Let the Heat Wave Commence
Alissa Grosso
It’s Tuesday afternoon as I type this, and according to my phone it’s 43 degrees out but feels like 52 degrees. The other day my phone promised me the actual high today would be 52 degrees, as in real degrees, not “feels like” degrees, but sometimes my weather app lies. Now it’s saying the high today will be 47. Still it’s been so cold for so long here that 47 feels like a heat wave.
While I ate my lunch I watched snow melt off the garage roof and drip into the gutter. Yes, it’s a bit like watching paint dry, but actually this is better because it’s a reminder that one day we will see the grass again.
The other day we watched a couple of hungry deer use their front legs to dig holes in the snow to get down to the grass. They’re probably excited to see that in a few spots where I left some footprints in the snow there’s now actually been enough melting to see a tiny bit of grass poking out.
The local bluejay will be happy because the snow has finally melted off of the patio planters, which he had used as spots to stash acorns for the winter. Earlier in the season I was confused by the weird clumps of dirt I kept seeing all over the patio. Then one day I saw the bluejay fly up from the patio with the world’s dirtiest acorn in his beak.
Our walk next door has grown longer. Not wishing to break an ankle trekking through the ice-encrusted snow, we walk out to the road (which has grown more narrow from all the snow) and then down the walk, but the cold and our desire not to get run over forces us to walk quicker. We look forward to being able to cut across the yard again. We look forward to seeing the yard once again.
There’s talk of some rain later this week, but I’m getting this intel from my weather app, which has a complicated relationship with the truth. At least we aren’t forced to dig through the snow to find something to eat, though I would argue that braving the ShopRite parking lot is a challenge in its own right.
— Alissa
Weekly Inspiration
What I’m Reading: Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
What I’m Watching: Flipped
What I’m Listening to: “Stand” - Vitamin String Quartet
Find out more about my books at alissagrosso.com
Find out more about my art at alissacarin.com
My apologies for the typos and such this post is almost certainly riddled with.
The weather guys get all excited for the snow…. But a little warmth is no big deal!
I'm a firm believer in retroactive weather forecasts as they're 100% accurate. As for predictions, Ever since social media and online news took over, it seems like the weatherweasels are hell-bent upon out dooming each other. If they experienced the blizzards I did as a kid here in Maine, they'd all be crying for their mommies.