I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
A Very Snowy Day
It’s been an eventful few days.
On Friday JJ restarted college. He had had to drop out during his first semester in 2013 when he was diagnosed with cancer. He said he really enjoyed his teacher and his class–even though he dislikes math–and that it’s really good to be back in school. After school he went right to work. With his job, college, and his new girlfriend, life is exciting and he is developing a new confidence.
While JJ was having an exciting first day of college, I went with EJ to the dentist. EJ had been struggling with a bad toothache. We’ve really disliked our last couple of dentists but EJ said that he really likes this dentist and that he had the best dental experience he’s ever had. He has to have a root canal, which he scheduled for the end of this month. It’s much less expensive than what the dentist downstate wanted to charge.
Yesterday EJ’s friend came to visit, bringing boards for the bookshelves for our library. He lives on the other coast of Northern Michigan. This is the first time he’s been able to visit. It was really fun to show him our new home. All our family and friends say we look so much less stressed and happier than we did before we moved here.
Northern Michigan usually gets a lot of snow, and everyone tells us that our area of Northern Michigan gets particularly dumped on. This winter has been very mild because of El Nino. However, yesterday evening a storm moved in and we have gotten a lot of snow. Last night when EJ and I took Danny outside for the last time, we walked down to the bottom of the driveway. It was snowing so hard that I could feel the snow falling into the collar of my coat, the brim of EJ’s cowboy-ish hat filled up with snow, and Danny was all covered with snow. It continued all night long and throughout the day. Many times it snowed so hard that it looked like fog and sometimes the wind swirls it around in snow-nadoes.
Lately Danny has asked to go outside as soon as I get up in the morning. I took him outside and it was so beautiful with all the snow. Our Enchanted Forest is very beautiful in the winter. I took the opportunity to put new suet in one of the feeders. It didn’t take long, but by the time I finished my hands were aching with cold.
JJ had to leave for work at mid-morning. We got a call a short time later that he was in a ditch. He has never driven in snow like this before and there are some pretty steep hills between us and his workplace. A policeman saw him slide into the ditch and stayed with him until EJ arrived to pull him out. Then JJ continued on to work and texted that he had made it safely. Getting home will be another adventure. We are expecting more snow and the wind will pick up, causing poor visibility and snow drifts to contend with. JJ will definitely gain experiencing with driving in bad weather up here.
EJ fell asleep in his chair this afternoon, but when he woke, he drove down to the mailbox to put up a reflector so the snowplows can see it. When our neighbor, M. had plowed his own driveway across the road from us, he came over and also plowed by our mailbox so the snowplows wouldn’t push snow against it and knock it down. M. is the only neighbor we have really met. Our property is secluded so we don’t see most of our neighbors, and the house bordering our property is a vacation property. That neighbor only comes up occasionally during the summer.
I walked down the drive way…for the exercise…to join EJ at the mailbox. I helped him find nails that he dropped and held a board for him to nailed to the post to deflect snow. It was very beautiful outside. It was 19 degrees, which isn’t that cold, but it felt much colder–probably because of the wind. Even with thick gloves on my fingers got cold quickly.
But I’d rather be cold than hot.
I Love To Go A Gardening 
I agree on the temperature thing, though I am very happy that the sun seems to have a bit more power each day, and that being this close to the middle of January, we are this much closer to spring. Happy New Year to you, and so great to hear of JJ being back in college. Wishing him the very best in his studies.
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It is nice to anticipate the days growing longer every day now! I enjoy the beauty of the snow, but the cold was brutal today!
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We had a dusting of snow. I am more a warm weather person. Use to love the snow but now my bones act more when its cold. I guess old age does that. I am so glad you are enjoying your new home.
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Although I get cold, I actually enjoy cold weather more than hot weather. The heat drains me. And I think it’s easier to stay warm–just put on more clothes–than to stay cool.
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