Deep Snow

All I could see was deep snow last Thursday morning. How cool to wake up to a different landscape than the one you went to sleep with. It was so beautiful I went out and took a picture of everything, from the fence post to the log pile! I'm sure my neighbors thought I was crazy. In Boston, where throwing trash from the car window was standard practice, the snow covered the trash and made it look like Disneyland. Snow makes everything beautiful.

It was at this point that I realized that walking in 2 feet of snow was an athletic event. It was also at this point that I was thankful for the loan of some toasty warm used men's snow boots. I learned that screen doors are stupid in winter cabins and that dirt shovels are really really heavy when they are full of snow.

The snow just kept on comin' Thursday and Friday. By Friday I had given up on shoveling the decks and just watched the snow fall. The kitchen deck was inaccessable because the screen door

wouldn't open. I had propped the back screen door open but because of the drifts couldn't get out that way. It was Friday that I gave up on clearing off the hot tub. Again, neighbors thought I was crazy enough.

Power was off and on, mostly on, for which I was very very thankful. I had two alternate sources of heat, the fireplace and a very efficient kerosene heater that I had been given instructions on how to use. There was an oil lantern I had to resort only once for light as well as a couple of flashlights. The stove is gas but since I had matches I could light it easily so I could cook with no electricity. I'm sure I would have realized I needed something I didn't have if the power had been off for any length of time. One thing I think I'll invest in is a power unit to charge the cell phone without electricity. Electricity and phones were out for some people in Big Bear for long stretches of time. Our area was one of the lucky ones. My little mountain adventure would not have been nearly as fun huddled next to the kerosene heater or even trying to get warm by the picturesque fireplace.

Storm's a Comin'

I woke up last Tuesday to the thud of snowballs being blown off of the trees by the howling wind. That wind can really screech through the trees at the top of the hill. So much for watching the snow fall gently and accumulate on the branches. There were times when I went out that I thought I might get blown over. I had visions of tethering the dog on a leash and having her blow over my head like a balloon. Snow was falling horizontally at this point. Tuesday was disgusting and miserable.

Wednesday dawned clear but I knew the big snow was on its way.

My camera was getting a workout and I was too – actually using the plastic snow shovel that came with the house. I guess that’s good for an inch or two of fluffy stuff but not whatever it was that was attached to my decks. I also learned that the lawn edger that also came with the house can substitute for a real ice chopper thingy and works pretty well. Oh, and I remembered that shovels are heavy. I don’t like shoveling. Never had to do it in Boston. This was not a good sign.

Mountain Woman (for a Week)

We bought a cabin up in Big Bear at the end of June last year. It had been something my significant other has wanted to do for years and the real estate market cooperated with us. We spent the summer and into the fall sealing the driveway, caulking the places in the walls where the wind whistles in, scraping paint, filling the wood on the decks with putty, priming and painting. He even let someone else do something – trim the tree branches that hung over the roof and made the trees growing through the deck whack the house in the wind. The first snow came before we were completely done but our hatches were battened enough to get us through the winter.

We have a lovely view of the mountains and it’s wonderful to watch the storms blow over into Bear Valley. Weekends were fun but when the forecast called for a week of snow I decided to stay in the mountains for the week. I just want to watch the snow fall and hear the quiet. Now, I’m a southern California girl, a flatlander, used to some rain, glued to the TV when “Storm Watch” comes on. Dealing with snow is a little different. I felt I was moderately prepared because I lived in Boston for 10 years. I was there for the blizzard of ’78 watching a sweater-clad Dukakis reassure everyone on TV while I was off for the week the city was closed. It did concern me that friends and relatives thought I was crazy to stay. I’m not elderly or infirm– just clumsy. My significant other did not buy into the idea of me getting snow shoes. He said I’d go out and break a leg or something and there’d be no one around to save me.



So I bid my man and some great, but slightly concerned, guests (“You can still change your mind…”) goodbye and became an official mountain woman. I’m in a nice warm heated house with a hot tub for heaven’s sake! Two hours later the power went off! My cell phone and even my MP3 player were only half charged. Being semi prepared I have a battery powered radio to listen to the local station. I was relieved when the power came back on after only three hours and felt a little cocky, feeling sorry for the people the radio said would be without power for 5-11 hours. Lights went out again at 3:00. I got concerned calls from friends. Am I really that much of a pioneer woman…really?

My wheaten terrier and I went on a picture taking expedition all the way to the vacant lot next door. The snow accumulated to a whole 6 inches before the icy stuff started. Then I settled in with a book and watched the light fade. The snow was beautiful and I had a fire blazing – and luckily a fireplace for it to live in. Finally after another two hours, just before dark, the lights came back on – perfect timing. The heat is gas but controlled by electricity. It was beginning to get a little nippy. I did a little happy dance and put leftovers in the microwave!