First Snow

We awakened to find the ground covered with a light snow, the first of the season. I took the dogs out and Boo, the big Bernweiler, put his nose into the snow and flipped it into the air while running full tilt down the paths. I was glad I had elected to go out into the cold sunshine.

I drove into Syracuse for a 9:00 o'clock appointment, filled with the beauty of the hills and looking forward to this blog to tell about how lovely it is here at this time of year. I smiled at the snowplow pulling out onto Route 5 before the turn to 695. There was nothing to plow - the roads were bare past my driveway.

I took the turn and found I was suddenly in the midst of a swirling snowstorm. Traffic slowed to a crawl on 690, cars were off the road or involved in accidents. Some how Syracusans forget how to drive in snow between April and November. Happens every year.

I also remember arriving here in 1990, having been away in the winter for 17 years. I worried aloud that I'd have trouble with the drive into Syracuse from Skaneateles every morning, but was told by an old-timer "There's less snow here than there." He went on to quote statistics - 120 inches average for Syracuse, 75 inches for Skaneateles. I was skeptical; it's less than 25 miles.

Over the years I've realized he was absolutely right, if not perfect with his numbers (more like Cayuga County with the 75 inches...). And here it was again - gorgeous sunshine in Skaneateles and blinding snow in Syracuse.

Welcome, winter!