Snow and Roses

Sunday, January 21--Norm gave me a bouquet of stunning pink roses for my birthday, and they were the talk of the town at book club yesterday. This morning they are still bright and cheery. I received many cards, e-mails, and calls to wish me well on turning 64. Thanks to everyone!

We anxiously waited last evening for the beginning of a promised 4 to 8-inch snowfall. It finally started about 9:30 p.m. as our friends were leaving the house. When I was little, I would wish for snow on my birthday so I could ride my Western Flyer sled. In Oklahoma, a January "snow" was usually a couple of inches of sleet, which made for adventurous sledding.

Overnight it snowed heavily at times, but this morning we had only about two inches of wet snow on the ground. It wasn't all that picturesque, but I took this to prove to the guys in Florida that I'm not making up a snow story for my birthday. At right, the daffodils that started emerging back in our warmer-than-usual December are peeking through the snow, promise of spring flowers to come.

Out on the plains, Norm's family reports about three feet of snow on the ground in Colby, and the local paper quotes someone there as saying it will probably still be around in March. This snow won't last that long here, but who knows what the next weather system will bring? At least the climate here is never boring.