My Front Yard
For those who don't live around here, snow falls about once a decade in Central Alabama. Inhabitants of the deep south who are originally from Ohio and other foreign countries laugh at the chaos that snow brings, but there are good reasons for it. One, snow only falls once a decade. We use rock salt in Alabama for making ice cream to relieve the 100 degree summer days, not to waste on the roads. Two, our power infrastucture is designed for heat, not for ice and snow. Power lines drop like flies when ice storms descend. Three, there are only two snow plows in the entire state, and they are no where near here. Four, no one knows how to drive in ice and snow here.
Needless to say it is a fun time when it does fall. This past Saturday, we were treated to about 2 inches where I am, five inches just south and west about an hour. It melted and was just a memory after about for hours, but it was fun while it lasted. It was the ony time my little ones had ever seen it, and probably will be the last until they are in high school or college, if the average timeline holds. Here I will share a couple of pics of the deep south from Saturday.
My Lauren (left) and friends
My son in yellow, Lauren, neighbors and neighbor's dog Samson.
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Monday, January 21, 2008
A Crazy Weekend In Alabama
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5 Posts From Readers:
I don't mean to laugh. Really. But that "snow" in the picture is what we here in the frozen tundra of the Northeast call a cold morning in late August.
It is cute to see the kids get excited over the dusting, though.
Imagine what they'd feel should they experience a winter here, where we can get back-to-back snow storms of up to 10 or 12 inches.
OTOH: If we put 3 days of 100 degree weather together in July, we all wither away into puddles of Yankee sweat and wonder how the people in southern climes manage to slog through a summer.
Oh I completely understand. My dad is a ynakee actually, though he has converted. He is from St Louis, and when my grandparents were older they bought a farm in Illinois about 45 minutes east of STL. It wasn't a working farm, but a great place to retire. The home is old - Abraham Lincoln signed the original deed when he was a lawyer in Springfield in about 1840ish. I think the deed is worth more than the house.
Anyway, after my grandfather died we moved in with my grandmother for about a year before coming back home. I was about 7, and the snow was great at that age. Of course, I didn't have to work or drive then, and it seems liek no one ever cancelled school because of it, but I remember snow drifts piled so high I could get lost in them. My kids would love it! In fact, we have talked about spending Christmas in Gatlinburg next year so they can enjoy a white Christmas perhaps. We usually wear shorts around here.
Southern summers can be brutal. There is about 2 weeks of spring where the temp is about 75, and then it begins. By August it stays close to 100 degrees for the entire month, but the thing that makes it so bad is the accompanying 95% humidity.
I guess it jsut depends on where you are and how you are used to the climate. But the little bit of snow that fell here was the highlight of the winter, and I was as goofy over it for my kids as they were to play in it.
Initially, the forecast had alot of ice too, so I bought a sled to use. You can't tell from the pics, but we live at the top of a hill on a mountain, and there are many slopes to ride including the back of our property. The ice never came though, so it will sit and maybe my grandchildren can use it...lol.
we have single digits on Wednesday and I am very excited. Great to see the kids the weather
I cannot believe you mentioned Christmas in Gatlinburg, that's what we are planning this year. We are hoping my sister can come up from Texas and meet us there, because we haven't seen her in a couple years.
A couple years ago we rented a log cabin there in the summer and had a blast!
Gatlinburg is a great place. When my wife and I were both in law enforcement, we were volunteer counselors for our department's explorer post. We spend several consecutive years there for an annual conference. We neevr got to ski. One year, no snow. Another year my wife had a sprained ankle. The third yeare there was no snow and it was too warm for the snow blowers.
It is amazing how inexpensive cabins are during the week of Christmas. We will have to stay in touch and have our families meet for lunch one day or something if we are there at the same time.
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