My house was built sometime in the 1940s as a summer cabin, and winterized for year round occupancy before I bought it in 1980. One of its main attractions was that the back yard bordered on the Rockaway River. (I didn't know when I bought it, but there are times when the front yard borders on the Rockaway River. But that's a story for another Blog post.) One of the great joys of that was that in winter, the river froze over and was great for ice skating. And one of the great things about a frozen river, as opposed to a frozen pond, was that you actually go places on skates. In those early years after I bought the house, the river would freeze solid enough for skating at least once a year, and be skatable for days, if not weeks on end.

But I have lived long enough to witness global warming with my own eyes. The river has not frozen over reliably for the past 10 years, at least, and my skates havenow hang from their hook in my garage . Winters have been mild, snow accumulation light, and I haven't even had to shovel my driveway since COVID.

But winter has returned with a fury this year. Starting around the 2nd week in January, the temperature has plunged into the teens (Fahrenheit), and even down below zero on a few mornings. About 2 weeks ago we got about a foot-and-a- half of light, fluffy snow, and I had to scramble to find someone to plow the driveway. But then last week, the temperature started moderating, rising above freezing during the day, and back into the pattern I had gotten used to in recent years. I thought I was past the worst of winter.

But last week, the predictions arrived of a Nor'easter coming up the coast with more snow, even before the previous snowfall had been cleared. It was due to arrive my way over the weekend, with flurries predicted starting Saturday morning, and then mounting to blizzard conditions on Sunday. That was a problem, as I was scheduled to give a concert 175 miles from me in Binghamton, NY on Saturday night. The forecast for Binghamton was uncertain as to where, when, and how much snow would fall, But the Presenter in Binghamton informed me that the concert would go on as scheduled. Allowing myself a full hour more than GPS told me the tip would take, I hit the road for Binghamton.

The storm was coming up the coast, and Binghamton is well inland. It turned out to be an uneventful drive up, with no precipitation. Tthe concert went well, and to a decent-sized crowd. My original plan had been to stay overnight after the show in Binghamton, and head home on Sunday morning. But that would have had me driving through the worst of it as I neared home, so I left for home immediately after the concert. I lucked out. That drive, too, proved relatively easy, with only a little light rain and fog for the first 25 miles or so, and then clear weather and empty roads the rest of the way home, arriving at 1:00 AM. I unloaded the car, and then brought it up to the head of the driveway so I'd be able to get out with a minimum of shoveling.

Sunday I was safe at home for the Great Blizzard of '26. Starting late morning Sunday, wet heavy snow came down, first lightly, and then fast and furious. I brought about five armloads of firewood up from the garage onto my enclosed porch right after breakfast, and it served me well. The outside temperature was in the 20s. It was still coming down hard when I went to bed, and just as I was getting under the covers, the electricity went out. That wasn't a big issue for me, because my backup generator kicked in as expected after about 15 seconds, and I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

I awoke to find the generator stopped, and the grid power restored. I looked out the window to find some light flurries, and the scene below.

In the morning, I woke to find the generator had stopped, and the grid power restored. I cleared the front deck and steps of snow. There was an accumulation of about 16 inches, and I knew immediately that this snowfall was going to be more difficult to clear than the last one. It was much more dense, and any place it had been gone over by boots or tires was heavily compacted, and heavy. Great for making snow men and snow balls, and really hard to shovel. But later in the day a guy in the neighborhood came by with an ATV with a snowplow attachment, and he did a nice job of clearing the driveway. He asked me for 50 bucks, and I gave him 80. Well worth it. It took him 15 minutes, and it would have taken me 5 hours. If it didn't kill me.

Post Script: January 24, 2026

'Nuf said.
Republicans, wake up! See what your country is becoming. Do something about it.