The joke's on us

I had a great April Fool's joke played on me today. So did everyone who lives in this region.

Last week, temperatures were slowly (ever so slowly) edging up. The snow in the back yard was almost gone, and I dared think that maybe we were done with winter. Then a storm formed over the weekend, and we were forecast to get 8 to 12 inches of snow. It started mid afternoon Monday, but lightly.

It was still light snow after dinner, when I happened to look at the back porch. The footprints I made when I came home from work several hours earlier were still mostly uncovered. I speculated to my wife that maybe it's not going to be too bad of a storm.

Silly me!

By 8 p.m., the snow was coming down like gangbusters, and it kept on coming for most of the night. When I got up this morning, everything was covered with a thick blanket of white.

How thick? I'm estimating 12 inches easy. I never got out the yardstick. After breakfast today, I set out to clear the front walk. It was supposed to be heavy, wet snow ... and it sure was. Heart attack snow, they call it. And I'm in my late 50s and take some heart medicine.

But my arteries are in very good shape, so it was simply a matter of not overheating, not overexerting and keeping at the shovel. I got to the highway, walked back and started clearing the walk to the neighbor's house (used by the mail carrier--a convenience for her).

It was a little windy, and a few flakes were still flying around but it didn't bother me. Let me put it this way. I've shoveled snow this winter when it was 30 above and I've shoveled snow when it was 10 below. I'll take the 30 above assignment every time.

I noticed my wife had come to the front door. At first I thought she just wanted to watch me throw snow around or guess how much snow we had gotten. But then, down the gap behind the houses, I saw him. Plowman was here!

Plowman is the guy with the big pickup truck and the snowplow who clears the parking area used by our two homes. My car sleeps outside--it looked like a giant snowball on wheels. So I quick had to go through the house, wade down the snowy steps and down the walk to the car, get out the brush and clear enough snow off the windows (we got 12+ inches in the back yard, too) so I could navigate the vehicle. And I had to do it fast--Plowman was nearly done. But he had seen me come out and was waiting for me.

I started up the car, rolled forward a few inches, then backwards and around. Advanced down the alley (to give Plowman the room he needs to do his thing), where I stopped and cleared more snow from the windows and lights.

Before I started shoveling I took a few photos and wanted to get more, but Plowman's arrival pushed that thought out of my mind. Maybe I'll post those I did get in a day or two.

Late winter snowstorms are no fun, especially when the snow is wet. But I look at it another way, too. True, the snow is very wet. That means lots of water content, so it will be melting quickly once temperatures get back into the 40s, like they are supposed to later this week. It will be sloppy and slushy and muddy for a while. Well, that's spring for you. And our water table needs the moisture--it's been a relatively dry winter up here.

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It's still very quiet on the local sports beat. But the track teams are practicing for the new season, which starts in mid/late April or whenever the snow melts, the grass grows and it's possible to run around in shorts.

Our plans for the Chicago trip (a week from this weekend) are still on. We may visit S briefly on our way south, but only for an hour or so. She doesn't know if her husband can get free to see us. On the trip north, we figure we'll be in no mood for visiting--both too tired and to eager to get home.

I haven't been writing as much as usual lately. Put some of the blame on Charlie. At nights, after my wife goes to bed, I often go to read blogs or write a new entry of my own.

But then I hear an "Urrow?" from under the desk. Yes, that's who you think it is. She hops up on the chair next to me and then steps over onto my lap, where she lies down. Sometimes she sits there quietly for a while and then moves on. At other times, she's snuggling and purring loudly. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! I should try recording it--it should be loud enough for my little recorder to pick up.

After a while, Charlie goes back to the other chair, where she lies down. But then I look over at her ... and she's looking back at me with sleepy eyes. I start feeling it, too. It's getting late. I shut down the computer, take my pills and head for bed.

A few minutes after I lie down, I feel her walking across my legs and then lying down next to my knees or shins. She stays there most of the night. Menage a quatre (with Maggie in position in the opposite corner, next to my wife's pillow).

Intersting thing about Charlie is that she makes a soft, husky sound when she's sleeping. At first we thought she was snoring. But it doesn't come from her throat--we learned it's from her chest. Maybe it's related to purring.

Charlie is a smart cat, and she has been learning things at our house already. I've got photos, and I'm planning to share them before we head off to the Windy City.