So Autumn departed with haste as Winter chased her away a couple of days early. Within the last couple of weeks New England has taken a weather beating, to be sure.

Just over a week ago the worst ice storm in years ravaged central Massachusetts with vengeance, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes, ours included. Ali and I routinely awoke during the night of the storm to the sound of snapping tree limbs. It wasn’t until daylight that we could truly see the devastation. Our neighborhood looked as though it had been hit by a hurricane. While what trees that were left standing were beautiful, it was a dangerous beauty. As limbs continued to fall most of the morning, smashing into whatever lay in their way, most our cul-de-sac was plunged into the powerless.

No electricity and no heat resulted in our having to pack up the baby and vacate, seeking safe harbor at the in-laws for a spell, but not before our basement filled with five inches of seeping water. With no functioning sump pump, there was little we could do. Fortunately, we didn’t lose much. We were pretty well prepared to battle the occasional water in the basement. It has never been as bad as that, however.

Less than week later, while many in the area are still without power, the first major snow storm struck, and it had a mean streak. The snow arrived on Friday afternoon around 2:00PM and did not leave until 6:00PM Sunday. There is easily over a foot of white powder covering everything.

As we headed out for one of our shoveling episodes, Hadley got to enjoy her first real look at the snow. She wasn’t completely sure what to make of it, but she was clearly fascinated. She has taken quite a liking to watching the snowplow trucks clear the street. As soon as she hears them rumbling down the street, she runs to the windows to catch a glimpse. It is quite cute, really.