A few days ago (two days before Halloween to be exact), a snowstorm came to my town. It snowed about nine inches and knocked a lot of people’s power out. Luckily it wasn’t the worst storm ever. I was also one of the very few people to have a generator, so I had power on most appliances in my house. It was still a little scary because some parts of the house (like the stairs) were very dark and it was hard to see. The most interesting thing about the storm was that all the seasons seemed to be in one day: the snow of winter, the leaves of fall, the grass of summer, and the birds of spring.
On Halloween, I went trick-or-treating on my best friend’s street which had lots of power (my neighborhood’s power was still out at the time). My friend’s neighborhood has many more trick-or-treaters than mine. I go there every year and I get a lot of candy. One special thing about trick-or treating this year was that there was snow on the ground.
My power was out for four days, but my school took longer to gets its power back. We had no school while we waited. My friends and I talked on our computers when we didn’t have school. We said that it felt like we were sick since we’d been out for almost a week. To me, it felt like I was on vacation or we didn’t have school anymore.
I wanted to go back to school because it’s a fun way I can see my friends in person. During the first two days it was pretty fun, but then it got really boring because it seemed as if there was nothing to do. I am now glad that we are back in school because it keeps me busy and helps me learn new things.
Zoë
Dear Zoë,
Thank you so much for inviting me to this blog! This is the very first time I have added a comment to a blog, so it is a new experience for me too. I enjoy your writing.
I am responding to this post because I had the same thought about the snow storm in Pennsylvania – all the seasons at once – yes! I did not lose power at my house this time, but I often do. It can get boring. Locke and I usually end up playing Scrabble by candle light.
Thanks again and I will revisit the blog when I can. Locke and I hope you had a happy birthday and we will see you soon.
Love,
Aunt Marianne
I have never gone out for Halloween in the snow! That must have been interesting. I’ll bet no one planned on wearing boots as part of his or her costume. I liked your observation that all four seasons were in evidence as you went from door to door.
I hope you got a lot of candy. My sisters, brother and I used to use pillowcases for bags as they were much sturdier than bags.
Hi Zoë,
The northeastern U.S. certainly got a hit of early snow this year. It seems our climate is changing, and this is certainly one of the many signs of it. I am from southern Ontario, and we have yet to get snow.
Great blog. Keep up the good work. Stefan (wales, UK)
Hi Zoe,
here in Sicily (Italy) we have the opposite problem, during summer it gets very hot and sometimes you don’t have energies to go to school or work.
We have a volcano here (Etna) who during winter is full of snow, but in my city (Catania) I’ve never see a snowstorm…
Enjoy the snow!
All the best,
Andrea
Zoe – Greetings from The Library at Keele University in the United Kingdom. It’s a cool damp day here today but warm and cosy in the Library and very busy because there is an assignment due at the end of the week.
All best wishes
Jude
I heard how long the power was out there. Just amazing. I hope your whole winter is not like that.
— Kim in MIchigan
Zoe,
Having school close can be fun- until the end of the year and school lasts longer than expected. 🙂
I got some snow from that same storm here in Central New Jersey. I wasn’t too pleased with it because I was planning on going to a concert that night and it was cancelled. The place where the concert was to be held lost power, unfortunately.
The cloud did have a silver lining though- the new date for the show was a night my wife could go to the show and the performer is a favorite of her’s.
Dennis Whelan
Hello from NJ! I only lost power for 3 hours, but the farm where I keep my horse lost power for a week! There are 5 horses on the farm and each horse drinks about 10 gallons or more water per day. No electricity=no well pump. They didn’t have a generator, either until the last 2 days!
Wow, I used to live in Ohio, and I remember weather like this. Now I’m in San Jose, California. Usually I can see snow out my window a few times a year, but only by looking up at the mountains. All we have to deal with in wintertime is lots of yucky rain.
Dear Zoe,
Thank you for sharing your blog with me. I am delighted to be able to respond to you.
I, too, was going to comment that I liked the part of your entry where you mentioned all the seasons occurring in one day. It seems everyone liked that part. However, I will focus on the part that made this teacher’s heart soar: where you said you were glad to be back at school where you could see your friends, but also learn new things. That IS what is great about school.
I have bookmarked your class’s blog and will continue to read it. Thanks for sharing.
Aunt Tessa/Ms. Scott
Champaign-Urbana, IL
P.S. I would always finish my Halloween candy first (gathered in pillowcases so that we could get LOTS of candy), never bothering to ration it out. I knew that my generous sister would share hers with me. And she did, every year.
Hi there Zoe
Here in England we are being warned that it’s going to be a bad winter.- but for us that means a few weeks of snow and ice and a few problems travelling.
Zoe,
How interesting to read your blog. I am a teacher and live in the UK. Early November is very early to have snow isn’t it? I remember enjoying snow when I was young but now I hate driving in it or getting stuck indoors for a long time.
I have visited New Jersey a few times and remember spending a day in a school in Redbank.
Mari
Brighton, UK
I’ve lived in coastal northern California my whole life (raised in Santa Cruz, now living in Silicon Valley) and so to me, snow is something you only see when you go to the mountains. The idea of snow falling where I live seems very strange to me. I am sure that it made your trick or treat night a particularly memorable one!
Zoe,
I enjoyed your blog about the snowstorm and also the Civil War letter. You write very well, so keep it up.
I’m from Atlanta, and down here it’s always a big deal the 1 or 2 times a winter that we get snow (or ice). Our city shuts down, as we don’t have much in the way of snow plows plus we plenty of hills, so driving is dangerous. Most of us Southerners never learn how to drive in the snow and ice, and no one has snow tires or chains. Everytime we get snow in the forecast, we get all excited and look forward to a day or two off work and school. It usually is all gone in 2-3 days, so it’s mostly just a bid adventure for us.
Dear Zoe,
We loved your blog about your blackout. We, in San Diego, experienced a little bit of what you did when we flew back from Hawaii into the dark of night. The airport was completely dark and security had to walk us from the plane through the dark terminal. The blackout was only for 12 hours but when we drove, there were no lights and when we got home, we couldn’t get into our garages. We had to use candle light and flashlights. It was a little scary.One
good thing was that I had off from school the next day, and therefore a 3 day weekend. Thanks for including us in your blog!
Dear Zoe,
I was the sister who ate gobbled her candy immediately. I won’t tell you which one still had her candy when Easter rolled around. I’ll let your mom tell you.
(Aunt) Rosemarie
Thank you so much for sharing your blog with us(:.you are awsome!!!
We all have many reasons to be thank you for.Keep up the good work and I will be looking forward to read more of your stories!
Thank you and God bless
Monta;)
Hi,
I write this comment from Iran where there is a huge wind ,rain and cold weather nowadays that is really strange!
I live in Santa Monica, which is on the Pacific Ocean and surrounded on the other three sides by Los Angeles. It never snows here. Because of this, the roofs of many homes are flat (snow doesn’t have to fall off) and streets and driveways can be steeper than where there is snow…you don’t have to worry about cars sliding downhill.
We just had our first substantial rain of the year yesterday. Often it rains only 7-10″ for the whole year and our “rainy season” is November through January. “Cold” for us is when the temperature drops into the 50’s (Farenheit).
Jim Brunet, a friend of your Aunt Rosemarie’s