Winter Has Arrived

December 21 is officially the start of winter, but for all practical purposes it arrived last night in the form of our first significant snowfall. Last Monday, November 19, the high temperature was 77 degrees F. Yesterday, November 23, we got three inches of snow. I guess that's the way it goes in the plains states (I would normally have said, "that's the way it goes in the midwest", but it has been pointed out to me by several residents that this is not the midwest but is part of the Great American Plains).

My car does not have covered parking, so this is what I found waiting for me this morning. The picture is a little dark as it was fairly early and still quite cloudy. Under the beautiful, fluffy snow lies hard as rock ice, so I got to use my ice scraper and bristle brush for the first time. I'll have to get a can of silicone spray in town and spray it on my rubber door seals so they don't freeze to the door as they tried to do today. Luckily, it didn't get too cold last night (about 17 above, F). I had to make a trip to Orleans this morning (distance= 7 miles, population=425) and tried to be prudent in my driving habits. There is an old saying to the effect that half of being smart is knowing what you're dumb at, and I have no trouble admitting that I am dumb at driving on snow and ice. I will learn as the months go by, but for now I'll take it slow and easy. My Sister, the Rev. Kathe Ford, lived in Alaska for ten years and told me that driving on snow and ice was easy as could be. No problem, she said. "Stopping on ice," she then said, "now that's a problem".

Here's what it looks like up the walk to my front door. The snow isn't very deep at all, but it's still a measurable snow fall. The concrete walks hold heat longer than the dirt areas, so they tend melt the snow off. Problem is, the melted snow shortly freezes and makes the walkways slippery and dangerous. I have purchased a pair of boots designed for good footing in snow and ice, but short of mounting climbing crampons, nothing can really give good footing on ice.

The view up the street shows off a wintry view that is truly beautiful. The high temperatures today and tomorrow will be in the mid forties, so I'm told that what is beautiful today will be ugly, muddy slush by Monday afternoon.

Ah, well. So much for a wintry paradise.

A Lot Going On, Part 2

Each year the Friday before Thanksgiving is the occasion for Alma's "Holiday Preview". The Christmas lights are up and lit. Christmas carols echo up and down the streets from strategically located loudspeakers and there is simply no place to park because all the shops are open and most of the town has turned out to take a look at this year's decorations.

When I walked past the Subway franchise and looked in the window, I could see my granddaughter busily putting sandwiches together for a host of customers. There were similar scenes in all the stores as the people of Alma made a point of walking each side of Main Street and stepping into each store for at least a few moments. Since almost everybody in Alma knows everybody else (at least slightly), it's a time of community conviviality.

Two small horses pulled a wagon filled with people on a tour of the four block area that is essentially downtown Alma, Nebraska. The wagon has regular automobile tires on its wheels, so it looked to be a comfortable ride. Even though it was after dark, I saw many hardy souls wearing only T-shirts, no jackets. The temperature was probably in the low sixties or high fifties, and a softy like me wears a light jacket in that weather, but then I've only been here a little over five months. Maybe my blood will thicken as time marches on.

The entity that operates my apartment complex, The Alma Housing Authority, led by my apartment manager, Denise (boy, is she high energy Irish), had set up camp at Joe Camera, my favorite store in town. Denise offered free coffee, cookies and blueberry muffins to all who stopped in. She was also offering a drawing for a new DVD player, so people came by, said "Hi" and generally hung around to talk. I had volunteered to help host a half-hour slot, so from 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM, I welcomed people and made sure they were aware of all to be had there at Joe Camera.

Two ladies from my apartment complex relieved me at the appointed time. One of them was my immediate neighbor, Ruby. Ruby is 98 years old going on 45 and has suffered no real ill effects of aging, other than (like most of us) she's probably not as tall as she used to be. If I make it to 98, I hope I am as physically and mentally able as is Ruby. She is a delight.

The free coffee was limited to regular and decaf, because the shop offers everything you can imagine in the way of coffee. In an earlier post, I commented on the wide selection of coffees available. So for those who wanted a Latte or a "Mocha Java" (whatever that is), I referred them to the store owner, Dusti, who happily obliged them at regular store prices for the fancy stuff.

The jars of coffee beans and tea leaves on the shelves are more numerous than anyone would ever expect to find in a town of 1232 souls. The tea included Earl Grey and Oolong Formosa, while the various coffees included a bean called, "A.M. Mayhem". I think I would be afraid to try that one first thing in the morning. I'll take ordinary coffee, thank you. In fact, I love the smell and taste of unsullied coffee, especially in the morning. When my daughter, Eva, and I have coffee at Bugbee's after our walks, I watch her pollute her cup of java with sugar and creamer, and I wonder if it's too late to save her from that poor condition.

Next Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I will sit down and celebrate that holiday with both my daughters for the first time in 27 years. This is the kind of thing that my move from Duarte, CA, was all about. Time has taught me that few, if any, things are more important than family.

I hope everyone who reads this has a happy Thanksgiving.

A Lot Going On, Part 1

Sorry to have been absent so long, but a lot has been going on. A person might think that a small town in the late fall would be a quiet place with people getting ready to hunker down for the winter season. Not so. When November rolls around, Alma, Nebraska, gets crowded.

It's hunting season and it seems like half the state is here in camouflage (or camos, as is the new lingo) to hunt for deer, waterfowl, pheasant, quail, turkey, you name it. The two motels in town have "No Vacancy" signs hung out, which helps to explain why the Super 8 Motel chain is working frantically to finish their newest addition on Highway 183. It is currently set for a January, 2008, opening. This area is regarded as one of the "primo" hunting areas in the state, and the primary hunting season starts in November. Luckily, it's been a mild, if not warm, autumn, so those guys crouched down in the duck blinds at dawn aren't going to freeze to death.

It's been warm enough that my neighbor and I went fishing near the dam and while I got blanked, my neighbor, Steve, got two nice wipers (5 and 8 pounds) and a largemouth bass, not to mention two nice hookups that he lost. I didn't even get a bite. How is it that two people can stand essentially side by side, casting the same lure (silver and blue rattletrap) into the same locations and one gets the fish while the other (yours truly) draws a blank?

Deer season ends tomorrow, November 18, and that is good news for my walking habit. My daughter Eva and I have had to give up using the walkway built by the city because there are too many deer hunters out there and we don't want to run the risk of being a hunting casualty. Like any large group of people, 99% of the hunters are good at what they do and observe the rules of rifle and hunting safety. It's the 1 % who are idiots with guns that we worry about, so we have been meandering through town in the mornings trying to get our walking mileage in. With the season ending tomorrow at midnight, we will be back to our old routine on Monday.

Drop into Bugbee's restaurant at any time of the day and you will find that half the crowd is wearing camos or flourescent caps and vests while they eat their meals and scarf down the coffee. These are the hunters taking a break.

Another breed of hunter here is that of the archers. Archery deer season ended just before the rifle season began, and it was a smashing success. A combination mini-market gas station here is called the "Short Stop", and it is also a deer check-in station for those who have accomplished their mission. When I filled up with gas on the last day of archery season and commented on two deer that were strapped to pickup trucks in the parking area, the lady behind the counter said that they had logged in over 90 deer and one of them was the biggest whitetail deer she had ever seen. That's just one check-in station in one small town. This area draws a lot of people who, by staying at the motels, dining at the various eateries and shopping at the local stores pump a lot of money into the Alma Economy.

In the summer, of course, it is Harlan County Lake that brings people in. It's the second largest lake in Nebraska and the fishing and water sports keep the motels and RV parks reasonably full for the entire summer season. Some people in Lincoln (three hours away) and Omaha (four hours) park their RVs here for the summer and drive down every chance they can find to get away from work.

This is a remarkably busy little place. A cell phone company recently constructed a new tower across Highway 183 from Bugbee's, and companies don't do those kinds of things without market research that says the market here will expand. That gives us two cell phone options in town, now, so we're expecting the competition to produce some reduced monthly plans. Only time will tell.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words.........

A couple of friends said that while they appreciated my photos of the walkway, some were a bit too dark and it was hard to see the detail. Sorry about that. My digital is seven years old and doesn't compensate for low light levels well at all. On Some days I have carried one of my 35mm cameras and got some beautiful shots, so here they are.















You find beauty where ever you look for it. Don't forget to look.

Nuff Said