True to style, the wind started the evening of our perfect snow and blasted our end of the valley for over twenty-four hours.  I have lived here for 16 years and I still find it unnerving. It roars and growls and rattles the house.  Literally, we can feel the bed shake with us in it.  I remind myself that the same winds battered these sturdy bones for over 100 years....dear, faithful old house. Still, it felt like an endless day; seemed like all we did was add wood to the fire and watch out the window as mesmerizing whirls of snow transformed our surroundings.
      By 5 pm, the seven mile stretch of road beyond Main Street was completely drifted shut.  Even the state trucks gave up, unable to keep ahead of the rolling snow.  A semi was the first to slide across the road into a snow bank and the recovery efforts of first responders began in earnest....multiple cars pulled out of snow drifts, two minor accidents, an Amish buggy swept away by the wind, an Amish school teacher taken home by our Special Unit, two elderly women stranded in their car and they didn't know where...
       Once Hero got home from work, he and Blaze reported to duty.  He was placed at the main intersection to divert people from heading south.  Blaze was put on the Brush Truck, they stayed on the road for a while and then headed back to the station for standby.  Five hours later, the state permitted the road closure we needed and they came home. Talk and tea and more watching out the window. Bit by bit, the winds settled down and we fell asleep to a strange but welcomed silence.


     

Main Street photo by Blaze, 11 am