant ignorance, a town nearly was destroyed.

Galveston after the hurricane

Larson weaves these stories together beautifully. This well researched book reads like a novel in parts, and a detailed history in others. I learned a ton about the early history of weather prediction, about the signs and warnings of a hurricane, and about the people and the city of Galveston. All personal accounts are based on letters and on Isaac's own accounts of living through the hurricane. The Weather Bureau at that time used telegrams to convey current conditions and predictions so Larson had a treasure trove of documents that allowed him to map the storm out. In many of the chapters we follow the path of the storm as it grows and moves east into the Gulf. We learn how the Cubans tracked the storm perfectly but because of an arrogant director at the Weather Bureau, those reports were not read. This was a book for me about devastation that possibly could have been avoided. It was about willful ignorance and arrogance and the feeling that humans could control nature. And it was particularly poignant after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

As I mentioned at the beginning, those who fail to learn from history are destined to repeat it. We see a city like New Orleans, very much like the city of Galveston. It was built below sea level. It was built without a high enough levee to fight off rising waters. It was a city built on arrogance that a storm could never be powerful enough to destroy it. And one did. And many people lost their lives and their property because of it. I know I'm up on my soapbox here but I see them rebuilding New Orleans and I hope that this time they get it right. Building in a flood plain is risky and arrogant. And for some reason we keep doing it. No matter what the consequences. I hope fervently that the government of New Orleans rebuilds with the worry of another storm. I hope they rebuild smart. Or if they won't, then they shouldn't rebuild.

Snow!!!

The earliest snowfall I remember was a week before Halloween. And even then it only left a dusting and was not even enough to accumulate. I remember driving up to fencing class in Ames in a blizzard on Beggars Night. But I don't remember ever having a year where we had a good deal of snow before Halloween. Yet this is what I woke up to this morning.

This is not just a dusting of snow but almost an inch settled on top of my air-conditioner. The cat keeps wondering why I won't open the door for her. It is cold out there. And snowy. I'm hoping it's not a sign of what the winter will be like.

And for no other reason than that I liked this picture which Jeff took of the cat, I'm posting it.

I can almost imagine her saying, "I'm not coming out until cold snowy-ness is gone."

Sweet Spring

It is finally spring here. I noticed on my way into the office this morning that the grass is starting to green. We don't yet have buds on the trees but the red-wing blackbirds are back in town and the weather has warmed right up. Today it is almost 70. I am in serious heaven. I'm debating picking up a sack lunch, finding a picnic bench somewhere, and eating outdoors. I have Shaun Tan's Tales From Outer Suburbia to enjoy during lunch. It promises to be a good day.

I know that spring does not officially begin until next week. And I'm still knitting myself a winter hat. But for me something has fundamentally shifted. I no longer have to really worry about snow. I have been able to go out of the house without a coat. My winter anxiety is starting to loosen up and although I'm still sleeping with earplugs, I don't worry so much. I'm ready to drink coffee outside on the patio and read or write. I'm ready to fly the kite that has been in the trunk of my car since August. I'm ready to be outdoors. I love the spring.

Lazy Weekends and Wintery Weather

This past weekend was dubbed a pajama weekend. The weather on Friday night was supposed to be icy so Jeff and I ran out for dinner and then went home. I got home, put on my warmest pajamas and pretty much stayed home for the entire weekend. It was bliss. I haven't done a pajama weekend in at least a year and it was so amazing to not have to be anywhere. We lounged around reading and playing WoW and eating ourselves sick. I caught up on all my laundry and cleaned the house. Time felt endless. It was an amazing weekend.

This morning the alarm announced a harsh return to reality. Not only did I have to get up at 6 but I was going to have to deal with four or so inches of snow and a blizzard. Always good. I've reached that "I'm tired" point. I'm pretty much done with winter now. At least this year I can drive in it but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Although there is one bonus to this time of year. On January 5th the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival began and I always love to see the pictures that come out of it. The festival began in 1985 and has some of the most beautiful buildings and sculptures made entirely of snow or ice. The most amazing for me has to be the ice lantern buildings.

Ice lanterns are an old tradition started back in the 1600s. They were created by placing a bucket of water out to freeze. After it had frozen it would be brought in to be gently warmed. A hole was cut in the top of the ice and the ice was hollowed out. A candle was then placed in the hollowed out ice to make a lantern. While the blocks used for these structures are not created with such simple methods, I find the sheer size and complexity of these buildings magnificent.

Harbin is in Northeast China and is frozen for a good period of the year. Temperatures during the festival (which runs all month) can reach as low as -40 at night. Still it might be worth it for me to make a trek out to see these glorious structures. There is a snow sculpture contest as well which draws over 600 participants. All and all, it makes a nasty time of year a little more magical.