During the early evening, we were startled to hear rumbles of thunder and see flashes of lightning. But the snow finally stopped falling.
This morning's newspaper headline trumpeted the event as "thundersnow," a rare phenomenon more reminiscent of a summer thunderstorm. This area, being heavily populated and having literally thousands of commuters, is greatly affected by even a small snow storm. Anything greater brings everything to a halt. School openings are delayed, or entire systems are closed altogether. Everyone is glued to the radio and television to hear about these. I remember my own sons' great glee at discovering how liberal the "snow-day" policy on the East Coast is. In Montana, where they attended elementary school, snow days were unheard-of - and we had a LOT more snow! Of course, I also remember my own days as a federal employee, when I had to commute to Washington and how I, too, secretly hoped on occasion to hear that federal offices were closed or had "liberal leave policies."
This morning, the snow cover was beautiful. But it also meant that we would have to dig ourselves - and our vehicles - out. Yes, our condominium has a service that is supposed to clear the snow for us, but sometimes it is involuntarily delayed by road conditions elsewhere, so we have learned to be self-sufficient.
The whole region is in a shutdown mode, as can be seen here, with an accompanying photo gallery of scenes from the DC metropolitan area.
In the meantime, now that we're shovelled out - for the most part - we can sit back and enjoy the seasonal beauty.
After all, it IS winter. And among the nicest perks of being retired are that we really do not have to be anywhere or on any schedule. They've been a long time a-coming so we can truly appreciate those luxuries.
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