Winter wonder… I Wonder!

In October of 2011, AccuWeather predicted a snowy period here in the Northeast beginning in December and lasting through January. Say what! Probably that is the prediction every year, and we get what we get. AccuWeather was probably correct for the winter of 2010-11. I wonder how they can go so wrong as it seems to be this year. Nevertheless, I will forgive AccuWeather. There are so many time that they have been right on, especially in the short term forecast.
There have been other mild winters that stick in my memory. 1979-80 was mild, I think. I remember it because I had back surgery in December of ‘79. There was a little snow before Christmas. Phyllis, Dan and Meg went out to cut the Christmas tree while I lay on my back recuperating. It was a great tree, and Dan showed his stuff at age 6 as he severed the tree just above the ground with a little pruning saw. And after Christmas, winter seemed to stop. My therapy for the back surgery began with walks along the roads. The first walk was about a half mile, which exhausted me. I collapsed on a neighbors sofa, and summoned Phyllis to drive me back. Eventually, I worked my way up to 3 miles a day- the therapeutic target, and kept that up until April. No snow. Great walking. Lost 20 pounds. Recovered.
Another mild winter, or possibly just snow free was the winter of 1987-88. We had 22 inches of snow on October4. School was closed for a week because of downed power lines in many areas of the district. Dan had a beat up snowmobile then. He took a lot of pride in it, but it needed lots of work. He tinkered with it the first day off, got it running. It was fun as he raced south through the fields and trees, and past the school house and church, and somewhere down there, it coughed, sputtered and died. We brought it home in our station wagon. Dan enjoyed fixing that the rest of the week; took it for a few spins around. And that was it for meaningful, measurable snow that winter.

There were several more winters without the snow, and when I questioned the value of snowmobiles before a dealer one day, he said “You have to go to Old Forge; there’s plenty of snow there, and trails.” We didn’t go to Old Forge. Dan waited, and tinkered with that snowmobile almost forever. He also invented an ice-cycle during those years with ice skates instead of a front wheel and a studded tire on the rear. Talk about winter wonder! He continues to spark wonder in me as he appeared last winter with his snow varmint, a power driven machine with a chain driven studded drum in the rear. He likes doing things like that.

The sophisticated Snow Varmint

I also remember a relatively snow free, mild winter in 2001-02. There was about 2 feet of snow on Christmas day, and maybe another storm in January, but it was relatively mild. That year Phyllis and I made many trips to Albany to deal with health issues. I parked the car in the driveway and rarely had to clean it off. I wore a light Old Navy jacket most of the time, rarely resorting to my standard winter coat. It was a good winter, and we resolved  a lot of the health issues for several years without the stress of dangerous winter driving.
I love winter. It is a wonderland here with or without snow. And it helps my spirit when it is not too cold.