Snowmageddon showed up after all

I am always amazed at how freaked out people in Colorado get at the threat of a little snow. I expect it from people in the South or even in New Mexico (where it does snow sometimes!). But I really think Colorado should be able to handle the white stuff.

I blame the hype entirely on the media. Days and days of, "the world is going to screech to a halt as a massive storm slams into the Rockies undoubtedly stopping the world on its axis and causing your corner supermarket to be out of white bread. Prepare yourself! (here is how to do it... watch Channel X news continuously for the next week and talk endlessly with your colleagues about how horrible it is going to be and maybe we should just stay home)"

When the promised storm brought little snow on Sunday, I scoffed. But the hype continued.
Yesterday it started snowing.
And it didn't stop.
And I shoveled.
Twice.
And still it didn't stop.

I went to the grocery store.
There was still white bread, but I was hard pressed to find Swiss cheese.

I got some unexpected help from TWO neighbors with snow blowers at dusk last night. Turns out the 40-something dads who have kept that old rusty thing in the back of the garage for the last five years unused, will bust it out when the snow total exceeds 10 inches. Or maybe they just felt sorry for the sweaty lady with the deep corner lot.

And still it didn't stop.
And today Colorado State University and all the schools were cancelled and the roads were quiet except for the snow plows.
It has stopped.

I gave up the shoveling effort after two-thirds of a two-car driveway and 50 yards of a 200 yard sidewalk.
I'm hoping one of those neighbors gets frisky with that snow blower again.
I'm going back to weaving.
Because that is my post-apocalyptic life skill.

A snowy day in New Mexico

So I have returned to my homeland. I suppose that sounds a little dramatic, but I really feel like I'm supposed to be back here. Maybe not specifically Velarde as I have no prior connection to this particular place, but I think Velarde is as good a spot to land as any other. For one thing I live just a stones throw from the Rio Grande river--the great mother river of this part of the country whose headwaters I have hiked along in Colorado and by whose banks I have walked my dog in Alamosa and watched cranes in Albuquerque and Socorro. Now I live next to her and hope to hear the cranes flying over next spring on their trip to the San Luis Valley and then farther north. It's all connected.

It is snowing here today. We got several inches last night--maybe as much as 4 or 5 inches. This is a holiday in New Mexico. Believe me, everything shuts down when there is snow in the air--except WalMart of course. Not even a bomb could shut them down. As I have not yet nailed down a job, I don't have anywhere I need to be today and am looking forward to a day at the loom. My Rio Grande loom is set up and I'm finishing a panel for a piece called Invitation. Here it is on the loom. As soon as I finish shoveling the snow from my back walk so it doesn't become an ice rink, I'm back to the loom. This is a photo of my dog Cassy under my loom asking to play frisbee, her favorite game, in the freezing cold blowing snow. Dogs just don't care about the weather... though when I took the photo above of her standing in the snow, she soon wanted to go back to her nap on my bed. Maybe the problem is that she has no memory for cold weather. Still, there is nothing better than a furry labrador to keep your toes warm in the winter.