Category: Climate

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The Winter that wouldn’t end.

Monday AfternoonThat’s what this is beginning to feel like. We were hit with another 2 feet of snow last night.

I’m over the snow, the shoveling, and all the annoying issues of living here during the winter.  I’ve got things to do, that do not involve being trapped in my home. Perhaps I’m a bit more sensitive about it than usual for a variety of reasons. 

COVID19? Paging COVID 19 Lockdowns…

Then there’s the annoyance of being left to our own devices by the county during the recent blizzard. I’ll grant you, a blizzard like that is only a once in ten year occurrence. I’m equally sure that some fact checker will read that line and say, “there’s never been a blizzard here,” 

IMG 2688Yeah, yeah, just because someone decided to call it a blizzard this time, doesn’t mean that we’ve never seen a storm like that before. It’s kind of like when they started naming big storms that happen over the midwest the same way hurricanes are named. The storms are nothing new, it’s just that we decided to start giving them names.

Storms like the recent blizzard have happened in the past and I’ve been living here long enough that I know that to be true because I shoveled snow then too. Like I said, about every ten years. These little smaller storms are a pain but not really much different either. I’m thinking this may be a year where we see snow flurries well into April.

I really hoped that I’d miss the next “big storm”. But alas, nope. 

These first two pictures give an idea. The top photo is Monday afternoon 3/20/2023. The bottom photo is today 3/22/2023.

Mother Nature is a tease!

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The Blizzard may finally be over!

IMG 2635Woke up to another foot or two of snow this morning.

Great!

That being said, it looks like the storm fronts are breaking up and we’ve got some sun breaking through the clouds. It’s doubtful that the sun will help much today because the temps will remain in the upper 20s.

Seeing the sun gives one hope that warmer temps are on their way for at least 5 days. Then there’s the possibility of more snow on Sunday and Monday. Fingers crossed it’s just a dusting.

I’ve got some really great neighbors. After clearing the back decks and stairs for Jesse, I went out front and found my neighbors using their snow blowers to help clear a large portion of the driveway. I cleared the front deck and did the detail work that can’t be done with a snow blower.

IMG 2631My driveway is almost wide enough for me to get my car out of the garage. I’ve got to do more shovel work to widen it some more and open the driveway entrance up a bit to allow for more maneuvering to back out, or back into the garage. Right now there’s just not enough width to allow making the turn.

There are a couple of dogs who’ve been roaming around the neighborhood for the past day or two. They look healthy, have collars, but no tags to allow us to contact their owners. They’re friendly but I don’t recognize them as “Locals”. It’s likely that they simply walked over their fence on top of the snow. Jesse is also very close to figuring out that he could get over the fence if he really wanted to.

Thankfully he’s more interested in being with me, than roaming the neighborhood.

These dogs may be wondering where their people are. No-one has been able to get into town for about five days. It’s possible that the the owners of these dogs have been kept off the mountain by the storm. If these boys start looking hungry, I’ll give them some of Jesse’s food reserve so they don’t starve waiting for their “parents” to come home.

IMG 2638The winds are dying down so it’s not quite as nasty to be out and about.

There’s an agreeable symmetry to this storm.

In 1992 the other half and I were planning the move into this house. It was mid March and had been warm and sunny for two weeks. The roads were clear and there was no snow to be seen. The night before the move, it snowed… A LOT! We ended up moving into this place using sleds. The local kids were more than willing to rent us their sleds for 10 bucks and the more entrepreneurial of those kids even provided the horse power to drag the sleds full of our meager household goods across the snow for us. At additional cost, of course!

It was totally worth putting cash in those kids hands.

They’re long gone now, having left to start their own families but their faces lighting up as we handed them $20s for their work was well worth it. Their Fathers and Mothers smiling about the industriousness of their children was worth it too. The neighbors also knew we were stand up folks and welcomed us. We’d fed their children while they worked and made sure they took rest breaks and were safe.

Now that the other half is gone, somehow a snowstorm seems appropriate. This is my last Winter in my little mountain town.

There’s still much to do, and the logistics of moving are daunting. But I’m convinced that leaving is probably the right thing to do. There are too many ghosts and memories here. Most of them happy, some of them sad, but the life I had is over.

It’s time to move on, hopefully a sweet couple who’s just starting out, will buy this place. It’s a good place, in a good town. Maybe whoever buys the place can make make a lifetime of cherished memories here as we did.

IMG 2629I’ll miss this place I’ve called home for 30 some odd years, of that, there’s no doubt. I’m sure I’ll cry the last time I drive away.

I’ll have to make time to appreciate this last spring here at this place, my home. I’ll also have to remember to take in the spectacular sunrises and sunsets.

There’s always been something magical about the light here. I’ll miss that too.

The road ahead beckons.

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More Snow… Oh happy day

So the forecast calls for another ten inches possibly in the next 24 hours.

Wonderful!

The winds are kicking up too, so being outside is truly miserable. The dog walked outside, stood on the deck for a moment then turned around and came in. Even he’s over all this now. 

I was able to take yesterday off which is a good thing. My knees were starting to complain a lot.

I’ve got food so I’m not going to starve but I think it’s going to take a long time to be able to get the car out.. 

I don’t have to be anywhere thankfully.

One of my neighbors is super pissed off at his employer of 19 years. They’re bitching at him to come to work. He pointed out that the roads are closed and have been for almost a week. He directed them to the CHP and CalTrans both of whom say there are closures and travel restrictions. 

His employer’s response…

No you can’t use your vacation days. No, you can’t take the time unpaid, You chose to live there. So your job is now in jeopardy.

WTF? 

That’s like telling someone after an earthquake or mudslide, “Well you chose to live in California.” Or telling someone who lives near the coast, “You chose to live near the ocean, so missing work due to a tsunami is your fault.”

This is why employees typically, and justifiably hate their employers. It’s not necessarily your boss. It’s the HR and Executives dogmatically and heartlessly following a set of rules, policies and procedures. 

I’ve been though what my neighbor is going through now, with some of my previous employers. It truly sucks and stresses you out in addition to dealing with the shit you’re facing.  It also places people at risk.

Years ago, I spun out on icy roads and trashed my vehicle due to threat of losing my job. When I got back to work in a rental car a day or two later. HR demanded to see the CHP accident report. I gave them a copy of the report and then told the HR director to go fuck herself while I was being “counseled” for my unexcused absence. She was truly surprised that I quit on the spot. I didn’t need to clean out my desk and didn’t. I grabbed my backpack and walked out. She called security trying to have them stop me from leaving. Yeah, it was that important to her to have the last word. The security guy waved me through the door with a big grin. He whispered, “Fuck that cunt,” as I walked out.

I’m hoping now that San Bernardino has declared an emergency that the neighbor gets his employer off his back. 

I understand the concept of employers being about making profit and that employees facilitate that profit. I’m good with it.

However, blaming someone for where they live is out of bounds. This storm is an unusual event and storms like this happen only once in ten to fifteen years. You’d think that an employer could look at the situation with heart not just through the lens of rules and regulations.

I’ll note that none of the employers in my history EVER once said, “Thank you for staying in a hotel so you can be here during a major storm at your home.“

They were very quick to berate me when something unforeseen prevented me from being at work.

Employers will happily fuck over every employee with bullshit rules about gender equity and trans rights so they can virtue signal. But be a “Normal” person who’s shown up, & done your job, for years… Oh you’re disposable.

It’s not nice, but I really hope my neighbor’s boss and his union representative have the roads to their homes inundated by a mud slide. I think that it might be funny for them to have a taste of their own medicine. 

If I was my neighbor, I’d be waiting to tell my boss and the union rep, “Well you chose to live in that area…”