Spring Came Back

Yesterday, I woke up to a winter wonderland. In April.

As I walked out my door to head toward work, I faced wet, sloppy snow, clumped on trees, melting off sidewalks, covering the grass. Not the sort of thing you want to see when the daffodils and apple blossoms are out.

Missourians tend to face spring snowstorms with a combination of outrage and pride — “Nobody has shitty weather quite like ours!” Nebraskans and Arkansans say the same thing, but they’re wrong — Missouri bas bragging rights to fickle weather.

I did not worry about the snow. Snows in April are temporary, and the spring flowers shake off the snow and shine just as brightly when it melts. A spring snowstorm is, like so many setbacks, temporary.

Writing Reteat this Weekend

Wish me luck — I’m going on a writing (ok, editing) retreat at Mozingo Lake this weekend. It probably won’t snow much here this weekend. That’s where I need the luck.

Mozingo Lake is the park some seven miles from us, owned by the city, with RV and cabin camping and a big fishing lake. We’ve secured one of the cabins for the weekend because I needed to get away to some place with a fireplace, a view out the window, and a minimum of distractions (and wi-fi, so we’re not completely roughing it.) The cabins possess a rustic living room area opening to a less rustic-looking kitchen with modern appliances, with a bedroom and sleeping loft. Oh yes, and indoor plumbing.

We’re supposed to get no more than 1-2 inches of snow Saturday night, and I expect that to hold. We’re going to bail if the forecast changes by Saturday afternoon. The key here is “if the forecast changes”, because sometimes we get more snow than was forecast. With a bit more snow, the roads at Mozingo will be an impassible winter wonderland until they plow. Here’s hoping we get the whole weekend there, and here’s hoping we don’t get snowed in — then again, if we bring extra food, getting snowed in could be fun …

About Snowstorms

We’re supposed to get snow, maybe a lot of snow, this weekend.

Now that forecasting weather has advanced as a science, our preliminary forecasts have mentioned anywhere from 0 to 23 inches. I’m not kidding — although that was on Monday, and weather models get more accurate closer to the event. The latest models appear to predict 1-4 inches, but it’s only Wednesday and it’s early days yet for a Friday storm.

How people deal with the snow in the US depends on where they’re from. In southern states, one inch of snow will shut everything down because it’s such a rare occurrence that cities and state highway departments have no snow plows. In the Midwest, if we see someone stuck in a driveway, we go help push them out. Before a major snowstorm (and what constitutes “major” depends on whether one is a Northerner or a Southerner), people stock up on toilet paper and milk.

Talking about snow is a bonding experience. People discuss how much expected snowfall, preparations, and (at the college level) hopes that school will be canceled the next day.

It looks like school won’t be canceled this time, but the forecast could always change. It’s early days yet for a Friday storm.

Escape from Black Friday

Normally on the day after Thanksgiving, Richard and I go to a mall for Black Friday. Not to shop, but to watch people. People are generally not at their best when grabbing bargain deals, but there is still enough quirk to make people-watching fun.

Not this year. Lied Lodge (Arbor Day Lodge) is such a soothing combination of wood and stone and fireplace and comfy rocking chairs and plenty of coffee that I’m settled in here for another day of writing retreat. I might get through the second edit on Whose Hearts are Mountains to send it to dev edit (I’m pretty sure I’m sending it to dev edit first.)

We’re cutting the visit a day short because Sunday is bringing a snowstorm to the area that might bring as much as 8 inches of snow. I’m hoping for a snow day Monday.

Peace to my readers.

Rebirth

I believe everyone experiences rebirth —

There are many religious festivals that follow the motif of rebirth, with Easter being the most present in my mind at the moment
Some people experience rebirth through transcendental experiences like walking in the woods or standing in a silent cathedral or looking out in space
Some people feel reborn through restorative justice — not just the wronged, but the one who has done wrong.
Some people feel reborn through new insights into life
Some reinvent themselves — when they fail at one thing, they open themselves up to another possibility.

I believe in the potential for constant rebirth. It might be a bipolar thing, because I’ve lived much of my life with that enhanced glow in the religious/spiritual part of my brain. But I seek out opportunities for rebirth as often as I can, hoping I can hatch a more whole part of me.

Happy Easter/Good Passover/April Fool’s/Camp Nano time!

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And now for my re-hatching:

My Kindle Scout entry, Voyageurs, can be found at:

Voyageurs

And I’m looking forward to you reading (and hopefully nominating) me!