October Snow

The meterologists were predicting snow for Saturday, October 29, but I didn't pay too close attention. I figured we would get a couple of inches. Sure. It is early for snow, but it's New England and snow isn't anything to be afraid of. Right? Wrong.

On Saturday morning, we went out to breakfast with my parents, and then to the Berkshire Brewing Company tour in Deerfield, where we sampled some delicious beer. Then, after a quick trip to Yankee Candle, we emerged from the store to find it had started snowing. Kiefer was as excited as only a kid can be about snow. When we got home, he wanted to go outside. It was amazing how quickly it accumulated. We suited Saskia up, too, so she could check it out.

Just after 8 pm, minutes after Kiefer went to bed, we lost power. The following morning, there was still no power. Kiefer didn't care. He kept bugging me to go out in the 9 inches of snow. So out he and I went. We shoveled our deck and went sledding. Even though Kiefer wasn't a fan of the snow when he was her age, I asked Roel to get Saskia in her snowpants and jacket and took her sledding. She was grinning ear to ear each time we went down the hill!

We did manage to make a roast chicken for dinner that night by cooking it on our gas grill. We prepared stuffing, mashed potatoes and butternut squash on our gas stove. We also boiled water for baths and washing dishes in a huge canning pot. The local schools, including UMass were closed on Monday. While we got 9 inches of snow, Amherst and Hadley got about 15 and it was wetter and heavier than the snow we got. All of this wet, heavy snow on trees that still had their leaves, caused many branches and trees to snap and fall on powerlines.

On Tuesday, when UMass re-opened and I headed to work, I could believe what all the downed trees and branches on campus and around town. We got our power back late Monday afternoon, but many of my colleagues were without power for days. Some people, almost a week later, are still without power!

The situation was so dire, Greenfield and other towns postponed trick-or-treating until this weekend! Kiefer was so excited for trick-or-treating we went out on Halloween anyway, but only a few houses were handing out candy. We'll go out again on Saturday. How strange to go trick-or-treating in November!