sandy brings an early winter

The latest major storm, Hurricane Sandy, has pulled cold air down our way. I awoke this morning to howling winds and horizontal snow. The snow is collecting in fallen leaves and clumps of grass. I showed Rocko a leaf full of snow. He sniffed at it and did a happy dance. It is supposed to warm up enough to melt all of this snow later today, but we'll probably get more tonight.

It's a good thing that I don't need to go to work again for a few days. And that I loaded up on groceries a few days ago.

All of the plants that Lisa brought back from Florida last week came back inside last night; Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) and Staghorn ferns (Platycerium). Both of these were outdoor plants in Florida, but cannot withstand our winters here in the mountains.

I awoke this morning with numbness down my left ulna and hand. An hour and a half later, the little finger on my left hand is still numb, as is the underside of my forearm. Something to do with my ulnar nerve. I probably slept on it. Surprisingly enough, it's not affecting my typing. If anything, I'm typing better. Weird.

And the storm, Sandy. Wow. I have The Weather Channel on my TV, of course, full time now. Things look rough up through Pennsylvania and New York State. Since we're on the left side of the storm, Sandy is pulling cold air down into the Appalachians - and when it goes over the mountains, it makes snow.

The Great Lakes are going to be hit, too, with waves up to 22 feet predicted for Lake Ontario, "my" lake. I remember the destruction Agnes caused in 1972, and wonder what will happen this time.