December Thundersnow

Coral Burst Crab in the church garden

There was a Saturday night rumble or two, and some pitter-patter on the skylights before I fell fast asleep, but I had no idea that we would receive a big dump of wet snow overnight.

I was a little late to church after scraping the heavy snow off the car, finding my boots and dress gloves ... and answering the door.

There was a fire truck parked out front with swirling red flashers. The firemen knocked on my door to let me know that 1/4 of the clump birch tree had knocked out the neighbor's telephone line. If a line is down, you call. A telephone line??

The tree trunk branches extend over the sidewalk, but otherwise present no immediate emergency.

My Subaru with the recently installed snow tires navigated the un-plowed streets to church with ease. A surprising number of others had managed the snow. Several area churches had canceled their morning services.

It is December and this is the kind of weather we have come to expect in Michigan, but it doesn't mean that it's all beautiful and magical or Christmassy. It can be a royal pain.

This is why older folks move to a condo! In Florida.

Now, whom do we call to get that tree cleaned up?