It's Coming, It's Coming

Another (small?) snowstorm is on the way but that's not what has the dogs' noses, and my colleague Jane's nose sniffing the air.
"It feels like spring," Jane said as we headed out of the office for lunch.
It was cold - minus 6 - but it was sunny. I couldn't smell spring, not today, but I knew what she meant. Even though the snowfall warning claims we're in for 15 centimetres, there is definitely a spring-like vibe in our part of the world these days. Considering our chickens have been laying between 4 and 6 eggs a day since February 2 (let's see a groundhog try that!), it seems that the true arbiters of an early spring have spoken.
I have to admit, however, that I'm not looking forward to it. I know! I know!  Crazy lady here but I have a five month old puppy that needs plenty of exercise and walking on frozen paths I've spent all winter pummeling into existence is vastly preferred to wet, muddy trails --- oh, oh, oh, I can't even think about it. The muddy feet! The muddy bellies! The muddy boots!

More Snow Today

Yesterday was a bona fide snow storm; the ten-minute drive home from work took twenty minutes and my hands were cramped by the time I pulled into our driveway. So, to the guy in the large red pickup truck that came barrelling up behind me, what were you thinking? And no, I'm not going more than 50 km/hr on an unplowed road. Yeesh.
Halfway home, where the road curves into the opening of the river, a fox trotted out onto the road. When it finally saw me coming, it gave a little jump - 'Oh, what are you doing out on the roads in this weather?' - then leaped over the ditch and disappeared into the woods.
More snow today but manageable; pretty and wintery, not blustery and stressful. Speaking of which, I'm supposed to be planning my hand-outs for the editing workshop on Saturday but I can't stop staring out the window. Thick or light, I am a fan of snow. It is quiet and beautiful, not noisy and wet like rain. Already had the necessary walk in the snow but perhaps this loveliness calls for another indulgence.

Forecasting Winter's Arrival

Today, and every Tuesday, is what we around the Journal office affectionately refer to as "Paper Day". Ten a.m. deadline for ads and copy then we become busy, industrious beavers - typical hard-working Canadians - until the paper gets sent to the printers on PEI by 2 pm.
It's with great amusement that I fill in the forecast on the front page: 25 cm of snow for Wednesday! Snowfall warning in effect for Cumberland County!
Thankfully, I only work until noon tomorrow so if the brunt of the storm holds off, I get to enjoy the season's first proper snowstorm from inside my house. A good soup-making day (that sounds like something our esteemed columnist, Marilyn Williams, would say!) and likely a chance to try out a new oatmeal cookie recipe. There is something about rain or snow that makes me want to bake. Survival instinct, perhaps?!