Perpetual Ruminations

Monday

Let's see where we are at -- I didn't get logged in yesterday, so two days to reflect back on. Yesterday I worked, but it was a short shift. After work I stopped and did some grocery shopping, then came home and got a few things ready for snow.

We had a major storm heading Our way, and actually started seeing some wintery mix before I even finished work. They had predicted light snow in the morning, turning over to light rain in the afternoon, then returning to snow by evening. It was snow all day, but only a light dusting by evening.

The winds picked up, and the roads had gotten a good glazing of ice on them, and by the time we went to bed it was snowing harder. I worked this morning, so I was up at three a.m. and it was still snowing pretty hard out. By the time I left a little after four, it was a freezing rain and everything was ice.

We had a nice wind blowing at twenty to thirty miles per hour, gusting to about forty, so there was some drifting, but not too bad. This was only a result of the precipitation being too wet to blow around much, and instead of creating drifts, it turned everything to slick, ice covered mess. Even with driving slow, and having extra weight in my already heavy vehicle, I had numerous incidents where the sheer force of the wind itself caused my vehicle to slide and fishtail.

But, with slower speeds and expecting it, I made it safely into work. It continued to snow a wet heavy snow up until about seven, when it turned to strictly snow. It was still heavy, but not like the earlier stuff that packed in and was so difficult to shovel. It was also quite heavy, and I had quite a work out cleaning up around the guardhouse.

But, I was persistent and soon enough had it cleaned up. The problem was, by the time I worked my way around the guardhouse and had the last side shoveled out, the first side was in need of shoveling again. It continued like that all day, and when I left at three thirty this afternoon, the snow plows still had not arrived to clean up the yard. It was a real mess, deep snow, heavy and wet. Several guests got stuck in the yard, as well as a couple of freight deliveries. The snow was a good foot deep in most places, deeper in some.

I, like an idiot, had not gotten my boots out, and didn't have time to look for them this morning. They had gotten moved when we relocated our sleeping quarters upstairs and rearranged the house. So, I went to work in my shoes, nothing more than a pair of cross-trainer tennis shoes. My feet were soaked most of the day, and very cold, as well as my lower legs, and even my upper body. It snowed hard enough that anytime I ventured out to work, or shovel, I would soon be covered in sticky snow. Upon returning inside, it would melt and saturate my coat deeper and deeper.

I was suppose to be done at eleven, but I couldn't justify having Rhonda drive twenty five miles in for work on such a miserable day, so I stayed until three thirty and had another guy who lives close to work come in and close up for the night. It made for a ten and a half hour day for me at work, and I have to go right back in again in the morning.

Normally I would have the day off, but the guard who fills in on my days off is in another town about sixty miles away, and the weather is too bad for him to even attempt to drive back today. So, I work for him tomorrow, and he will pick up Thursday for me. It works out all right except that Rhonda will be off tomorrow and Wednesday, meaning we will only get one day off together this week.

Such is the way it goes, especially in winter. Only it's not winter yet. Well, not by the calendar, but by the looks outside at the white, snow covered ground it is. And, if you look at the thermometer, you will see that we will barely make it into the lower twenties for highs this week, and be down into the single digits at night. Yes, by all indications, it is winter already, no matter what the calendar states.