Much Ado About Nothing

"The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it." ~Patrick Young

I went to bed last night after staying up late to hear the latest dire prediction for the winter storm that was supposed to overtake us last night. Words like "the storm of the century" and "the city will be paralyzed" and "stay at home and off the roads if at all possible" echoed in my head as I drifted off. Earlier in the day I went to the store and laid in groceries for a few days as well as a supply of bottled water. I never buy bottled water but after hearing reports of frozen water mains bursting with the result of little or no water available to nearby residents, I decided it was prudent to make the investment. The truth is, I always have enough food in my cupboards and freezer to feed a small army for a week or two. But I shopped just the same.

When I got up this morning I was struck by how quiet everything was. No traffic noise. No hammering or building noise from the renovations next door. No noise from plows or trucks. I went to the window expecting to see a winter wonderland. So I was really surprised to see pretty much nothing. A light dusting of snow on the front porch. Some drifts on the upper balcony show little accumulation, but rather just the reconfiguring of the snow that was already there. It is gray and overcast but there is only sporadic light snow falling. No high winds.

Jacob sent a text message. The University of Guelph, like many Toronto schools is closed for a snow day. But there is no snow on the ground in Guelph. Jacob is going to take the day to work on an assignment he needs to do by Friday but was worried he wouldn't be able to find the time to get done. Guess he doesn't need to worry about that now. I gave him a recipe to cook spareribs in his slow cooker so he decided he would do that this morning and share a good, hearty dinner with his housemates tonight.

It is Groundhog Day and the groundhog didn't see his shadow this morning. I hope that truly is a harbinger of an early spring. It is also the birthday of my dear friend Nancy. So, happy birthday Nancy. Stay warm and enjoy your day.