We're wimps out here on the West Coast. Although we generally get defensive and somewhat offended when people refer to this neck of the woods as "The Wet Coast", we'd welcome that right about now. This has been the worst dose of winter that I can remember in my lifetime.
When it snows here, we act all Miami and are aghast at the sight of falling snow...it may as well be pixie dust. Despite the fact that people in other parts of the world think we live in igloos and snowshoe to work, we're actually very inexperienced snow people. Every conversation on every street corner is weather related and we all turn into meteorologists. We're captivated and terrified, all at the same time. The snow immobilizes us and, in this household, we're damn near down to stale bread and water. Really cold water. Again, despite all the misconceptions, we don't know how to trap our dinner. Which means, at some point, I'll have to venture out to Safeway. Pray for my safe return (the last expedition didn't go so well).

This isn't your average snowfall here - we're lucky if we get a big dump of it and then it's gone before you really get acquainted with your snowman. But not this year - this year it's brought parts of the city to a standstill and it's piling up at the foot of driveways and forcing cars to park in the middle of the road, as there are no longer curbs. Our drivers cannot parallel park at the best of times, THIS is a complete disaster. It looks like people have just abandoned their cars in an "aw shit, I've had enough" moment and opted to skate home. I'm quite sure the boxing day shoppers, with their dogged determination, must have rented bobcats to get to the mall. They're a special bunch, aren't they? If we're ever attacked, I'm throwing them out there on the front lines and telling them there's a 75% sale on.

Anyhow, the weather forecast keeps making false promises of warming trends and rain but, according to the mini blizzard that rolled through for 7 minutes yesterday, it's a crapshoot. How far is it to Hawaii and is there a bus that goes there?

This morning I got up to make coffee and when I looked out the kitchen window a duck landed in the parking lot beside my car. A duck?! Mother nature's confusing the hell out of the wildlife...either that or the word is out in the bird world "hey, head over to this address...she throws food out the window for us". (Yes, I do. Bylaws schmylaws).

I do have two crows who show up each morning and peek in through the window at me until I give them some tidbits. I swear one of them was knocking the other morning. This week they've had the all you can eat buffet, consisting of turkey skin, potatoes, corn and even some shortbread for dessert. Today there were crows, seagulls and a duck out there lined up like it's the feathered friends soup kitchen. I did notice that, although the seagulls usually overrule and eat everything in sight, they gave the duck his space. The visiting duck was shown some hospitality by the locals. The crows - not so lucky...it's a bird eat bread world and they've gotta learn to get in there and fight. Elbows out (they don't have elbows, do they?). Maybe they could take a lesson or two from the boxing day shoppers.

Bring on spring now. Please.

(I had photos I'd taken, but Blogger's frozen and won't let me post them...will do so later)