Almost everyone in our neighborhood took a snow day yesterday. We woke to about four inches on the ground and heavy snowfall. There was a little breeze, so it was a bit difficult to measure, but by midafternoon we had about a foot of snow. The drift in our driveway was about 18 inches deep. We weren’t snowed in. We could have gotten out with our pickup, but we didn’t really have anywhere that we needed to go. There aren’t enough snowplows in our county to keep up with heavy snow, so there probably won’t be any plowing in our neighborhood. The main county roads will be plowed, but we had no need to go anywhere. Schools were closed for the day as well as some businesses.

In the afternoon I wasn’t the only one in our neighborhood shoveling snow. My neighbor across the street, who moved here a few years ago from Casper Wyoming was shoveling at the same time as I and we were talking across the street as we worked. His dog was having the best time and saw the snow as a real bonus. I think there were some neighborhood children who agreed. Our backyard was a real hit with the birds, and I refilled the feeders which I had refilled the previous day. Most of the time it takes two or three days for the birds to eat all of the seed, but word got out among the birds, and they are going through the seed quickly with the snowy weather.

Although I don’t have a snow blower anymore and I don’t even have a good snow shovel. I don’t mind. The plastic shovel I brought with me from South Dakota is enough to clear my driveway and sidewalk. My driveway is much shorter than the one we had in South Dakota, and I don’t have anywhere I need to be, so there is no pressure with the shoveling. We’re supposed to get rain tomorrow, so I don’t want to leave any deep snow that might turn to ice.

I can’t remember having snow days when I was in elementary and high school. I suppose we must have had some, but they weren’t very frequent. On days when blizzard conditions persisted, we had blizzard days when the school buses didn’t run. Rural students who were in town when the blizzard struck were all assigned to “snow homes” in town where they stayed until the roads were cleared. The rest of us walked to school as usual and made our way home in the snow.

Here, however, we know that there will be a snow day if there is more than a couple of inches of snow. Even that much doesn’t happen very often. Yesterday was the first day this school year with enough for the school district to cancel classes. Our district has already declared that there will be no snow today, either. I’m guessing that even with the accumulation we have, there won’t be much snow left by next week, but they could end up canceling school on Friday if things don’t melt or if the rain makes things icy. The school district doesn’t really have any equipment to clear snow from parking lots and other areas.

We have a good stock of groceries in our pantry. Our home is warm and cozy. It seems fine to us to sit by the fire and read a book with a cup of tea. We can watch the birds and go for short walks around the neighborhood. There isn’t enough traffic to prevent us from walking in the streets where the snow has been packed by the cars. Shoveling sidewalks isn’t really a thing around here. The few homes where the driveways are shoveled don’t have the walks shoveled. I didn’t even finish shoveling mine yesterday, but I’ll make sure they are shoveled this morning. I can see that cars aren’t having trouble going up and down the streets and suspect that the county road is plowed.

Our neighbors to the south have a shiny new Subaru parked in their driveway, but they didn’t seem to be inclined to get out to test its all-wheel drive capabilities yesterday. Our Subaru stayed in the garage all day. We probably won’t bother to get it out today either, though I’m sure we could get around with it.

I’ve got chains for my pickup, but I’m sure I won’t be needing them even if we need to go somewhere. Thursdays are my usual day to do volunteer work at the church and there are books that need to be sorted because of a water leak last weekend. Not many of the church’s books were damaged. The library escaped water damage. However, some children’s books were damaged, and we will sort them so that any that need to be replaced are valued on the insurance claim. However, that work can be delayed for a few days. I’m sure we’ll be able to get to church on Sunday.

I’m glad the snow came this week as I will be traveling next week. I am planning to attend a big gathering of the Association of Professional Church Educators in St. Louis. I’m looking forward to seeing colleagues from across the country, many of whom I haven’t seen face to face since the start of the pandemic. It would be a bit more hassle for Susan to deal with snow by herself, especially if much shoveling was required. Besides, it is more fun to be snowed in if you have someone to share the experience. We had fun getting out our bird books and identifying birds yesterday. Our walk on the snowy streets of our neighborhood was fun and we’re used to cooking for two. Well, we really aren’t used to cooking for two, but we are used to making good use of leftovers when we prepare food in quantities that serve more than a single meal, which is most of the time.

Being retired relieves us of the pressure felt by those who have work piling up at the office when they take time off. And, unlike other places we have lived, we know the snow won’t last.