Such a strange day! It spins around weather events that threaten then recede, threaten than recede once more.
Overnight rain had washed away the last of the snow. When I glance at the thermometer at wake up time, it registers 50F (10C).
(Peach, out for a stroll)
Breakfast, with daffodils, reminding of what's before us...
Then all morning long I get the dire messages, warning of a sudden plummet to below freezing. Rain changing to ice, then more ice. Hazardous driving. All morning long I listen to this.
Predictably, schools start to close early. We're used to snow, but ice storms are a menace even for the most seasoned driver. Snowdrop's school is tied to Madison public schools. They hold off closing, but I tell my daughter that it's silly to let her stay for a school nap, only to be interrupted with a sudden closing. And so after her lunch hour, I drive over to pick her up.
(I pass by Lake Monona -- rain has completely washed away the snow cover. It's a perfect surface for skating and I do spot one solo skater, but I have to say, for me, the idea of gliding in the rain over a lake that should be frozen is totally unnerving.)
At school, I find Snowdrop with only one other little girl and three teachers.
Most of the class is sick. One other child went home early.
We spent the morning disinfecting everything! -- one of her teachers tells me. We've never had this many kids out at the same time.
I'm thinking -- hang in there, Snowdrop!
We head out into the rain.
Is it raining hard, grandma?
It is, little one.
Really hard?
Pretty hard. Let's get in the car!
Fat dollops of rain... but in January?
No sign of ice yet. Relieved, I drive to the farmhouse.
It's not easy these days to settle Snowdrop for a nap.
I have to go shopping first for my babies...
I have to dress them warmly to go out.
Monkey, you have to rest!
Eventually the house grows quiet but for the sound of the falling rain. Spring weather, changing to frigid winter weather tomorrow, then back again to a thaw, then a deep freeze... back and forth, back and forth.
Overnight rain had washed away the last of the snow. When I glance at the thermometer at wake up time, it registers 50F (10C).
(Peach, out for a stroll)
Breakfast, with daffodils, reminding of what's before us...
Then all morning long I get the dire messages, warning of a sudden plummet to below freezing. Rain changing to ice, then more ice. Hazardous driving. All morning long I listen to this.
Predictably, schools start to close early. We're used to snow, but ice storms are a menace even for the most seasoned driver. Snowdrop's school is tied to Madison public schools. They hold off closing, but I tell my daughter that it's silly to let her stay for a school nap, only to be interrupted with a sudden closing. And so after her lunch hour, I drive over to pick her up.
(I pass by Lake Monona -- rain has completely washed away the snow cover. It's a perfect surface for skating and I do spot one solo skater, but I have to say, for me, the idea of gliding in the rain over a lake that should be frozen is totally unnerving.)
At school, I find Snowdrop with only one other little girl and three teachers.
Most of the class is sick. One other child went home early.
We spent the morning disinfecting everything! -- one of her teachers tells me. We've never had this many kids out at the same time.
I'm thinking -- hang in there, Snowdrop!
We head out into the rain.
Is it raining hard, grandma?
It is, little one.
Really hard?
Pretty hard. Let's get in the car!
Fat dollops of rain... but in January?
No sign of ice yet. Relieved, I drive to the farmhouse.
It's not easy these days to settle Snowdrop for a nap.
I have to go shopping first for my babies...
I have to dress them warmly to go out.
Monkey, you have to rest!
Eventually the house grows quiet but for the sound of the falling rain. Spring weather, changing to frigid winter weather tomorrow, then back again to a thaw, then a deep freeze... back and forth, back and forth.
