Coronavirus, Nature

I’m Dreaming of a White Easter

72 Comments

Yesterday, Mother Nature brought us a nasty little April surprise: A sizable snowstorm with wet, heavy snow. In central Maine, we got about a foot. The farther north, the higher the snowfall, with foot and a half in some areas.

That much wet, heavy snow can mean only one thing: Power outages. According to Maine Public Radio, 250,000 homes are without power, no small number in a state with a total population of just over a million.  Exactly what we need in this time of the coronavirus.

However, by some miracle, courtesy of the weather gods, we still have our power. We were ready with pots of water on the stove and a well-heated house. (Normally, we keep the temperature a little on the cool side. But it’s best to start out from a warm place if the power goes out.)

The pots of water remain on the stove. The forecast is for high winds this afternoon, which means we might still lose our power.

In the meantime, as I write this, Clif is out there with Little Green, cleaning the driveway yet again. We sure do hope this is the last time until next winter.

Onward and upward!

Coronavirus News from Maine

From Maine Public Radio

Around the state extraordinary efforts are underway to help care for people during the pandemic. One example is in Lewiston where high school students with the Regional Technical Center’s culinary arts program are making and distributing 400 meals a day to those who either can’t get around or who don’t feel safe going out in public. It’s a student-led initiative that’s being supported by donations of all kinds.

It took root in their tip jar. The 60 students in the culinary arts program regularly serve up lunches and sell to-go dinners in the Green Ladle restaurant during the week. They’d saved up $1300 in tips for an annual school trip to Portland for a fancy meal, but when classes were suspended a few weeks ago, their instructor, Chef Dan Caron, says a student came to him with a question.

“’How many community members could we feed with that $1300?’ And at the time it was 500 people. Within seconds we were communicating through text messaging. They all said, ‘Let’s do this chef! Let’s do this, chef!’ and they donated their tips.”

From Maine CDC

Maine’s number of cases of the coronavirus: 586  (Monday’s numbers: 499)

Deaths in Maine from Covid-19:  17   (Monday’s numbers: 10)

The News from All Over

From Dr. Sanjay Gupta

New York state now has more cases than any country in the world except the United States, but there is a glimmer of hope: the number of people hospitalized in the state is going down as deaths have gone up. The nation’s top coronavirus expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says it’s a sign social distancing is working.

The Latest Numbers

Global Cases: 1,612,646    (Monday’s Numbers: 1,280,046)

Global Deaths:  96,787       (Monday’s Numbers: 69,789)

My Own Take: A tiny sliver of hope for New York, but very small indeed. In Maine, at least, we are holding steady. Perhaps because of all the social distancing? Or the calm before the storm?

72 thoughts on “I’m Dreaming of a White Easter”

  1. That does not look like fun. We’ve had our normal sunshine and temps in the mid 70s.

  2. My second thought was how wonderful of those students. Unfortunately, my first was, I wouldn’t want my teenager involved in meeting and cooking even with masks, gloves, and few people! I wonder if the school district would be responsible if any of those students got sick? If the schools are closed, it would be iffy to me to allow students even on campus. Seem a shame my first thought was negative. I guess that’s what these days have done to me!

    1. My first thought was your second. 😉 But you raise a valid point. I think teenagers consider what they are doing essential—getting food to shut-ins—and they (and their parents) are willing for them to the risk.

  3. Ew! Enough is enough. I thought I’d seen the last of snow gauge Clif for this year.
    We’re basking in summery sunshine but I won’t gloat. At least your snow makes people stay inside – the fear with a sunny Easter is that people will throw caution to the wind and go out and about regardless.

  5. Oh my. I love snow in November, but by this time of year, I’m really into sunshine and daffodils. Best wishes, and hopes for the last storm of the season.

  7. April surprise, indeed! Never fun to deal with, but at least there is the comfort in knowing that it won’t last long.
    Hope your weekend is enjoyable, if quiet. ❤

  8. We got rain on and off the last few days here near Woodstock NY, light snow flurries today, and some wind that is behaving itself: having fun, but staying mostly above the trees and structures, so they all do okay. Best wishes–

  9. I’ve been thinking about you. I heard this storm was coming and “bomb cyclone” was mentioned. I hope you keep your power. We’ve had high winds, but so far, so good.

  15. Applause to ‘Regional Technical Center’s culinary arts program’ – what a great plan those students put together. Their parents must be extremely proud. NH is kind of like Me, and we’re all grateful.

  16. As to Good Friday snow, we had it blowing sideways most of the day with 40 – 50 MPH winds. I still got out and mowed the pathways in the afternoon with bits of sun and lighter flurries all about.

    As to the brighter-side Covid19, we are not having to read about post-impeachment vengeance being played out in the media (not that anyone got nice all of a sudden, but it does not fit the news cycle).

    1. High winds! No, we don’t have to read about it, but Trump seems to be able to slide in the knife here and there. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

  18. I have to confess my first response was to laugh. That snow seems just so improbable — but there’s a lot of latitude between thee and me! I remember an Easter snow in Iowa, when the tulips were blooming. As I recall, it actually led to a longer bloom period for the flowers, and then melted. May your melt come soon!

    1. It is kind of funny, especially when you don’t lose your power. And believe it or not, it had been very dry in Maine, which means the snow will do a lot of good. But what an April mess.

  19. Thank goodness you kept your power. I know you are well prepared but at this time of year we tend to let our guard down a bit!

  20. We had a blizzard here, complete with ominous roiling clouds and 14″ of snow. Still no power, but we have solar back-up, so doing fine. But I worry about all the people without power who are shut in with kids at home or illness. What a nightmare. All my perennials were happily emerging and the tulips up. I hope they survive this snow.

    1. How wonderful that you have solar back-up. That is our dream, but unfortunately we live in the woods. We weren’t thinking of that when we bought this house 36 years ago. Good luck to those tulips.

  24. I hope that snow clears very quickly and that you can have a happy, warm Easter weekend, even though every day is the same for us all now!

  25. Did you have a white Christmas as well ?? Have a Happy Easter never the less !

  26. I was hoping your patio would remain snow free, but I’m never surprised by April snow. We had a little snow during the week, but the wind was worse and we have another wind storm on the way tomorrow. Hope you made it through the weekend with power and enjoyed a Happy White Easter.🙂

  27. As I read this post, I thought how lovely it was that just a few days ago you DID get to have tea on the patio, a welcome change, and one that I hope you can repeat again soon. We are indeed fortunate to be living in the country, able to take walks and putter about the garden, and listen to the birds (rather than the neighbors arguing like loudly so many people have or the sound of sirens) to ease our stress. Stay safe.

      1. You and Bob Nold (The Miserable Gardener blog, my second favourite after our Mr Tootlepedal!), who lives near Denver, oh, and my friend Montana Mary, all chill me with your tales of April snow. While here in the Pacific Northwest, it is full springtime. But as you reminded me, we have to weed all year long.

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