Falling

Rain was predicted today, with more to come through Friday, but snow has been coming down steadily since about two o'clock this afternoon. At first there were fat, wet flakes, but later they became fine grains. The lawn vanished after half an hour, and the bare branches of the trees were soon outlined with white while the pines drooped with the weight of the snow. The back yard rose bushes, sporting half a dozen bright colored flowers a few days ago, are now blooming with airy, cold clumps of white.

About an hour after the snowfall began I heard one of the town's plows (they're actually pickup trucks with bulldozer blades attached to them) run up and down the main road a block west and then along the cross street at the south end of my block, but it never got to my street. The snow continued to fall and now the plowed roads are covered again, and I occasionally hear a car moving slowly along one or the other, making a muffled crunching noise.

So far it looks as though about four inches of snow have fallen here, which is a fairly rapid accumulation. It shows no sign of abating. This could be a long night, and it's gotten very cold. More storms are following this one, too. It could turn out to be a long week.

I want to get this posted quickly. Power here is uncertain at the best times, and more often than not we lose it during heavy snowfalls. It could go at any time. If I vanish from the scene for a couple of days, that will probably be the reason. For the moment, I'm enjoying the stillness, but I certainly won't enjoy being without electricity. The white world is now dimming as dusk falls. Windows still glow, but I don't know for how long. I have the feeling that everything, including me, is slipping into suspended animation.