Blue skies over New Albany
Blue skies have finally arrived over New Albany, and the snowfall has stopped. That can mean only one thing: time to shovel the driveway and help the neighbor dig his car out and give it a shove as he guns it up his driveway and into his garage.
The blue skies and sunshine, though, make the snowy environs even more striking. The shrubs surrounding our house are completely buried under the blanket of snow, and the small ornamental trees have their branches dipped low, heavy with snow and ice. The sunshine bathes the white landscape, highlighting the different shades of white and glinting off individual bits of ice encasing tree limbs. The soft blue background and fleecy clouds add warmth to the scene. An occasional gust of breeze causes bits of snow to drop from the trees, as if they are shaking themselves off like a wet dog.
The picturesque surroundings make the snow shoveling a bit more palatable. Still, the snow is awfully deep, heavy, and wet. Good packing snow, well suited for a snowman, a snow fort, or a snowball fight.
I think the estimate of about a foot of snow is pretty accurate. The sounds of snow shovels scraping asphalt and concrete, followed by the thump of wet snow being added to growing piles next to driveways, fill the neighborhood. Dogs are out and exploring, their invisible fences disabled by the storm.
No snowplows have visited our neighborhood yet.
