snow plowing

Hello 2009! It's the middle of winter!

Our family student housing complex scheduled a snow plowing day to remove all the accumulated stuff from our many parking lots. 

I was unwilling to put my boots and coat on to go outside for a photo, so unfortunately you get a nice bird's eye view from our bedroom window - screen and all. That's University Facility Management zipping by in the SUV.

They threaten to tow your car if you leave it in the lot today after 8 am. At 10 minutes to 8, sure enough, several cars were still in the lot and they had already started plowing. By 8:15, some residents were frantically rushing around outside with unzipped coats and bedhead, scurring to get their car out before the tow truck appeared. 

Such a relief to see all this old snow go. It's hard to park and back up in a lot full of old snow.

But so much effort! These plowers will be working all day, scooping, dumping and hauling. 

To make matters better (or worse?), it's snowing outside today. What do you think? Will plowers be frustrated by a situation that might seem like a never-ending battle? Or will they be thankful for job security?

Those hardworking Minnesotans. 

yeah, spring, mm hmm.

We're forecast for "Heart Attack Snow" tonight. WTF, Minnesota?

spring is shuddering and stammering

Yesterday I heard geese overhead and chickadees in trees.

This morning it's snowing.

Somehow I'm not exasperated and suicidal over this.

I just think, soon. Soon, grasshopper.

crazy signs of spring

It's only 40-something out there and you'd think we'd gone mad. I know I have - mad with ecstasy. Check out what I've seen lately.

1. A suburban just drove by with a golden retriever hanging out of the front window.
2. Two kids were riding their bikes in tank tops.
3. The gutters are gushing with snow melt, and the sound of it is pure music to my ears.
4. I'm happy. Really.
   
5. The teenagers in the neighborhood are running amok in the night again. I love that about our neighborhood: white, privileged, well-fed, giggling gangs. It would be even more wonderful if they happened to be un-privileged and not white and still well-fed and giggling, but I take what I can get.
   
6. I didn't wear long underwear today for the first time since November. Really.
7. The thermostat has been set to 60 or below all day and the inside temperature hasn't fallen below 63.
   
8. And best of all, the snow people are emaciated. Click on this image to see details and have a a good laugh at these little teeny super guys:

Nordic extreme dodge ball

The photographer caught the university Nordic Ski Club playing a new made-up game last Friday in the realm of dodge ball on cross country skiis.

It was a nice day, around 30 degrees out. By the time I showed up, they were packing up their skiis and doing that "loud voice laughing man sport" behavior. They were very amped up.

Such a funny sight.

Thanks to L. for the photo.

acclimation

Yesterday afternoon, I realized that cold and lots of clothes felt normal.

Last night, I walked slowly and patiently over the ice patches on the sidewalk in the dark. I wasn't pissed that somebody hadn't scraped it off or scared of slipping and falling. It felt normal.

Just now, I looked out the window and saw the snow on the ground - the same dirty snow we've all been looking at since November. It seemed normal.

Matter-of-fact.

Nothing else.

variations of snow

My favorite part of winter is the actual falling of snow. The descent is just so beautiful.

Snow truly does come in many forms. Since it has been snow season, I have noticed an incredible variety in the size, texture, feel, look, and sound of snow. I'll attempt to list from memory some of my observations over the last few months. And I'll use *'s as my bullet points (get it? snowflakes? haha!)

* Tonight we have snow falling that looks like shredded clear plastic confetti. In the air, it looks crinkly and clear and stiff. On the ground, it looks like billions of tiny diamonds.
* The other day we had blowing snow. The wind was, what?, 25 mph? More? I don't remember. But it was blowing. And the snow was forming smooth mounds and crevices and reminded me of sand dunes. Really stunning.
* A week ago, for the first time in my life, I saw tiny individual perfectly formed snow flakes. Just like the cut-out kind we made in third grade. Each one - really! - was unique. Each one - really! - was an intricate, delicate, and unimaginably complex crystal, exact and precise as could be.
* We've had cotton ball snow, when hundreds of those perfect flakes huddle together in clumps and fall down in huge, heavy puffs of goo. They're quite endearing as they plummet to the earth with a helplessness and inevitability. Splat! They hit the ground and go flat.
* Snow storms are terrifying to me. We've only had one or two, I think. But the snow falls so fast and piles up so big, I worry that I'll wake up and the door will be blocked and I'll have to push a shovel in front of me to walk anywhere. That hasn't happened yet. But snow storms are intense. You can't see very far in front of you.
* When it gets really cold - below zero - the snow on the ground squeaks. It makes me cringe a little. Tires and shoes squeak. I always know when it's getting warmer by the lack of sound the snow makes from day to day.
* Pellets of white ice. I hate those fuckers. They sting. They're not big enough to be hail balls (which I grew up with, and I don't want them again) but they slam into you and everything around you with a sharp force that makes you want to hide in bed all day.

What other kinds of snow am I missing here?

Email between the wife and myself

This morning, I sent L. an email. We use "Dear" and "Sincerely" and such out of humor, not seriously. (Just in case you wondered.)

Here's mine:

Dear L.,
I have a proposal to make. Next winter, we are taking a vacation. When the excitement wears off when we find out how much it will cost, I would like to encourage us to think recklessly as if we are living our last days on earth. As I read news stories about Carnival in Rio, it is snowing outside. I am in my robe with raisin bran stuck in my teeth and my bad haircut is crusty and greasy. I have no intention of going outside today. This is sad. Next winter, even if we have to charge it, even if we have to take out a vacation loan, by God, I'm going away to someplace warm and colorful, and I hope you'll go with me.

Sincerely,
Sanguinetti A!

To which the wifie replied:

Dear Sanguinetti A!,
I agree with you 100%.

Best, L.

Well, I did brush my teeth and go outside, for the record. But it's snowing heavily out there and I only did it because L. slipped on ice this morning and hurt her back and needed me to bring her a hot pack and then take her to the doctor.

WINTERRRAARRRRGH!

Dead bunnies

If you have a hard time reading about and looking at dead bunnies, you might not want to read any further.

Two dead bunnies have appeared near the house recently. It's the strangest thing. The first one was completely torn to bits and left as a pile of fur and one leg. We weren't even sure for awhile what it was.

I was just walking down the sidewalk and approaching the back of our house when I came across this decapitated bunny.

I said, "Oh my god!" to no one but myself and the bunny, and quickly retrieved my camera phone. The head is nowhere to be found.

What in the world???

Further findings

Coincidentally, mnspeak.com profiled a story done by the Star Tribune about how hard it is for Minnesotans to brag about and brand themselves.

Links: Why don't we ever brag about Minnesota? and the original Star Tribune article.

I say coincidentally because it mentioned that it's difficult for non-natives to break into social circles in MN and I just wrote a blog post about my experience with such phenomena.

Otherwise, it's been above zero degrees and lightly snowing all day, so all is well and it's gorgeous outside.

To illustrate my point

Here is my car. There is a layer of ice inside the windows from respiration condensation. The jagged lines you see in the ice were my frantic attempt at using a broken ice scraper while still sitting in the driver's seat so I wouldn't hit anyone while backing up.

The white stuff behind the car is, of course, a hill of snow.

Poor California car.