From a surprise visit from Spring to a late and unusual visit from Old Man Winter. As I said last month it’s a crapshoot here in Lousiana. I said January but you can include December through March.
I was so excited about the coming snow. I ran out into the night as the big thick, heavy flakes began falling and snapped some photos. It looked like the entire universe was falling into our yard. Or at least a baby star shower. I hopped into bed and dreamed of sugarplum fairies, Snow Queens and everything winter.
I woke up early the next morning and without missing a beat or eating breakfast put on all the warm layered clothes I could find. It was still snowing. The dogs, who refused to go out for Robert earlier, were now raring to go when they saw how excited I was.
So here we all go I said, out into the beautiful photogenic gorgeous snow and…..my camera batteries were stone dead. Ha. I said. We don’t need no stinking pictures (silently wanting to scream because of the former photojournalist in me and not wanting a naked blog entry). Well, fine, is what I say in these situations. We’ll remember it better without pictures because we’ll have nothing to remind us.
And with that as my mantra I charged off into the snow with Robert and two and a half dogs: Daisy May Moses(Golden Collie Mix), Sparkle Farkle (Lab) and Lucy the Wonder Wiener (mini-wienie). They weren’t sure what to think of the white stuff. It sank when they stepped in it and made funny muffled groaning sounds. Plus it was wet at the bottom and Lucy HATES getting her feet wet. Until they got used to it they looked at every step they made and listened for the noise. I threw a couple of snowballs at them and they got the idea real quick. I don’t think any of us stopped romping for the next three hours.
I started a respectable snowman. Couldn’t get a photo til much later when he was leaning to one side and looking drenched. But I have never seen the yard and surrounding area look more breathtaking, The hundred-year-old oak and pecan trees were snow coated six inches deep on the west side of the branches and it was still coming down in large wet flakes. Aja and Niko came over from next door and helped with the snowman building until everything deteriorated into a take-no-prisoners snowball fight. Even the dogs got into it. I think Robert had the most completions but I managed to shove a big ball of snow down Niko’s shirt. (Southern kids don’t know these kinds of tricks).
I spent the first 11 years of my life in Maine so I had a repetoire of snow wrangling at my disposal. I am, however, Southern by choice if not by birth.
Of course the duck started looking forlorn and quacked insistently so I sprung the jailbird out of her pen and brought her over to the action. She looked at the snowman and quacked. I don’t think she had seen one before. Then she chased Sparkle around a bit and spent the rest of the time digging in the snow for bugs.
When you live this far out the weather is everything. In the city you can still go places and carry on somewhat (unless you are in D.C.) but weather is boss in rural Lousiana. During hurricane season it is boss everywhere. When you live far outside the city limits you not only get more in touch with weather but you become part of it. I can only imagine how our pioneer ancestors survived without weather radar and forecasts. Apparently, a lot of them didn’t.
But here in Louisiana we took snow and made a party out of it in true Louisiana fashion.
Our boys The Saints won the Superbowl last week, we got snow and Mardi Gras is just around the corner. What more could a person ask for? A nice big King Cake from MacKenzie’s maybe and some K&B ice cream? That is the subject for another day….Happy Mardi Gras from Louisiana!
Beautiful Downtown Monterey Lousiana 