A beautiful thing happened this morning. It's called a Winter Storm Warning. It comes from the National Weather Service, and it puts things plainly.
I need this warning. Even living where I do beyond the tension line there is a tendency to fuss and plan and think "If only... if only I could do this just right, at just the right time, then everything would be... just right..." and before I know it I'm thinking that I can control things and if things aren't working out just right then all I have to do is exert more control and... pretty soon I'm feeling downright nutty. Better to just let go.
So I hear the Winter Storm Warning on the radio a few times and finally... oh. Relief. I stop, I listen. Blowing snow. Blizzard conditions. Marquette to Munising... along the lake, where the north winds howl and snow straight-lines past the window where I sit, watching, unable to see a thing.
I abandon my plans and let winter tell me what to do, and soon I am outside, hauling in wood with a surge of light-hearted energy.
Last week we had a thaw, and today the remaining snowcover, with its supportive crust, is perfect for hauling wood. I do not sink up to my knees, and the plastic sled, loaded with logs, glides easily behind me. A light, fluffy snow is suspended in the still air, barely falling, barely there. While working I think of the friend who helped me with the decision to heat with wood, who's heated with wood for years. I think of the friend who made wood for me this summer, who took me into the Ottawa National Forest and showed me what type of tree to look for (dead, not rotten, hardwood, not too big, not too small), and I recall the mist and drizzle and ten thousand and one mosquitoes. I mostly buy wood, by the truckload, cut and split, from a guy in Big Bay, and I think of him, always pleasant and nice to talk with.
Once a week or so I stack wood on my porch so when I need it I don't have to go outside. The stack, about 9 feet by 3 feet, will last a week or longer, depending on the temperature, wind direction, and wind velocity. Some days the chore takes half an hour, but other days longer, especially if I'm having fun, and today I am. Of course it doesn't matter, the time, as the day's plans have already been crumpled up, tossed aside, forgotten...
I haven't always paid so much attention to weather warnings. After all, I spent years in Chicago and we got weather there and we don't let it slow us down. I remember school being closed once, in 1967. Schools are closed often up here, even during last week's thaw, when all the roads either iced up or turned to slush. But I understand it now, and if it starts snowing and blowing tomorrow I'm not going anywhere. One winter I drove to a job every day, and the morning I spun out on the highway - going 45 miles an hour trying to pass a guy going 40 because I had to get to work and all it was was a little slush - I had one of those eternal moments of no control as the truck suddenly wrested itself from my hands and spun in circles across the road, coming to rest just off the shoulder, facing south when I had been headed east. I felt the motor running, so I pressed down on the gas. I crossed the road and pulled in behind the guy I'd been trying to pass, who had pulled over and stopped. He was waiting outside his truck. I remember thinking he could be Jesus Christ with his long dark hair, beard, and red buffalo plaid jacket. Once back on the road, not budging from behind this guy, I thought how I really did not want to die on my way to prepare taxes...
So this afternoon's plan is to get to town for groceries in case it's snowing and blowing tomorrow. And later on I may just sit out in the snow and thank it for being.
A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from 1 am Wednesday toIt puts it plain, but all those ellipses leave me wondering...
7 PM EST Thursday.
Look for light to moderate snow to develop during the overnight
hours tonight. Expect the snow to intensify during the day
Wednesday as north winds increase and temperatures fall. Wind
gusts of 35 to 50 mph are possible Wednesday afternoon through
Thursday morning... which will result in blizzard conditions at
times. Look for conditions to improve slowly Thursday afternoon
and evening. Total snowfall amounts of 10 to 18 inches are
possible from this storm... greatest over the higher terrain from
Negaunee to Skandia... Trenary and Chatham.
I need this warning. Even living where I do beyond the tension line there is a tendency to fuss and plan and think "If only... if only I could do this just right, at just the right time, then everything would be... just right..." and before I know it I'm thinking that I can control things and if things aren't working out just right then all I have to do is exert more control and... pretty soon I'm feeling downright nutty. Better to just let go.
So I hear the Winter Storm Warning on the radio a few times and finally... oh. Relief. I stop, I listen. Blowing snow. Blizzard conditions. Marquette to Munising... along the lake, where the north winds howl and snow straight-lines past the window where I sit, watching, unable to see a thing.
I abandon my plans and let winter tell me what to do, and soon I am outside, hauling in wood with a surge of light-hearted energy.
Last week we had a thaw, and today the remaining snowcover, with its supportive crust, is perfect for hauling wood. I do not sink up to my knees, and the plastic sled, loaded with logs, glides easily behind me. A light, fluffy snow is suspended in the still air, barely falling, barely there. While working I think of the friend who helped me with the decision to heat with wood, who's heated with wood for years. I think of the friend who made wood for me this summer, who took me into the Ottawa National Forest and showed me what type of tree to look for (dead, not rotten, hardwood, not too big, not too small), and I recall the mist and drizzle and ten thousand and one mosquitoes. I mostly buy wood, by the truckload, cut and split, from a guy in Big Bay, and I think of him, always pleasant and nice to talk with.
Once a week or so I stack wood on my porch so when I need it I don't have to go outside. The stack, about 9 feet by 3 feet, will last a week or longer, depending on the temperature, wind direction, and wind velocity. Some days the chore takes half an hour, but other days longer, especially if I'm having fun, and today I am. Of course it doesn't matter, the time, as the day's plans have already been crumpled up, tossed aside, forgotten...
I haven't always paid so much attention to weather warnings. After all, I spent years in Chicago and we got weather there and we don't let it slow us down. I remember school being closed once, in 1967. Schools are closed often up here, even during last week's thaw, when all the roads either iced up or turned to slush. But I understand it now, and if it starts snowing and blowing tomorrow I'm not going anywhere. One winter I drove to a job every day, and the morning I spun out on the highway - going 45 miles an hour trying to pass a guy going 40 because I had to get to work and all it was was a little slush - I had one of those eternal moments of no control as the truck suddenly wrested itself from my hands and spun in circles across the road, coming to rest just off the shoulder, facing south when I had been headed east. I felt the motor running, so I pressed down on the gas. I crossed the road and pulled in behind the guy I'd been trying to pass, who had pulled over and stopped. He was waiting outside his truck. I remember thinking he could be Jesus Christ with his long dark hair, beard, and red buffalo plaid jacket. Once back on the road, not budging from behind this guy, I thought how I really did not want to die on my way to prepare taxes...
So this afternoon's plan is to get to town for groceries in case it's snowing and blowing tomorrow. And later on I may just sit out in the snow and thank it for being.
