We had a snowy day this week which is a bit unusual for us.
Still, even the little snow that we got on Thursday was enough to send most of the citizens of our prefecture into a panic of getting ready for being cabin-bound. I understand their feelings completely. Being a Southern California gal, I DO NOT DRIVE IN THE SNOW!!! I barely even WALK in the snow! Tetsu finds me and all the rest our neighbors as being weak-kneed, wimps. He grew up in the snowy part of Japan where you had to dig your way to the front door every evening and where he wore skis in order to get to school. The small amount of snow we get nowadays is hardly even snow in his book.
Anyway, school was scheduled for Thursday and so Tetsu offered to drive me to the school and shovel snow around the crosswalk if needed. I could imagine me having to leave home an hour ahead of time just to get to the crosswalk on time if I was going to walk it so I gratefully accepted his suggestion.
There really wasn't that much snow sticking on the sidewalks so Tetsu went at it with a broom rather than with a shovel. I asked him to sweep the short slope leading from the neighboring residential area as the kids tend to slip and fall when they are running down the hill even when there isn't snow. My hero with his favorite Japanese twig broom.
Tetsu's Bitmoji looks just like him!
Across the street from the school is a bamboo grove and it looks so different when all the bamboo have snow on them.
Yesterday morning there had been another dusting of snow during the night but it didn't stick on the asphalt.
Winter isn't over with so we may still get a heavy snow. Being housebound just means we spend more time in front of the TV watching the Winter Olympics. I noticed at the Opening Ceremonies that the Olympic nations' placards looked a lot like the Celtic knots that I had learned to make last year, so I added a page to my bullet journal.
I don't like driving in the snow either. I live on a street that is third order of priority, which means that they hardly ever clear it, and it has been awful walking in it. The snow was heavy and some of it melted and refroze, and Zeus tends to want to go through the icy areas to get to the grass. He sprained his leg/hip already in the snow and is recovering. In the meantime, I am trying to avoid walking on slippery areas and keeping him from going to slippery areas, making it very stressful to walk around the block.
ReplyDeleteThe school front yard looks beautiful, and a twig broom, just the thing for twitching/sweeping/brushing off the snow.
ReplyDeleteYes, my uncle was telling me about taking the dog for a walk in the 1940s, snow up to the poor animal's tummy (long legged, too - springer spaniel) - and never in my lifetime has the snow in my home town ever got that high!
ReplyDeleteBut as you say, at least there is plenty to watch!
I grew up with the "Lake effect" causing much snow. I spent the first hour of Friday morning shovelling my narrow street where the sun never touches to melt the snow. There was still snow showing today, but yesterday downtown, not a single patch of white.Maybe today's rain will melt the piles.
ReplyDeleteThe school yard looks pretty with that freshly fallen snow but I'm with you, Tanya, I prefer to not be out in it. How sweet of Tetsu to clear the path.
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