Big Snow in Michigan

I reckon there is about 15 inches on the ground, The bare tree boughs are laden with snow. A black squirrel leaps from branch to branch and sends an avalanche cascading down. It seems a cliché, but it really does look like a blanket, a soft sculpture undulating, smooth, indeed, inviting. No one has yet to trample on it.

Yesterday I set out on a walk and found some spots up to my knees. All around me was a hush—the kind of subdued world one only gets in the midst of cataclysm, when everything stops.

Until I turn a corner and come upon a snow blower, whirling away, shooting snow,

**

Walking to work after the storm.

I cleared the snow off the car, but decided against using it. I mean it’s not really MY car. As I was walking toward the entrance of my complex I saw a car get stuck and the passenger of another vehicle, a truck, hopped out, and retrieve a shovel from the back to dig the car out.

This affirmed my self-doubts about leaving the car parked for now.

Surprisingly, here in Michigan the pedestrian sidewalks get shoveled. They were in places better than the roads. Yet, the storm started as rain and there is ice under the snow, so I had to watch for slick spots.

All this being said: it was dead at work, maybe five customers all day. BUT we got a lot of cleaning and organizing done, because we all know that after the snow and ice, when spring comes, folks will want to buy bikes or get pull theirs out of the garage and get them tuned,

Right now, I will have to continue my Winter Olympics routine of shoveling and snow-walking. If this were Chicago, I’d also need the sport that does everything plus the rifle.