"In this sticky web that we're all in, behaving decently is no small task." -- Novelist Stacey D'Erasmo

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Best Laid Plans

     We had it all figured out. We were retiring from our high-tax state to a lower-tax state (Pennsylvania is not that low, but it's lower than New York). But we were still staying relatively near our old home and our old friends. Still staying in the Northeast, where we wanted to live.

     But we were also going to a slightly milder climate. Not much; but some. The average daily high temperature in March in our old town is 48 degrees, the average low 29 degrees. In our new town in Pennsylvania, the average high in March is 51 degrees, with an average low of 31. It's just enough so summer and fall last a week or two longer, and spring comes a week or two earlier.

     And then, the plan was, we would go away for at least part of the winter. This year I left in mid-January, after one fairly major snowstorm which found me helping to shovel my neighbor's driveway so it wouldn't get flooded when the next storm arrived, a storm that was predicted to bring rain. So by then I'd seen my one picture-perfect snowstorm. That was enough.

     I left on January 14. Then, come the end of February, B and I started making plans to go back home. We heard about the big storm, Riley, that was wreaking havoc in the Northeast last Friday and Saturday. No problem. We were planning to leave Friday and get home Saturday. Instead, we delayed for a day and let the last of winter blow itself off without us. You see, just as we planned.

     We watched as we drove north, seeing signs of spring all through North Carolina, Virginia, and even into Maryland. They'd petered out by the time we got to Delaware, and they were gone by the time we arrived home.

View this morning from our front door
     There were plenty of tree limbs down from the storm, and we heard that much of the town had lost electricity for somewhere between 24 and 48 hours. But we woke up Monday morning and the sun was shining. We even saw a few daffodils poking up in the side garden. It was warm, and we knew spring was right behind us, and would follow us up north in no time. We'd timed it perfectly.

     Or so we thought.

     And then comes Quinn. We woke up this morning to three or four inches of snow on the ground, and more to come. The driveways and walkways are covered. The street is a slushy mess. More tree limbs litter the yard, torn down by the wind and the heavy, wet snow. It looks like the middle of winter here today. Our only consolation: Here we're expected to get 6 - 9 inches of snow. Back in our old hometown in New York they're predicting 12 - 16 inches.

     And so I reflect back on my college days as an English major, summoning up Percy Bysshe Shelley's Ode to the West Wind . . .  "Oh Wind/ If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"

12 comments:

Olga said...

Far too early to return North!

Janette said...

Burr- no snow in Delaware, but the rain!
Welcome back to the North.

Anonymous said...

We call 70F here in Hawaii way too cold. Wear a sweater weather.

Barbara said...

Still running the air conditioner in Houston. Fingers crossed that you keep power and keep warm.

Linda Myers said...

We're giving Washington State six more weeks to lighten up and dry out somewhat. Hopefully before we've had more than three days of 100-plus degrees in Tucson. Looking for the sweet spot!

Tom said...

We got about a foot of snow, and lost power for two hours, but in the middle of the night so no problem. And now it's in the 40s and the sun is peeking out. The sweet spot ... I like that!

DJan said...

We just had two days of lovely sunshine. And now that it's time for my Thursday hike, the rain has returned. But it will be warmish, so I'm good. I hope you get all dug out soon! :-)

Celia said...

We've had sunshine every morning and rain in the afternoon here in SE WA but still not time to take the wool blanket off the bed. Stay safe you two!

Wisewebwoman said...

It's a topsy turvy world alright. Up here in Newfoundland we have the mildest winter on record while my family in Ireland hunkered down for a week with snow up to the armpits and no way to deal with it.

Unpredictable.

XO
WWW

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

We've had gallons of rain, enough to flood every lake in the area. I am not a happy camper..literally. Spring is here, but only the ugly part...the storms and tornado and severe weather watches and warnings. Some days I wish I could live in a cave and only come out when the weather is being nice. LOL! Have a good week.

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