Snow

We already had about a foot of snow on the ground, and now we're having another snowstorm, with another on its way this weekend. Right now, the snow has left only this much of our mailbox visible:


So, basically, if we get the additional foot of snow we're supposed to have, our mailbox will be entirely buried.

Having this much snow is a drag for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is snow removal from walks and driveways and cars. We're so lucky to have a neighbor who has a snowblower and does our driveway and several other driveways and the sidewalks in between in addition to his own, which leaves us with minimal shoveling. The biggest thing with which we are our neighbors are contending right now is that the garbage and recycling collection keeps getting delayed, or cancelled altogether.

So we've got a bunch of garbage and recycling piling up in the garage. As do a lot of people.

There's been a lot of sneering from the northeast about parts of the country that can't handle cold or a little snow, which is really shitty. We're prepared for winter, hard winter, and extreme weather is doing us in, too. Not enough plows, not enough salt, frozen pipes, roads littered with potholes that can't be fixed because the temperature is too cold for the repair materials to adhere.

Two inches of snow somewhere that isn't used to it can be just as bad as two feet of snow here.

People in places where it doesn't usually get this cold in winter might have insufficient heat. People in places where it does get cold might have heating bills three times what they'd normally expect, and elevated water bills from keeping the water running to stop the pipes from freezing. People in places where it doesn't usually get this cold might not have appropriate clothes. People in places where it does get cold don't even know what appropriate clothing for -50° temperature is. A bearskin cloak? A spacesuit? Whatever it is, I don't own it.

And while we have tons of snow, other parts of the country are experiencing a terrible drought. Too much precipitation, or too little.

Anyway. I have no plans to sneer at anyone. We're all in this fuckwinter together.