The Truth about Robins

And you thought spring was just around the corner. Those  robins are as deceptive as an "As Seen on TV" product! The following proves it:

"Robins: Harbingers of Spring?"

Signs of Spring. Kind of.

The snow is still everywhere , but has decidedly retreated. Whenever we pass a bit of turf, we yell, "Grass!" The walls of plowing that gave our driveway a tunnel effect have now flattened to almost nothing. You still can't find the entrances to parking lots easily, landmarks are obscured, and crossing a mounded median half-blinded still takes guts, but it's manageable.
The retreating snow, gray and dingy, now reveals the war wounds the landscape has received. Lawns bordering neighborhood streets are maimed by the gouges of snowplows. Whole sections of curb are reduced to chunks of gravel. Mailposts everywhere are bent like matchsticks. Mailboxes themselves are reattached with whatever is at hand: rope, duct tape, Christmas lights. One enterprising neighbor created a whole new delivery system with a plastic snaplid shoebox stuck to a broomstick. The ugly side of a snowfall is made known.
But for us, there was indeed a welcome result of the melt-off. While walking the dog past MeiWei's friend's house, a round, blue, bucket-like shape was rearing. Looking closer, I saw the Ultimate Sign of Spring: The Boot!!!
Yes, the boot that Meiwei stepped right out of at the height of some blizzard or other two weeks before had emerged, sodden and encrusted but still
more beautiful than a crocus. Surely spring must be on its way!

No Manliness, PLEASE

Father R is probably sitting in the 6-12" zone, but may be as far north as the 1-2 FEET zone. Not to mention hurricane-force winds, downed trees and closed highways. The challenge now is convincing him he does not have to prove his manhood by attempting to come home in this.
Please, Father R, wherever you are, enjoy the hotel hot tub and STAY PUT!!!!!

AccuWeather.com - Weather News Snow Map for the Northeast Blizzard or "Snowicane"

Snow-icane

So there's this monstrous storm building up in Texas and heading for the Northeast. It seems so strange that it's not going to be taking us down for a beating, but attacking someone else instead. I almost feel cheated on. Now I know winter has driven us crazy.
Nonetheless, we are being included because Father R is at a conference in NJ where they are predicted to get 6-12". Natch he drove the less-war-worthy sedan when he could've taken on Ma Nature in his 4-wheel drive pickup tank. It may not have looked very professional at the meetings, but he'd have had the last laugh.
Here's the map:

Snow-verload, part 2

Back at home, we were prepared but facing new challenges. The lights went out temporarily and we thanked God and Father R that we had a generator. We kept in frequent contact with my parents an hour away. Father R had brought in supplies while in their neck on Monday so we knew they were supplied.
    I tried to maintain some routine in MeiWei's life. We couldn't afford to keep taking snow days along with the school system (who will be going until July it seems). While she worked on a map of--no kidding--Hawaii, she giggled about getting wet. "I knew it couldn't be rain because it's snowing!"
   I looked up and found drops coming from the ceiling.  Father R was concerned, but was busy with the plow.  When all was quiet and I was making lunch, I was alerted to a tapping sound nearby. Now the drips were coming from the middle of the room.   Snow piling up on the balcony over head was blocked and melting into the house!  First one, then two, then three pots were lined up on the floor. Father R came in and immediately headed for a ladder and a shovel. I tried to squelch the idea of going up on a ladder in a blizzard, but he  wouldn't be stopped. Thankfully, he got down the offending blockage  without harm and the leaking stopped.
    The doors on all sides began to be blocked and finding a way for the dog to relieve himself presented a new challenge. Dad R had shoveled a path early on but it had filled up. And opening the slider onto the deck brought in snow-filled gusts.
   The front door, protected in part by the porch roof, provided the only means of "escape" for the dog who still had to wade around ankle deep for a spot and ended up choosing the doormat.
     We expected the snow and wind to let up by nightfall, but it maintained the same pace. The radar showed us to be on the southern edge of a rotating ball of clouds spinning in place over the Mid-Atlantic.  We had played the board games we bought in prep for more cabin fever, had dinner, talked and read weather news until there was nothing left to talk or read about.
   Then Dad got the idea.
    He "double-dog dared" MeiWei to walk all the way out to the "potty patch" that he had just dug in the yard for the dog---in bare feet.   For a piece of chocolate.  And she agreed if he would do it too.  And he did. So Tai and I laughed and grabbed cameras and watched their Polar Bear Stroll.
    Then Tai was dared and she did it. And then MeiWei went out three more times. And I didn't and was accused of being a "wooss" and I agreed to that.
    And it snowed for another hour after everyone went to bed.
    And Baltimore has a new all-time, since 1884, record of total yearly snowfall of 74.5 inches. And it's only mid-February.