12.02.2014

Snow Day! Let the flakes start flying

Snow is coming! It's inevitable. For some of us, it's already been here, in droves. Whether you hate it or love it, there's always a powerful memory surrounding it. 

What's your snow memory? Your feeling about the great powdery white?


River Fairchild ~

Snow days…rather in short supply where I grew up in sunny San Diego, California. Still, snow in the nearby Cuyamaca Mountains fulfilled my childhood wish for a white Christmas. My family would hop in the car and make the drive up the mountainside to Julian, stopping at the tree farm and picking out the perfect tree. I’m sure my parents were glad to get back to more hospitable climes but I reveled in the chance to play in the snow – all one or two inches of it. Drinking hot apple cider at the quaint little farm store was a treat too.


I had no concept of the gritty realities of living in snow full-time, the slushy muck and endless plowing in order to function as a community. To me, it was a winter wonderland that one enjoyed for a couple of hours, then left behind, leaving the fresh scent of pine and trading it for the oak of the valley floor.

*****
Catherine Stine ~

Growing up in Philadelphia, we had plenty of snow. But there's one snowstorm I'll never forget. It was Christmas eve. My brother, John and I were the only ones left at home with my mom. We had a pretty tree up and presents under it.

John and I wanted to go out for a walk since the snow was coming down heavily and we knew we'd be stuck inside after it was done. We told our mom we'd be back in half and hour. After walking to the bottom of our hill, we came upon a guy whose car was snowbound. He asked us if we'd help bring the presents from his car to his family. We said sure, not realizing it involved a hefty hike.

Long story short, we got back to our house two hours later. My mom was really freaked out! Until we relayed our saga. She was proud of us, and we felt great. It struck me that was the true nature of the holiday. To reach a hand out to someone in need. Since then, I've done Toys for Tots and given food to the neighborhood shelter around this time. Always reminds me of that beautiful night.

*****
Christine Rains ~

I loved the winter. I could play out in the snow for hours. My friends now joke it's because I'm Canadian or that I have a bit of Frost Giant in my blood. I grew up in a tiny town just south of Toronto, Ontario. There was a lot of snow when I was a child. Huge drifts, taller than the cars. I haven't seen it snow like that again in decades.

One of my favorite snow memories is the Christmas of 2007. It was my husband's first holiday in Canada. It snowed two and a half feet over night. Was anyone worried? Only my husband. All the neighbors that shared the parking came out with their shovels and dug it out. (The lot contained 20 cars.) Across the street, people dug out their lot. Everyone making their way to the street, clearing a section to get out before even the snowplow came. No one grumped or threw down their shovel and quit. Everyone was in a good mood. My husband was shocked by the happy comradery and unplanned teamwork. That was what it was like to live in the neighborhood I grew up in.

These days, the cold gets to me quicker than it once did, but my son is a great fan of snow. I think he has a bit of Frost Giant in his blood too.

*****
M. Pax ~


Recently my hometown made the news for one of its most infamous bits of weather, the blizzard. Ooo, scary! Sometimes it is. West Seneca, NY, is in the snowbelt, which is located just south of Buffalo and is usually hit by lake effect snow. Whereas the south towns could get feet of snow, north Buffalo might only get inches or a dusting. Four feet in a weekend is not uncommon in the snowbelt.

In January 1977, no area of the city was immune. Both my parents were stuck at work. All us kids made it home from school. It was grocery shopping day, though, so there wasn't much food, not with four growing kids in the house. I was in junior high at the time.

My older brother and I tried to walk to the corner store. Well, we never made it past the corner of the house. The winds were impossible to walk against and the snow was up to our chests. We made due with Cornflakes.

The power went out and the wind and snow were raging. Even by Buffalo standards, it was a rough one. We were resourceful and put the food in the garage to keep cold. Only the garage was too cold and stuff froze. 

The next day, we discovered a drift over the top of our two story house, the side on which all the doors were. My older brother climbed out a back window and I tossed him a shovel. He made his way to the sliding glass door so we could let the dog out.

Anyway it was quite an adventure and there are things I don't remember. But I do remember the vast amounts of snow all over the city and that every time a flake dropped after that school was canceled. For Buffalo kids, that was quite a treat. We rarely had snow days. If the snowplows made it out, then we had school. And those cursed snowplows almost always had all the streets cleared by 6:30 a.m., side streets included.

*****
Angela Brown ~

A white Christmas happened more often during my childhood than it did in the last couple of decades. Wow, typing that just made me think about my age.

Hmmm...

LOL! Anywho, one of my favorite things to do when we had a snow day was stumble outside with my sister and brother, all of us bundled in winter coats and mittens. After spending some time with my siblings outside, making lopsided snowmen, I'd sneak back into the house a little early. You see, I shared a room with my younger sister and didn't get a chance to spend my nights reading as often as I would have liked. So after I'd go back inside, Mom would help me make some hot cocoa. Even though I wasn't supposed to, I'd take my cocoa in my room, curl up on the bed and read one of the books I checked out from the library. While my sister, brother and their friends would laugh and play, throwing snowballs at each other, I'd escape to Tolkein's Middle Earth.

Good times.

Very nerd-a-licious

But such good times.

*****
Gwen Gardner ~


Like River Fairchild, I grew up in California, partly in the Los Angeles area, the other part in San Diego. I remember as a small child getting the news that we were going to the snow. REAL SNOW! Not just the kind on television. I can't tell you how excited I was. Driving to the local mountains in L.A., my first sight of snow was thrilling. The snowballs and snowmen...then there was the sledding. My first experience of snow was also my first experience of getting the wind knocked out of me as I flow off the sled and landed on my back, unable to get my breath. A very scary experience for a four year old.

It didn't stop my love of snow, though. It's gorgeous when mixed with pines, and bundling up to take a walk is glorious. The photo above was taken from my writing loft in Colorado. A little piece of heaven!

*****

Ellie Garratt ~

Living in the south of England, snow is something we rarely see. I can count on one hand how many times I've seen snow that has not melted within a few hours.

So when I woke up on December 17th 2009 to the UK's version of a snow blizzard, the child in me was happy. It was a lot of fun to start with. Snowballs were made and thrown. Children took to the streets to make snowmen. My partner and I took the car to one of the highest points in our town and ran around in the snowdrift like children.

Of course, the novelty soon wore off when the snow didn't disappear after a few days. Getting anywhere by car was extremely difficult. Public transport ground to a halt. We Brits are not prepared for snow! I remember walking a mile in snow that was compacted to ice to deliver presents on Christmas day. I don't know how we got there without breaking any bones. But despite all of the inconvenience - the only way you could reach my house was by letting the car slide down the road - I remember that winter vividly. Happy memories.

32 comments:

  1. Hi everyone .. lovely stories - snow is magical ... my most vivid memory is of 1962/3 - which I've written about: the country was snowbound and icebound for 74 days ... it was an event - but we did move around and I did get to school which was 40 miles away, but I was ill to start with - so we were delayed. I wrote 3 blog posts about it ... as they showed a tv programme about it and its effects etc ...

    Recently I remember I left my house in the middle of town to go the one mile up the Downs to my mother's nursing home .. there was a white out ... anyway I got up there .. spent an hour with my Ma and said that I was going home. The staff just stood and laughed as I hand and arm swept six inches of snow off the car ... the internet/newspaper photos I was able to bring in to show my Ma amused her a great deal ... and we remembered back to 62/63 ....

    That was long ... but I loved these stories .. and yes when we get snow in England it's a shock to the system!! Ellie sliding her car down to her house .... Gwen and River going off into the mountains to find snow ... Catherine at home with her siblings, and her parents at work - resourceful to get through that one: and glad the dog was let out .... Christine - yes I think your son might have some Frost Giant in him .. but he looks well wrapped up ... Mary being near Buffalo seems to be a home-hazard come winter, and then Angela ... lovely you took the opportunity to curl up and read after a sojourn of enjoying the snow ...

    Cheers to you all ... Hilary

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    1. I remember reading about your '62 experience on your blog, Hilary. You did a wonderful job describing it!

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    2. I must pop by and read that post, Hilary!

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    3. Your story fits right in, Hilary. Snow has a smell and a feel, one I've never forgotten. We get snow here in Central Oregon, though. Sometimes in June.

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    4. Haha, we should have included your story in our line-up, Hilary. Thanks for stopping by and sharing. Lovely story@

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  2. We don't have snow here! My first chance to see snow on the ground was in the Sinai Desert. We climbed to the top of the Jebel Musa to see the sun rise, back in the 1970s. In the 80s I saw a few flakes fly in the Negev Desert in Israel. Just a few. And then, of all things, a few tiny piles of snow in Melbourne, where it NEVER snows, as I passed on the tram. See? The only places I have seen snow are the unlikely ones.

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    1. It's amazing where you might find snow, Sue. :) Deserts aren't likely places, which makes it more magical.

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    2. 'I saw a few flakes fly by' made me smile, Sue. What wonderful memories you have.

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    3. What interesting places to see hints of snow.

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    4. Snow in the desert--now that is cool!

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  3. Awesome recollections, everyone. :)
    Mary - as a parent, I would have been freaking out about not being able to get home to my kids! What a horrifying story.

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  4. Great snow memories! Here's hoping none of us get snowed in for Christmas this year. :)

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  5. What a wonderful collection of snow memories. There really is something magical about snow, though it can also be a nightmare! I wonder what memories we'll have this winter?

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  6. This was a fun bunch of stories to read. No worries, River, we were a resourceful lot. One of my parents was stuck for a week. I think my mother made it home first. I think she made it to my grandparents. One of them did. I don't remember where the other got stuck. Dad might have been stuck at his office.

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  7. Great stories everyone! Really fun to read. Thanks for sharing :) <3

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  8. It was fun reading the stories. We're more of the panic-it's-snowing type of people in Virginia. It's fine if you don't have to go anywhere and the power stays on. Otherwise, not so much.

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  9. Snow? Envious thoughts.
    Here in Australia I don't see enough of it.
    At the moment we are in the midst of summer slobber - and I long for winter's kiss.

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    1. Sending snow flurries your way, EC! Of course, they'll melt before they get there but it's the thought that counts, right? ;)

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  10. I remember the blizzard of 1977! I have the book called "White Death" as a number of people did die and many had to be rescued. I remember the drifts being higher the the hydro wires as we slid down them and just ducked under the wires. I was out of school for 2 weeks because our school which was only 1 storey at that time and flat roofed, could not be found and had to be dug out:) I also recall when my mom would bundle us up like turtles-heaven help us if we fell as we could not get up, and then I had to go pee. My poor mom. My other story relates to Christmas. We always opened our gifts at Christmas Eve. My brother and I were bummed because there was no snow and it was warmer than average. We were both in our teens and we were opening our gifts, listening to beautiful Christmas music and seeing what our parents got and what each of us received. It was after midnight when we happened to look out to the balcony and we saw snow! It had been snowing and 5 inches was already on the ground and more was coming down. It was so silent and peaceful, we were all smiling and the German Christmas music with the bells in the background was playing....it was magical

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    1. Hi, Birgit. It's such a different experience between kids and adults during a blizzard. :) Two weeks without school! The silence during a snowfall is eerie to me, not being used to it.

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  11. Love all of these snow tales. Christine, maybe you should write a fantasy tale about a Frost Giant! Mary, that part about digging out of the window was amazing.

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  12. I grew up on a farm in Northern Illinois, and I've lived most of my adult life in Chicago. I've seen far too much snow in that time. I can't think of anything good to say about it.

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    1. You have seen too much snow, Ron! Maybe a good thing to say about it is it makes you welcome spring more. :D

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    2. You're absolutely right, River. The one good thing about snow is that it doesn't last forever. Spring always arrives!

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  13. Catherine, your story was wonderful.
    Part of my childhood was spent in the Midwest and we saw several feet of snow dump at one time on many occasions. We don't see it much here where I live now and I miss it.

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    1. Hi, Alex! I agree with you. Catherine's story was heartwarming. I'll bet you don't miss the shoveling, though...

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  14. Growing up in England, I remember the few dramatic winters when the snow was deep - by English standards. 62/63 holds the richest memories, including smells, as I was nine so able to enjoy the thrills. Didn't discover what real deep snow was until I went to college in the Laurentians, Canada, and discovered the 'dark side' - spinning off the road on black ice + block heaters + frost bite - and the 'light side' - skiing, skidoos, and apres-ski. Now awaiting snow in Wales...

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    1. Roland - Beware the dark side... :) Trying to drive in snow isn't much fun at all!

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  15. This was a lot of fun to read about the snow days. One of my favorite snow days was in Logan, Utah on Valentines Day! I had a date and everything all planned and we had a lot of fun!

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    1. Joshua - I'm glad you enjoyed it! Snow days can make for wonderful memories.

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  16. I kind of know about snow, but I've had to travel to learn about it. Well, except for the one year we had a freak storm and were snowed in. California played with our minds that year.

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  17. I love snow, but I don't see much of it here in Oregon. I swapped Oregon for Alaska when I was young, and got plenty of snow there, living in a shack for a time, and other places. The snow seems to clean and calm everything and quiet everything. I love to walk in it or just be in it. Last year this little town had 15 inches, unheard of snow here. I loved every snowed in moment of it!

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