Pros and cons of a big snowfall

We're not necessarily "paralyzed" as the news reports claim, but the D.C. area certainly does not need an additional 10 to 20 inches of snow as predicted in the next 24 hours. Below is what we awakened to a couple of days ago - lots of beautiful, fluffy, snow! There are many pros and cons involved with a heavy snowfall. I thought my tropical blogger friends might appreciate some of the realities of living in this clime (more Northern friends know what I'm talking about all too well!). First pro/con reality: no school!!! And for those of us who work in schools, no work!!! This is the hugest YAY! a big snowfall can bring. Some cancellations are not so happily received - my master gardener class has been cancelled and I'm pretty sure Starbucks is closed too. Here's a con - and just a con for me since as I get older, I'm getting crankier - sledding. Having a younger child means I actually have to get out there and sled as well. Though the sledding is fun, taking off my glove every five seconds to wipe a little one's runny nose, isn't so fun. Carrying a little one back from the hill b/c she's sooooo tired is not so fun.



Pro: some of the most gorgeous scenery. Even the old creek we take for granted looks cool and refreshing.





Another beautiful pro: icicles! Does it get more idyllic than that? Con: now look at it another way - sharp daggers waiting to fall on some one's unsuspecting head! We'd been watching that big one get longer and longer, then decided to smash them all down. We suspected that the weight of the icicles on the gutters was an expensive spring repair waiting to happen.





Con: fines are doled out if residents do not shovel their sidewalks within a reasonable amount of time. Pro: each year it snows, I look forward to getting out there and shoveling. It really is fun to be out among neighbors, working on the sidewalk, but the work gets quickly tedious, especially if (con) there is a layer of ice below the 2 feet of snow.






Con: when there is this much snow, it's difficult to figure out where to even dump the snow! Here you can see the snow piled up on the corner of the driveway. My husband's car is actually on the street behind the snow.

Con: most of the smaller streets were not plowed until late in the day (our city is usually really good with this). With a snow like this, an unplowed road means you cannot travel through. One road which leads to our house was closed due to a fallen power line. Another was closed due to a fallen tree, and the other, I can navigate with my SUV, but most sedans cannot safely navigate due to the ice and the incline of the road. A neighbor's friend in another town over lost power for about 2 days when she asked me to go rescue her and her baby. Having no power means no heat, no ability to cook. Since people had ransacked the stores, and since the street for this friend had not been plowed, meant a very uncomfortable situation. Though I thought it would be an easy feat to drive my car out, when I got out there, I realized the best bet was to drive my husband's car in the photo below. Pro: we live on a larger street, so we'd been plowed when many secondary streets had not. Con: the drawback of plowing means all the cars on the street become blocked in with a thick and tall layer of plowed icy snow. It required a 4-person 30 minute dig out before we could go pick up the friend in need.

Con: after this magnolia below has survived ice storms, Brood-X cicadas, torrential rainfalls, and my cable tie tourniquet, alas it has been split in two sections. I don't see a pro here at all. :(

Pro: I think with a big snow storm like this, as long as one accepts the reality of some of these cons like I've mentioned, it can ultimately be kind of fun. You don't see photos of my older kid because she's been pretty much gone for the past few days - at the hill, at a friend's house, at a friend's hill, here. As long as there's a a dryer running to get wet clothes ready for the next sledding excursion, a continuous supply of hot cocoa and snacks, the older ones are content. Of course my younger one below, has also been having a grand time.