Floridacracker, one of the blogosphere's most entertaining bloggers, wrote today about the approaching cold weather. Florida reached the 30s this morning, a veritable icebox for those poor unacclimated southerners. Floridacracker, undaunted and a rare breed, hopped in his naturally air conditioned (read: windowless) jeep, braving the wind chill and ignoring the scorn of other chilblains. ;)

We had accumulating snow here Upstate this morning. Not much, just a dusting. I find as I get older that I get colder a bit more easily than I used to. But I am no "floridacracker" by any means. Temps in the 30s are just getting right for me! This reminds me of a very funny email that circulated a few winters back:

You Know You Live in Upstate New York when:

“Vacation” means going south past Syracuse for the weekend. (ha!)

You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.

You often switch from “heat” to “A/C” in the same day and back again.

You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching. (Been there, done that)

You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

You carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them.

You design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow. (especially in Utica, NY, City of Creative Potholes)

You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction.

You can identify a southern or eastern accent.

"Down south" to you means Corning.

Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new shed.

You go out for a fish fry every Friday.

Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.

You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.

You find 10 degrees “a little chilly.” ;)

This is Upstate! Land of gigantic snow mounds, flannel shirts, and roaring snowblowers! We'll need this sense of humor when the really cold weather hits. Actually, for us Upstaters, enduring the heating bills is more painful than anything Old Man Winter can throw at us.

But most Upstaters love-- or at least respect-- winter's ammunition when it comes. I love winter and I love heavy snowstorms. They are so lovely. The entire landscape is completely blanketed with mounds of muffling snow. You can hear the slightest noise all the way down the street. Big globs of snow hang precariously from the evergreens, waiting for the foolish person who dares to walk beneath its limbs. Droplets of snow plop off the powerlines, making imaginative imprints in the freshly-made snow mountains.



People are almost reverent after a snowstorm. All the neighbors slowly crack open their doors to survey their glistening homes and silent roadways. We climb out of our homes without a sound, dressed up in thick overcoats, hats, and mittens that disguise our usual profiles. There is something beautiful about the scouring rasp of snowshovels scraping the ground as the entire community clears driveways after a storm. Sometimes we wave snow-sticky mittens to each other in between shovelfulls, but mostly we concentrate on clearing the snow. When we finish, hot chocolate or hot coffee with a touch of cinnamon await us. Warm slippers soothe our feet and sweet family company warms our hearts. Upstate in winter is so lovely. There is nothing I know that compares with it.