The Sweet Shovelers

We had an ice storm last Saturday, and it snowed most of Sunday. By the end of it, all the trees at Gateway Hills, and the rest of Ames, had bowed down to the ground under the weight of the snow and ice. It's a most unusual and breathtaking view. Each twig and branch is encased in a mold of smooth, clear ice and great clumps of snow sit on these icy boughs. Their sight is so pretty... they look like large clusters of fluffy white flowers on crystal branches and trees.

The other, less pleasant side of the ice storm was that my car was buried under ten inches of snow. My property managers were clearing the parking lots, and asked that everyone remove their cars. So, though I was sick, I had to go out and do it. It is the very first time I have ever had to shovel snow, and believe you me, it is not easy work. At least, not when there are ten inches of it. So there I was, scraping my windows clean and digging away all around my car for all I was worth, feeling like this would add at least two more weeks to my dastardly flu, when two magnificent young men came over and offered to help. Between the three of us (mostly the two of them), the snow was out in under ten minutes, and when I had thanked them and gotten in my car, they pushed it so my wheels wouldn't spin on any clumps of ice. Now, how often do you get to see sweet neighbors like that? I parked a couple of blocks away, and walked back, thinking that I would like to invite them back home for some mulled cider, but they had vanished by then. My two angels!