Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Thoughts from the Valley....

Winter is back in the Shenandoah Valley. It was 14 degrees at my house this morning .... brrr. But it was a welcome brrr. I actually was able to put on a turtleneck again to ward off the cold after days of 60- and 70-degree weather. The woodstove is cranked and the heat is appreciated.

I was out early and made several observations as I drove the Valley.

Kids wear the darndest things ... it was 14 degrees and I was bundled in heavy coat and gloves. As I pulled into the parking lot of a college campus, I noticed a student walking toward the building on his way to class with shorts on. Shorts! O-kay....

Gasoline at the Pure station in Ft. Defiance was $1.99 a gallon. Not bad. Spank That Donkey told me he found gas in Bath County for $1.89 over the weekend. Even better.

South of Ft. Defiance I noticed the cold hadn't stopped the Willow Spout from flowing ... but the runover water in the trough had frozen into long icicles reaching to the ground which made a very wintry-looking picture.

I got a scare following a jeep that was driving ahead of me. In this neck of the woods we have many blind curves that wrap around mountains -- you'd better stay on your side of the road. The driver of the jeep was distracted by something he was doing and crossed the double solid lines in the road going around a particularly wicked curve. Dangerous ... to him and any possible oncoming vehicle. He was lucky. No one was coming.

Back home ... bright sun and a high in 30s today. With this cold expected to last the week the ski resorts will be able to make snow. That's a good thing. Now if we could just get some of the natural stuff....

No comments: