The Plantation has been snowed in for two days already as a foot and a half of snow has turned the entire area into a winter wonderland. As Mom looks out the window, the snow continues to swirl down heavily and we expect a few more inches before it ends later today.

       Earlier this morning, Mom received weather and snow reports from the Ashland and Fan fiefdoms where David and Ricky are also socked in and unable to get to work. Many businesses, as well as government offices and schools are closed. The Governor of Virginia has declared a state of emergency and has urged everyone to stay home. Even MacDonald's remained closed yesterday, an unheard of circumstance of historical significance, as far as David was concerned!

       With plenty of warning of the impending storm, Mom started to stock up on milk, bread and catfood a couple of days early and actually beat the famous Ukrop Grocery Store snow rush this time! She also filled all the bird feeders and placed suet in its rack for an anticipated increase in hungry customers. And so it has turned out as the entire local bird population has dropped in for their meals! Snowbirds, cardinals, wrens, chickadees, woodpeckers, flickers, bluejays, mockingbirds and sparrows have been sighted in the yard and have provided us with a firsthand view of their winter-time antics. Squirrels are hidden in snowcaves where their heads pop up through holes from time to time to eat the acorns they had stashed away last Fall for just this kind of weather.

       The continuing heavy snow is finally threatening to cover over the shovel-wide path Mom had cleared and salted down from the front porch and steps this morning. The sprinkling of table salt and its chemical action on the snow will soon be overwhelmed and Mom will have to shovel again. YES! TABLE SALT WORKS! The backdoor has yet to be cleared. Yesterday the snow had already drifted too high for that door to be opened. The sliding door is fine. Even Blackie-cat has gone outside for bladder relief and has found her way through the drifts to the cat door without problems.

       The cars look like white monoliths crouching in the driveway, with wheels only barely visible. Of course, Mom parked her trusty Cavalier at the top of the driveway just in case we need to make a getaway before the snow melts and the roads are clear. But for now, we can enjoy the beauty of the snow, grateful that we are in a warm, snug, safe place; for not everyone is as fortunate as we are.