Today’s forecast in Richmond, Virginia: sunny with a high of 38 degrees.
Not the kind of day I would ever associate to being a desired one.
Compared to the frigid nights and the freezing temperatures that have kept the next day icy, this is as balmy a day as you might experience in South Florida at this time of year.
Today is Monday and the second day of February. Quite frankly, I forget what is supposed to be the futuristic climate result of whether the groundhog sees his shadow or not. The month of February typically brings colder temperatures than January. But not so far this year.
This weather situation, wrapped in a conundrum inside a puzzle shaped like a maze, all started eight or nine days ago.
A threatening weather system, one involving much snow, ice, and “wintry mix” was blowing in from the west and due to hit our region of central Virginia by Saturday night.
The anticipation of this impending potential disaster had me concerned on two fronts, both of which fed on one another:
One, we have found in our home and in this neighborhood that a snow storm, and the ice precipitation that may come with it, will result in a “no power” situation. And that’s “no power” with a “no generator” situation. And that situation conjures up any number of anxious, foreboding, and frightening thoughts about frostbite, hunger, thirst, etc. Not pretty. It’s survival of the fittest for you and your family, and I’m “it” in terms of being the provider and chief of the house.
Two, if that is going to be the case, there is really one way and one way only to combat it: fire. A wood-burning fireplace is nice to have for a few reasons: yes, it can give off warmth. But it is also a nice thing on which to gaze and sometimes by which to fall asleep.
And that’s all just fine and dandy!
The thing is: you have to have the firewood to put in the said wood-burning fireplace in the first place, and getting that wood is a whole process in and of itself. First, you have to purchase the wood and have it delivered. Second, you have to have it unloaded (and in a convenient, easy-to-get-to spot) and stacked. Third, this all needs to be done at a place on your property that is hopefully not too far from its next landing place, where it is stored to then be taken directly to the fireplace.
Well, the anticipation of this whole thing had me understandibly anxious (as was most of the general population) and busier than a one-armed paper-hanger running around and getting ready.
Did we have enough food and beverage? It’s a good thing that I went to the grocery store on the Tuesday morning before the Saturday night arrival of the storm. Upon entering the grocery store, practically every cart pushed by a shopper was filled to the brim and everything was flying off the shelves faster than you can call out “COVID!!!!!”
After that mandatory and hectic excursion to the get groceries, I figured I had a couple of days before I needed to haul a bunch of wood from the stacks to the back porch. This involves throwing the wood into a wheelbarrow (sometimes quite haphazardly), pushing it the whole nine yards to the back steps, filling up the log bag with as much as it can carry/I can stand carrying, climbing up the five steps to the porch, and finally unloading the wood onto the oval rack just a few steps from the room which houses the final destination of the fireplace.
Phew!!!
And the next project is to “unload/load again/unload” etcetera until you have reached the calculated amount of how much wood it will take to last this storm out. And no, not how much wood a woodchuck could chuck…..
So, to make this long story even longer, here we sit on this fine, beautiful, sun-melt-away-day, having survived the storm. Yes, it has involved a few more trips to the woodpile. Yes, it has involved de-icing windshields and warming up cars (and that’s if you can get to them). And yes, it has involved trying to drive where you need to go when and if the roads are clear enough. By the way, ice does not care what kind of automobile you drive or what kind of tires it has on it.
I sure do hope that Punxatawny Phil sees fit to see his shadow (or not) today.
Either way, whether or not this winter is prolonged or not is mere chump-change to what has elapsed here over the last week.
So bring it on!