I Wasn't Dreaming of a White Thanksgiving

But that's what we got here in Spokane. Usually (and by usually I mean in the five autumns & winters I've lived in Spokane, plus the anecdotal experiences of my husband, who grew up here for the first 18 years of his life), the first winter snow doesn't happen until at least Thanksgiving, and doesn't really stick around until almost Christmas. This year, we had snow several days before T-day, and it's been snowing since, and it's supposed to keep snowing, and none of it has melted.

What is one to do when it snows? Snowshoe. So I did. I took the dog (Deena, my viszla), and went snowshoeing on my normal hiking/running trail, which parallels the Centennial Trail and the Spokane River (just northwest of the T.J. Meenach Bridge). The trees were all white and green dappled, and the trail in front of me was like one in a picture book. Eventually the only tracks were mine, and I found myself marveling at the lovely day as more light flakes fell around me. I also found myself, after about 45 minutes, sad to have to turn around, and actually recited Frost out loud to myself: "these woods are lovely, dark, and deep/but I have promises to keep," and a baby to get home to, who is probably saying "mama, mama" to her dad.

That was two days ago. Today, we bought a Christmas tree, dragged out the lights, and made burritos.

Suddenly Summer

What happened to spring in the Inland Northwest? Two weeks ago it was snowing; now it's 90 degrees. Though it makes me feel like my grandfather to spend my time talking about the weather, it also seems as though it is worth noting these strange climatic idiosyncrasies.

Going straight from winter to summer is a bit of a shock on my system; I miss the coast, where our two seasons were autumn and spring.

failure at blogging

I suppose I'm a terrible blogger, but I take some consolation in the idea that no one probably reads this.

GetLit! was this past weekend in Spokane, and the festival was fun and exhausting. My personal favorite reading was that of Dorianne Laux, whose work always cuts straight to the bone of the human experience. Her poem "Facts About the Moon," which I heard her read last March in Atlanta, was just as fresh and compelling as the first time I saw it on the page. Glen Moore, the bassist accompanying her, was intuitive about emotional tone and not at all cheesy.

Upcoming at SCC: Epoch Reading Experience #4--Tuesday, May 13, 6:30-7:30, SCC's Hagan Foundation Center for the Humanities. Readers will include Christopher Howell, Shira Richman, Beth Cooley, Andrea Reid, and one more man (TBA).

Also, it snowed again today in Spokane.

Snow Tires OFF!

One of the sure signs that spring is coming: yesterday, we took our snow tires off the car. Yep, they're in the garage. And while the hoses and spray nozzles and the sign that says "My Garden" are also still all in the garage, at least we've reached this transitional point.

However, there is still ice & some remnants of snow on the trails. . .so we've a ways to go yet.

;)

Wanted: Spring

This morning at 7:30 a light snow fell while robins sang and swallows dipped and rose around the still-naked trees. I'm not the only one ready for spring.

My cats have been restless and spending a lot of time on the porch, staring at the snow that's still a foot deep on our buried lawn. And I can't make it through the snow to dump the compost, so there's a bucket under the eaves of the garage by the barbeque which I've been filling for about a month now since the heavy snows fell.

I am so ready for spring. As a westside girl, I'm used to the crocuses being done, the daffodils and tulips coming up already, blooming by March.

The Manito Park conservatory helps--there, in a climate-controlled bubble, a few kinds of crocuses and narcissus and cactus and philodendron and lily and bird of paradise are blooming and growing and climbing all over each other. If you live in Spokane, and haven't been there, you should go. It's lovely.

snowshoeing

Went snowshoeing today at Painted Rocks trail, along the Little Spokane River. The sky was that kind of blue you only get in the winter when the temperature drops below 35 degrees and snow covers the land. We started out going across the field--the snow had a top crust which was crunchy and kept us from sinking. We headed toward the river, and when we got closer (inside the trees), there were deer tracks all over, some bird tracks, and finally, when we doubled back away from the river toward the trail in the ponderosas, we saw what we're sure were cougar tracks. Above us the basalt outcrops were a shimmery gray and dotted with snow overhangs, and the pines looked positively orange against that. Later we saw ducks, Canada geese, a hawk, chickadees or something that looked just like them, and a woodpecker. Definitely worth the short drive to do it, and the fields covered in snow were absolutely blissful with their dents and shadows where snow was blown into a pattern of bumpy drifts.