Snowy Friday

Well, here I sit on a Friday morning, waiting for word from the school about whether they'll be open today or not. The Catbird was sent home early yesterday; the school was already set for a half day today (teacher training day), but I'm sure they're loath to give up a day to snow if they don't have to. The new superintendent here (and he's at least four years on the job now, so he's not really new, but you know how these things go) is from the North Country, so he's used to this stuff. It all depends on the roads.

I don't especially mind the snow--most often, the air around here is cold and dry enough that it's fairly easy to shovel--and in truth, I think our friends along the seaboard have had more snow than we have, which is unusual. This winter has felt especially arduous and endless, however, and I think it's largely because it's been so damn cold. We've had more single-digit and sub-zero days this winter than we've seen in probably6 or 8 years; it can really wear you down. As I sit here typing this right now, the thermometer reads a positively balmy 15 degrees, and we're supposed to push 30 today. Heatwave!

Speaking of winter, Matt Sinclair, the big brain behind Elephant's Bookshelf Press, sent out the cover for the Winter Anthology:

I really like the look of this cover--it really catches the mood, don't you think? The anthology is slated for a February 28 release date, a little delayed, much like this winter has been. Matt has been quite busy, as EBP has this and another anthology slated for spring, plus a novel due out in March, and more. That's a lot on his plate.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing this on, and  to reading the great stories others have submitted. Meanwhile, on another book note, I've seen my pages for the works submitted for our writers' circle book--nice! The laid out versions match the final version I submitted. This is the part where we see how many errors actually creep into during the publication process. The most glaring I've found so far are an annoying lack of paragraph breaks in one of my pieces.

Well, hey, look at that, I've just gotten word that our school is closed. I can see the steam coming out of our superintendent's ears from here--maybe it's enough to melt all that snow. On that note, I'll sign off here and hope you have a happy weekend. Be well.

Musical Monday: Change In The Weather

This Musical Monday is brought to you by Mother Nature, who has seen fit to flip a seasonal switch in this little corner of the world.

First, a shout-out to the Catbird and her teammates and coaches on the cross country team--they won their conference championship meet on Saturday! 

On Friday at the office I noticed the wind had picked up. On occasion, our door would rattle, and every couple of minutes you could hear wind rushing through the trees. Inside, though we've had to put the heat on a couple of times, it was pleasant enough. Unlike my house, the place I work is pretty tightly put together, so there are no drafts flowing through the space.

I opened the door and stepped out into what looked like a classic fall day: blue sky, a bit blustery, colorful leaves spinning down—but the thought that crossed my mind came straight out of Ned Stark's head: Winter is coming.

We've had cold weather before, this year. Our summer kind of ended in mid-July, temperature-wise. It first dipped into the thirties weeks ago, we had our first hard frost in mid-September, and I woke up to sub-freezing temperatures at the beginning of this month, so it's been coming for some time. Yet there was something different this time. The feeling was different, and the smell—autumn is the smell of woodsmoke and mouldering leaves. It's rich, aromatic, almost spicy. Then there's a winter smell, cold and clean. This was the first time, even with those occasional, very cold nights, that I've gotten that smell, that same feeling. Winter is coming.

Here's John Fogerty, the primary brain behind the classic sixties group, Creedence Clearwater Revival, with his solo song, Change In The Weather. Something I find interesting is the lyrical similarity between this song and something like Bad Moon Rising, though Bad Moon's rather foreboding lyrics are set off by bouncy, peppy music. Enjoy!