Been on a mission....

The weather turned winter/sucky here in the PacNorWest on Friday, with a back-door cold front and a close-coupled Low (sounds faintly queer, doesn't it?) dealing snow, rain and hail on the Pacific Northwest.

Ahem, Weather God: it's MID-APRIL! This weather isn't too unusual around these parts, FROM LATE DECEMBER TO EARLY FEBRUARY, but it's APRIL!

Got to talking with the RivrSis down in the RivrCottage in Cottage Grove, OR about the weather about lunchtime on Friday, and she allowed as how it was gong to be mizzable down by the Coast Fork, since she was almost out of heating firewood.

Hmmmm, can't let that happen, thinks I. Loaded the CAB of the Little Black Truck with sawdust logs and bricks, 540# of them (had to put them in the CAB because compressed sawdust fuel can't take ANY rain) just after getting the RivrFrau off to Seattle with the Rivr(almostDoc)Dau, then shoved off for Cottage Grove as it was starting to snow at my place near Portland. Had the Winter Box of snow-survival goodies aboard, and had Carhartts and boots and my snowboarder's parka. Paid !@#$%^)(*&^%$ (3.45/gallon) for sucky E10 fuel and hit the I-205 and I-5 freeway.

Parking lot for 25 miles. One look at a snow cloud was all it took to clench all those thousands of anuses in front of me...

Finally got to Cottage Grove about 1830, just in time to unload and stack the fuel, then hie off to the local car wash for a cab-vacuuming. The RivrFrau called to tell me she was probably snowed in in North Seattle. Back to the RivrCottage for a bracing shot of brandy, a warm fire that could be read as R.E.L.I.E.F. in the eyes of the four cats now encircling the wood stove, and finally a late supper of sub sandwich and BED!

Up early to a skiff of snow Saturday, and off for a brisk walk downtown to a new French bakery (Patisserie) for a croissant and coffee. Basically kicked back all day, watching the sky for advance warning of the snow/hail showers which pelted down frequently, then off for an early supper to Creswell, some 13 miles north, to hunt for a wood-yard (found it, but no one available to sell any), then had a fine Mexican seafood supper of "Siete Mares" (Seafood stew) and Negra Modello dark ale, then back to the RivrCottage to watch an old Toshiro Mifune samurai epic, sip more brandy (Greek 5-star Metaxa) and off to bed at midnight. Yeah, yeah, long sentences. Well, it was a long day.

Still blowing zzzs at 0700 this morning when the sis knocks on my door to announce a snowstorm in progress. Not exactly, but it WAS a fine little snowburst, dumping about 2-3 inches of snow in about 45 minutes. Watched the snow fall, sucked down java and climbed into the Carhartts/boots for a snowy stroll back to the Patisserie for more croissants, and thankfully, some hot French Onion soup. On the way, took lots of photos and even sent a political message about global warming to pedestrians down by the Covered Bridge...

A fine weekend, with a fine purpose and it proved to me I can STILL change horses in mid-stream...

There's a photo album to go with this post. See the right sidebar (scroll a looooong way down) for "April Snow".

Comments

[Morenuancedthanyou]

Have you been to La Provence, address approximately 4000 E Division? We go there now and then, a friend of my wife's is a cook there. They have a good eggs Benedict plate.
No snow is visible where I am in the hills and Intellicast says we are well above freezing in the lows for the next 10 days. Algore must have left the PNW.