Snow!

Snow in our vineyard.

I was awake at 4:00 AM this morning so I went downstairs to make a cup of cocoa and to add some wood to the fire. When I turned on the light to go out to the woodshed I saw it was snowing - again. It was really pretty at this time - big, fluffy flakes floating to the ground and gently coating everything. I sat inside near the fire and left the light on, watching the snow fall and sipping my chocolate.

Over the past couple of weeks we have all experienced some snow. Some of us have been lucky and it has been enough to enjoy but not enough to cause havoc. Others, particularly in the Yorkville region, have not been so lucky. We had about four to five inches over the three days that we had the most snow. It was enough to stay for most of the day without melting and enough to go slide down the hill behind our house. Our neighbors brought their young son and we took old plastic feed bags and sat on them and slid down the hill, giggling and laughing and screaming in delight.

Our friends on Fish Rock will not be done cleaning up the damage their for some time. On one of the ranches we’ve been told there are thousands of trees down. One road worker I spoke to said they had to clear 600 trees in a few mile stretch - and that is just along the road. Domino effect was the way it was described to me - the trees on top of the ridge would fall and start the trees below to fall and on and on. I don’t know what this will mean come summer, when everything dries out and fire danger is high.

Along with the time change this coming weekend, we have another “atmospheric river” event to look forward to. It’s as though all the rain we missed in the past few years is coming all at once. I hope you have a warm, safe, dry place to spend the next few weeks.