Bless Me, Ultima

Another day, another winter storm! Welcome to my Equinox blizzard!

Alas, there is no Goddess Ultima. That's just as well, because the weather's not conducive to shopping for biscuits and tea. We were supposed to get a slushy inch of snow, but that was five inches and all day ago. It's coming down in buckets.

This is a good time to argue: Who decides it's Spring, the cosmos or the weather?

We've already picked up about 90 minutes of daylight since the Solstice. The birds are singing lustily in the morning. But there's not a single swollen bud on the trees, and -- at least in my yard -- only the pathetic first shoots of daffodils. When the calendar says Equinox, First Day of Spring, and the elements say Whopping Snowstorm, I come down squarely on the side of the elements.

March is almost always a dreary month around here, and April's not substantially better. The temperatures can vary so much that I prefer to think of Spring not as a date but as a change in the weather. This is why I sometimes minimize the Equinox/Eostre celebrations in favor of Beltane. It may rain on May Day, but it sure isn't likely to snow!

There's a lot of evidence to prove that many animals and birds go less by the elements than by the daylight. Can you spot the bald eagle?

Yes, this was an eagle on a nest on March 6 (we had a snow day that day) somewhere in Pennsylvania. Greater love hath no bird ... I know, right?

There's a pair of sparrows building a nest on my front porch. They're sitting out there right now, with their half-finished hut, looking at each other as if to say, "WTF?"

Anyway, it's been a long, tough week. My students sat for The Exam Which Shall Not Be Named on Monday and Tuesday. I will tell you about that tomorrow.

Keep warm!

When It's Good To Live in Snobville

Welcome to "The Gods Are Bored," where we got a little over a foot of snow in five hours last night. We're talking thunder snow. It was nuts.

Before we got the snow, we had about an hour of sleet. Needless to say, today is a snow day...

Only one more snow day before the Fairie Festival is impacted....

Anyway, I'm a sucker for a snow day. Here's what I like about them.

*All of the neighbors I never get to see come out to shovel. It's an impromptu block party without the pasta salad. And since so many of us who were shoveling this morning are secondary earners in the education field, we had a great gabfest about Governor Fat Ass and his assault on the public school teachers who are the second best in the nation.

*I have a neighbor named Mr. F who is a gadget junkie. He can be really annoying with his leaf blower in the fall. But when a heavy snow falls, and the plow double-buries the cars, Mr. F is a Gods send. He has a heavy duty snow blower, and he loves to use it. He cleared my driveway. Now I'm making him brownies.

*Other than the plowed-in driveway, the rest of the shoveling fell to me. Mr. J is ill, and Spare is a wee little thing. She opted to clean up the kitchen and make lunch. So out I went to ply the snow shovel.

When I first moved to Snobville,  I was so dismayed about the tiny little property. I can sit at my dining room table and see my neighbor making her supper next door. If the windows are open, we can converse. Tight quarters.

But when a foot of heavy snow falls, how much sidewalk and driveway do you want to be responsible for? I'll tell you: not much more than I have.

I'm a Cailleach of a certain age, not in very good shape, and I cleared the front porch, sidewalk, and cars (and around the cars) all by myself. Without Mr. F's help I would still be out there, wrestling with the heaviest piles. But as it was, I got my little section of sidewalk all done in about two hours. Came in and took the Advil right away.

And oh, is it lovely this morning on my street! The thick snow is coating all the branches and shrouding everything on the ground. Kids are strutting by with their sleds, all dressed in bright winter wear. The sun has come out, and everything looks so shiny and clean!

When my Fairie Festival plans become impacted by this unusually snowy weather pattern, I will look back on mornings like this one and remember that big snowstorms have their special sweetness. The bright sheen of snow against sky, the kindness of neighbors, the joy of two hours' extra sleep.

We take what we can out of life. Snow days are gifts. Blessed be to Beautiful Sedna for sending them!