The Unexpected

It’s almost time to raise the glasses and offer salutations. “Cheers! Happy New Year!” but it feels more like March in Central Massachusetts. Being a bit dislocated in time due to the fifty-degree weather, I went to the woodshed and started looking for my maple syrup taps, tubing, and buckets.
It should be arctic about now. There should be a few inches of snow on the ground. And I should be hunting around the shed for my snowshoes, not my syrup supplies.
Could be, should be, and ought to be. The general rule in New England was that if you get weather like this early in winter, you better watch out for Winter’s Revenge in late January and February.

The protocol for getting through it was the same every year. Have your boots and shovels ready. Have ice melt, your snow blower tuned, and plenty of dry wood for the fire. Don’t forget the candles and preparations for cooking on the woodstove when you lose power.
I still believe in Winter’s Revenge. But now it’s more likely to be heavy rain, floods, and ice storms that blow up out of nowhere. Make sure that your sump pump is working, and watch out for the unexpected because it’s the unexpected we can expect.