Well, that was certainly a snowstorm worthy of the hype!  As I watched the snow fall all day on Sunday, I remembered the saying “little flakes, big snow.” When the snowflakes are tiny, the accumulation is likely to be huge.  And many inches of those small flakes later, I think that observation rings true.

The scraping and howling of plows and shovels and snow blowers have filled the air for days, and the snowbanks are deeper than I remember seeing for some time.  Compounding it all is the bitter cold.  This weather seems especially harsh since we have gotten used to much milder winters in the past few years.  I remember my late husband John actually playing golf in January in New York! True, he was bundled up, but the course was not covered with snow.

At least we didn’t get hit with the ice storms that have devastated folks living south of us. People living in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and Texas were hit hard with freezing rain and thousands remain without power.  I well remember the ice storm of February 2022 that left many around here without power for over a week.  It wasn’t pretty. You don’t miss it until you lose it, that’s for sure!

Snow can be plowed. Ice is a lot trickier. On the ground, it can be melted with salt, but coat a mature tree or some power lines with ice, and you are in for some big trouble. Throw in the frigid temperatures that our entire country has been experiencing and it’s a recipe for general unpleasantness.  Ice is no joke.

When I taught seventh grade English, I always had my students memorize poems.  One of my favorites was Robert Frost’s “Fire and Ice,” which came to mind during this latest storm.

“Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire / I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice, / I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice / Is also great / And would suffice.”

I think Robert Frost was on to something! Let’s hope that the ice goes away soon, and that folks across the country will soon have their power restored.