Young Winter Is Leaving A Mark

Winter is not even a month old yet, but certainly making a name for itself. Not a good name. We seem to be between arctic vortexes right now. Temps in the 40s with sun Thursday and Friday, with a new cold front moving in with single-digit temperatures coming up for three days. I may not get out. I'm stockpiling scratchers to have on hand, plus Farmer H can grab me an extra crossword or two with his clandestine morning donut(s).

The water main break in Sis-Town Thursday left The Pony with a boil order, and ban on using "non-essential" water like use for "showering, dish-washing, laundry." Not a good deal for the school district, which was only on their second day back since the Christmas holiday. When a school has no water, they have to bring in bottled water and set it out for free for the students. I don't know how they got away with serving meals. The Casey's was not allowed to have their deli open, nor sell fountain drinks. Farmer H could not eat at the Senior Center, because they couldn't serve lunch.

At the Gas Station Chicken Store (in Hillmomba, so no water restrictions), Fave (my favorite cashier) said that her dad's garage had collapsed.

"It's just canvas [kind of like a big safari tent], but it was fine until yesterday. I went over to try to help. He doesn't park his car in it, but has a lot of stuff stored in there. I got under it, and I could lift it with my back, but we couldn't get all the ice off. He'll just have to wait for it all to melt before we can set it back up."

A resident of our enclave has plowed some snow off the two hills. With the sun, they both got a tiny strip down to bare gravel/mud in the middle. So at least a vehicle can get two tires on solid ground to prevent getting stuck. The problem is if two cars try to pass. The upper road in front of the Mansion is a slushy mess that makes T-Hoe slide from side to side, but it's level, and I won't get stuck. The lower road by the creed and Mailbox Row is solid ice. Still, it's level, and you can generally slow-roll your tires enough to move along if you start spinning.

I'll be venturing to town Friday, and probably Saturday. After that, I might hibernate until temps get back into the 30s.