The "S" Word Revisited

SATURDAY. Mayor Chavez made a desperate plea on Albuquerque TV this morning, requesting that I leave Duke City immediately. Once again, record breaking extreme weather has followed me, this time the worst snowfall in 60 years and the most snowfall ever during the month of December. We are among the lucky ones in the neighborhood to still have power (no power at the other end of our street since yesterday), though our phones lines are decoratively draped across the road like sleeping snakes. Qwest has promised to repair the lines by January 5, but I'm not holding my breath. Two more storms percolating in the Pacific are taking aim at the Southwest, the first to arrive Monday evening. Another stormy disruption will, no doubt, delay phone repairs.

At the park this afternoon I noticed the snow reached the tops of my tall Arctic Sorel snow boots, just below my kneecaps. That would make the snow about 14 inches deep here in the North Valley. A few miles to the east, snow was measured in feet, not inches. How clever of us to keep all our snow gear (skis included) in storage during our three years in Florida. Those boots felt mighty good today and kept my toes toasty and dry.

Somewhere under this frozen precip is our garden Buddha. He no longer wears a mantle of snow. He is completely buried. Poor Buddha. I have yet to see a snowplow. The City of Albuquerque obviously doesn't know what to do with this much snow. The citizens, however, seem to know exactly what to do with it. This wet, heavy snow packs exceptionally well.





Though the city is pretty much at a standstill, we spent nearly the entire day playing in the snow with Murphy. As I write this he is snoozing soundly on his very comfy freecycled sofa, dreaming of deep powder, running with his many Labrador pals, chasing frisbees, snowballs, and brightly-colored tennis balls. I myself am pleasantly tired after a brief x-country ski in the neighborhood this morning and several walks in deep snow this afternoon.



The best thing about snow in Albuquerque (and quite possibly the only positive) is the way it looks at sunset. As if on cue, the clouds parted just before the sun sank below the horizon, giving way to magnificent color in the wake of this historic storm.



Stay tuned for more wintry developments from the Land of Enchantment. I have a feeling there are lots of blazing fires and mugs of mulled cider in my immediate future