Showing posts with label surprise snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surprise snow. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Pixel the Weather Adventurer Extraordinaire Braves the Arctic Tundra Once More

I never would have guessed that even as a Weather Adventurer Extraordinaire, I'd have another wild grueling weather adventure quite so soon after winter. I'd been traveling for miles and miles, walking for what seemed like days, weeks even. Nothing around me but endless white. I wasn't even sure where I was, but based on how overwhelmingly blustery, cold and snowy it was, I was pretty sure I was close to the Arctic Circle. I had to rely on my senses, my survival skills and my keen intellect to get me through.
Surveying the landscape, desperate for any signs of life, I could see I was all alone. The travel was treacherous, the days were long, and the hours passed slowly. I fought fatigue, worried about the perils of the wilderness, and wondered when the next big blizzard would hit. I was in the mountains, so the risk of an avalanche was extremely high. One wrong howl and I could be a goner. What if I came across a glacier that blocked my path? Or fell down a huge ice crevasse? All I could do was make my way through the cold and snow as best I could. I was hoping for the best, but was prepared for the worst.
Oh how I missed the comforts of home, the warm fireplace, soft fuzzy blankets, the small yet delicious meals every 3-4 hours. I could just imagine my little duckies missing me, all lined up against the window pane wondering, "When is Mommy Pixel coming home? Will we ever see her again??" "Don't cry little Duckies, I'll survive somehow, I promise," I thought to myself.
Pixel Blue Eyes' serious face covered in snow outside - photo by Jenny Lewis As I trudged through the snow that was almost up to my neck, choking me, blinding me and making it almost impossible to make the next step, I thought about my Mommy...my beloved Mommy, and wondered how she would get along without me if I didn't get through this snowy tundra adventure. I pushed on as hard as I could, focusing on making it home.
But soon the freezing temperatures overtook my small delicate frame, and in spite of dressing for the weather, I became too weak to go on. All I could do was close my eyes and let fate overtake me. I stood there, frozen in the Arctic landscape, unable to move. What would happen to me now? Would I ever make it back home? It seemed like just the other day I was enjoying a warm Spring afternoon in my own front yard, watching the blooms of the beautiful Bradford pear trees wave in the gentle breeze. Hadn't I just sniffed my first tulips and sat in a garden filled with daffodils?
But suddenly, after being stuck in this frozen tundra for ages, the last wave of Arctic frost overtook my body, and I heard that final call of my name to "go home".
"Pixel. Pixel? PIXEL! Come on sweetie, we've been out in this blustery weather for about 5 minutes now and the snow flurries are getting a little stronger. We've got a light dusting on the ground now. Let's go home and get warm by the fire."
It was MOMMY!! She found me and I was saved!!! Thank goodness it turned out to all be just a daydream...because I'd forgotten to bring my compass and snow shoes!
REALITY CHECK FROM MOMMY: Here in the mountains of Virginia, we had warm beautiful weather up until Friday, then we suddenly nose dived into freezing cold temperatures with lows getting down to about 19 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 degrees Celsius) and snow flurries. We had lots of flurries, heavy winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour (34.75 knots) and cold temperatures, just not quite all the snow that Pixel imagined.
Did you have crazy weather this Spring? I'd love to hear about it friends!! Leave me a comment and tell me all about it.