We all make projections. Some are based on scientific information, others on weatherlore. We might see many totally brown (no center band) woolly bear fuzzy caterpillars and think..."ah, it's going to be a fair Winter." Or we might notice the birds migrating sooner than normal or hear the honks of the Canada (it's really not Canadian as friends constantly remind me) Geese as they fly in V's over head and think...soon...Winter is coming soon.
You might attempt to stave off the snow with a spell or two accompanied by visualizations of warmer weather. I'm not a weather spell sort, but apparently they are quite common (rain dancing for instance – Hopi, Zuni, Cherokee not Gene Kelly.)
Beginning with ancient civilizations – weather has fallen under the umbrella of the supernatural within the domain of those individuals who presumed to wield some control over sun, rain, snow, hail, thunder, lightening and everything in between. Power has always fallen into the hands of the rain makers and only more recently been usurped by the hate mongers, fear preachers and others who, for some reason, have more contemporary credibility. Just a little too SciFi– flim flam– inside the belt way for me. However, it's pretty clear we'd be better off taking our chances with a good Witch doctor than FEMA.
Snow removal woes before it arrives
Today the snow plow man called and said (in a rehearsed speech) that his "insurance rates on his truck for plowing were going to be too high and so he was canceling his plowing business." The man bought a much bigger gas guzzling truck a couple years ago specifically to plow and bought a new bigger plow to haul around in Winter. These things aren't cheap and now...he isn't going to plow? His excuse seemed too pat, too easy. Why not find a work around? He was already defeated; a local country man knocking out a subsistence living mowing lawns and raking and doing a little gardening and snow plowing in Winter. I asked "if he'd called any other insurance company since NY allows for quite competitive rates these days." He hadn't. I asked "what would happen if he had an accident plowing his own driveway...his insurance wouldn't cover repairs?" He said, "he was allowed to plow his own driveway." I asked, "what about plowing your mother's driveway? Is that allowed?" He didn't answer. I said, "it seemed highly unlikely that his normal truck insurance wouldn't cover him for casual (non income generating) plowing" a statement he found particularly frustrating. He began ranting about losing his house if he was sued and saying the same thing over and over, clearly upset about this potential added insurance (he said it was over a thousand dollars). I told him "I could easily pay him for doing something else instead of snow plowing so that money didn't change hands"....but he seemed ready to just quit. Defeated and tired. I called the man who used to plow and left a message. His wife called; he doesn't plow in my area anymore. Another pre-Winter worry.
photo credit: www.public-domain-photos.com
I didn't put my polertec jacket away last Spring...the cold of that season lasted into the heat of the Summer. I never put my outer parka (that the polertec zips into) away either. My gloves lie in wait in the basket by the door. Yesterday I removed all the sandals and garden clogs and brought all the boots to the top of the pile. And now to see the jackets awaiting the climate to match makes the leap into cold appear to have come without the relief of warmth in the Summer. Having cold weather gear always hanging by the door is a mistake.
Life lies in wait for a long list of tasks to be accomplished before one can sink into the comfort of toasty evenings of late Fall and early Winter.
The shorter days and the chill of damp air is mood altering...for me depressing, for others a time to give up, for others...resignation and still others – hope.
Personally I don't care for weather predictions. I prefer the surprise. Why fret over the future when we barely know the present? Except, of course...in terms of killing the planet...by not thinking ahead. We've all become experts on that sort of surprise haven't we?
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