Seen on the Patio

If you are reading this post in, or anywhere near, Howard County, Maryland then we have something in common.

Snow. The white stuff. A big old thump of Winter that registered as a record for Baltimore at 29.2 inches. With houses and cars snowed in and even the best plowed roads only barely passible, we shared homebound pictures and anecdotes on social media. I laughed when I saw this comment on Twitter:

 

Conclusion from all your #snow photos: nobody puts their deck furniture away.

My immediate response:

 

Where would we put it?

Putting away deck, patio, or lawn furniture assumes a place to put it. In our compact little quadroplex with no basement, attic, and a purchased shed big enough for a rake and a shovel, that's just not happening. And so it serves as a lovely backdrop for my series of snow photos, gradually disappearing as the day progresses.

 

Those photos are a way we document not just falling snow but the passing of time as well. Hours and hours go by, with the same local news stories and worn out local newscasters with rulers and then yardsticks and warnings from local public officials. We're in limbo. So we go back to that same view and take another picture.

 

Wow, look at this!

 

Social media helps to connect us and pass the time. Locally, County Executive Kittleman and Howard County Government have been keeping citizens up-to-date on what is going on in the world outside our patio furniture. I've wondered in the past as to whether they were up to the job, and thank goodness they have been.

 

I've also enjoyed continuing updates from: members of the County Council, the Oakland Mills Village Association, the Facebook group Western Howard County Shares, and posts from local bloggers Bill Woodcock and AnnieRie. I've very much appreciated following HoCoTimes reporters Fatima Waseem and Lisa Philip on Twitter. I've kept in touch with fellow OM residents through the Oakland Mills is Awesome page. And my church, Abiding Savior Lutheran, has a system of keeping in touch with members to make sure everyone is okay.

 

On a day when I wouldn't see any other human beings other than the ones in my immediate family, all those threads of connection were a blessed relief. They say to me that, although there may be things happening that are far beyond my control, I am not alone.

 

One last picture.

 

 

Today begins the digging out. Don't forget to post your pictures.