Remember the Sabbaath to keep it snowy

Winter may not arrive officially for another three weeks, but it is already here in Wisconsin. Friday I woke to three to four inches of unpredicted snow. About two weeks ago, Tom had gone out with the snowblower to run it and make sure it was ready when needed. So naturally yesterday morning it ran for a while and then quit before he got the drive cleared. He spent much of the morning getting it to work -- but it is definitely not fixed. Getting it to a repair shop is going to be a challenge, because all the people who discover that their snowblowers aren't working will be in the same predicament.

This is an issue because the winter storm that was supposed to arrive around lunchtime today may drop up to six inches of more snow + an inch of ice on us. Could be bad for driving and power lines. It actually started snowing about 10:30. If the bird feeder population means anything, we are in for it. I counted twenty dark-eyed junco males alone at one point. They tend to eat seed that has fallen to the ground, which is why there can be so many at once. There is always at least one woodpecker at the suet and a couple of finches on the seed bags and a chickadee or two coming and going at the feeder itself, along with a tufted titmouse.

I'm still sick -- hack, hack -- so I didn't go out to Wal-Mart with Tom this morning to stock up for the weekend blizzard: some cold medicine and comfort food for humans, cat food and bird seed. To be honest, I would be happy to be snowed in for a few days so I could just rest and get over this thing. I did go to work yesterday -- if I stay away more than a day, I come back to a real mess -- but I was not at my best. Poor Joe has this thing now, and he was in court arguing a case all morning, coughing, swallowing cough drops, sneezing. Not fun at all.