I am in a fortress made of snow, well covered in snow anyway. I can’t get out. The front door is snowed in and in the backyard, the gate won’t open because of the fallen branch cross it. The dogs are fine and are using the dog door. I just wish they could shovel. Henry and Nala are having their morning naps, Henry upstairs and Nala on the couch. I fed Jack. He was purring, happy for company and his treats. I can see my newspaper on top of the snow plow pile. It taunts me.

When I was around 11 or 12, on a school snow day, my friend and I decided to make some money shoveling. We did one house and split the money. It wasn’t much as we were too young to realize the money value of our labor. At the second house, we started together, but she ditched me, left me stranded in the snow. I stayed because we had made a deal, contracted to shovel her walkway and front porch. The shoveling took a long time. The lady of the house kept making sure I was okay. When I was finished, she invited me inside. She gave me some tea and cookies. She paid me more than I had asked. The cookies were sugar cookies and delicious. I went home after that proverbially dragging my shovel behind me. I felt rich and full of cookies. My friend avoided me for a while.

I saw paw prints across my front yard this morning. They went right by the front steps. I don’t know what animal made them. I just know it wasn’t a dog. Henry missed the interloper so I figure the incursion happened during the late night or very early in the morning. Henry barks at everything.

The sun is out, but everything looks a bit hazy in the light. It is 20°. The snow world looks pretty through the inside windows of my house. I am warm, the coffee is still hot. I haven’t and won’t get dressed. I am going nowhere.

This entry was posted on January 27, 2026 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.