We must have done something really bad in the Northeast and even worse in my home town as Ridgefield seems to be the epicenter of nasty weather events over the last two years. We had just gotten over Sandy and had 100% power restored in the town when we got word that a Nor’easter was ready to slam into the area with winds of 50 MPH and lots of snow. So we again prepped for power outages and waited.
Big fluffy snowflakes started to fall and stick around noon with an intensity and frequency that reminded me of our last snow event slightly over a year ago when we got over 18 inches of snow and a week without power. The wind started to increase, we got the wood stove going, filled up the washing machine with water, got out the candles and then . . .nothing.
We did get 9 inches of thick heavy snow that took four trips to clear, but nothing out of the ordinary that we couldn’t handle. The next day the sun came out and with temperatures in the 60s this weekend it should all melt away by Monday.
There wasn’t any damage in our area but my winter garden took a premature beating. The sorrel was buried under the snow, though my granddaughter Charlotte and I cleared off the snow to expose the leaves. They were nicely refrigerated and ready to bounce back. Charlotte grabbed a handful and stuffed it into her mouth chewing the mass of lemon leaf as would a baseball player tobacco. Like a .329 slugger, she also spits it out when finished chewing.
We also shoveled off the cold frames, which held up under the snow to reveal tender greens and radishes ready for harvest. The only thing that has yet to reveal itself are my leeks, which should start to emerge today from their blanket of snow. As weather events go, this last one was no big deal though reminded me of the power of nature and what she can dish out on a whim.
