Nature's majesty

Nature just does what nature does. I don't see any evidence that nature is conscious in any way we would recognize. I don't see any evidence that nature is aware of what she does or plans and executes any natural strategy. It doesn't seem plausible to me that nature plays tricks on us or appreciates the irony I detect in the way her majesty plays out.

I could certainly be wrong though!

After the last cold snap, when temperatures crashed down to minus 20 and it was very, very cold and wintry, we had some lovely warm days. It didn't quite feel like spring yet, but with the warming sun ever higher in the sky and days growing noticeably longer, it felt like we were on the verge of spring.

And indeed were were, indeed we are.

On Monday the weather forecasters began telling us of a pending winter storm, due in on Wednesday (yesterday as I write this). Tuesday was lovely and warm, with temperatures climbing to near 60 and much of last week's snow melting away.



By Tuesday morning the forecast was calling for a blizzard, and as the storm approached Tuesday night it began to rain. The temperature hovered near 40 degrees all night and by morning we'd had about 0.35 inches of rain.



At about 10 a.m. the temperature began to fall and a brisk northwest wind picked up.

By 11 a.m. the rain became snow and we were experiencing a legitimate blizzard.



The wind howled and the snow fell and there was nothing to do but hunker down. I was snug and warm inside, the power stayed on, and so did the internet. Not bad at all.

By 8 a.m. this morning most of the snow had ended but there was still a powerful northwest wind, 30-40 mph sustained and gusting to near 60 mph. Overnight the wind and snow combined to create significant drifts, which were a lot of fun to dig out of.

Snow plows had been out already, so the roads were passable, though technically closed.

All together we had 11.75 inches of snow containing 1.78 inches of liquid water.

I stopped by the hospital to arrange for Dad's albumin infusion tomorrow. As I arrived I had the opportunity to dig a lady out of the snow drift she'd parked in. I can't help but wonder of nature found the situation as amusing as I did.

The wind is still howling but that's supposed to taper off around sundown. The forecast predicts a warming trend over the next few days. That will be welcome.

And now it's time to go drain Dad's abdomen. I'll get back to this later.