First snowfall of the season

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DSC01436I set my alarm for twenty minutes earlier than normal this morning. The forecast was predicting snow and I wanted to be ready for anything.

I woke up to rain. How very sad. In the event that the weather changed, I took my sister’s mountain bike to work complete with my studded tires. I might need them…you never know.

Around 7:30, my coworker came into the kitchen.

“Look out the window!” She told me.

Hallelujah. Tiny snow flakes were swirling gracefully through the air. Throughout the day the precipitation continued, but due to the fluctuating temperature, it kept switching back from rain to snow. The ground was too warm for any snow to stick, when the flakes landed on the ground they melted instantly. I couldn’t keep myself from peeking out the window every now and then. I even took a few “snow breaks”. My reasoning was that if my coworkers can take smoke breaks outside, surely a break to enjoy the first snowflakes of the season is permissible.

By afternoon, the clouds had taken a break and it was no longer snowing or raining. Still, I left work on my sister’s bike, hoping for the best. And then halfway home it happened.

Snowflakes! The bike and I had a delightful time the rest of the way home.

Sure, there was no snow on the ground. And sure, the next snowfall is probably weeks away. But winter is a-coming!DSC01447

28 thoughts on “First snowfall of the season”

  1. It’s sad how snowfalls are viewed with dread in DC. Snow means hassles out the wazoo. I think we need to dial it back a bit. Snow means you can be a kid again. You can be late for work and the world will not end. You can slip and look like an idiot and laugh at yourself.

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      • I lived through the Blizzard of ’78 in Boston. It was intense. Snowmaggedon in DC (2010, I think) was not so entertaining. The difference was that I was a homeowner for the latter storm.

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      • Playing in tons of snow=fun
        Clearing tons of snow to make normal life possible=not so fun

        It seems like cities have a much harder time with giant snowstorms, the logistics of where to move the excess snow must be a nightmare.

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      • Totally! You don’t know the number of times I have used the size of the shoulders to defend to people that my bike commuting is safe…even in winter. The road I use to get back and forth to work is the best road in the whole county!

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      • I rode NY State Bike Route 5 for part of my Niagara Falls to Albany tour. Mostly I was on NY5 (the car route). I was thrilled at the wide shoulders. And they weren’t filled with debris either.

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  2. While I appreciate the beauty of the snow, I just can’t bring myself to like it. It’s been in the 50’s for highs and I’m wrapped in a quilt!!! I think it’s genetic. Dad’s the same way. I want my 90 degrees back.

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  5. I love the idea of a ‘snow break’ 🙂 That makes good sense to me!

    It’s wonderful to feel excited by the change of weather. I feel that way with tropical thunderstorms. I find it very hard to sit still when there’s a storm brewing or thunder rolling or lightning crackling – I just have to go to the window and look outside (and, yes dance 🙂 )

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  6. Sometimes, just sometimes, I miss snow. It doesn’t last long. That feeling. 🙂 I wish you well this winter. I admire your perseverance but I stopped enjoying bike rides in the snow a long time ago.

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  7. thought of you this morning on my bike ride into work. AN ICE COLD 35 degrees! Hasn’t been this cold here in the morning since Feb. 26 of this year. I hate COLD! (too cold to ride the motorcycle to work, so I took my bike instead…) Took me longer to find all my gear than it did to ride in…..

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