All during the week the weather forecasters were excitedly chattering over the huge winter storm heading our way. Thursday night and all day Friday snow, snow, snow! The biggest snowfall of the season! As much as a foot or more! The closer Thursday came the bigger the potential snowfall totals got. Winter storm warnings and blizzard warnings began to fly. A few school districts even preemptively called snow days for Friday. It was to begin with rain Thursday afternoon and quickly change over to snow. Not knowing if it would be rain or snow when I left work Thursday, I wore my winter coat and took an umbrella to work.

Thursday dawned bright and warm but the forecast still called for rain and lots of snow. But the sun kept shining. When I left work it was still shining and much too warm for my winter coat but I had to wear it anyway because it is too bulky to carry. The wind had picked up though and it was gusting hard. On the horizon were dark clouds. Well then, I thought, I guess we will just get all snow. When I went to bed at 9:30 Thursday night it was windy but still no snow.

I expected when my alarm went off Friday to look out the window and see a thick blanket of snow with more coming down. I peered out into the darkness. Nothing, not even a light dusting. On the radio the forecasters were still saying snow, though now they had scaled backed from a few feet to a few inches.

Transit and downtown were empty, people had taken off work expecting a big storm. The day was gusting cold wind but the sun rose to a partly cloudy sky of scuttling clouds that had no time to stop and snow. We got not a single raindrop or flurry. An hour to the south of me took the brunt of it.

I was sad. Not because I was looking forward to shoveling, though I kind of was, but because with all the warm weather and the snow and ice having melted away completely, my allergies woke up. All week I felt vaguely ill with a general fatigue and I worried I was coming down with something. When I woke up Wednesday morning and my eyes were itching and my skin crawling, it dawned on me it was allergies. Nnnnoooooo! It’s too early! This should not be happening for another month.

Nothing is blooming, it is the mold and dust particles that have been sitting under the snow and locked in ice. I, and several other allergy sufferers I know, were desperately hoping for that foot of snow. I began taking my allergy medication Wednesday and hoped that it would be for just two days. But without the big storm it appears I am going to have to resign myself to a daily dose until who knows when. Every year the time I can stop taking medication gets later and later and the time I have to begin taking it gets earlier and earlier. Pretty soon my poor immune system won’t get a break at all. If someone out there wants to become rich and famous, find a cure for seasonal allergies.

The peppers I seeded indoors last weekend have not sprouted yet. They generally take about 10-14 days but I was hoping the spiffy heating mat would somehow cause a miracle to happen and make them sprout up in record time. Ha! Next weekend the tomato seeds get planted so today I made a bunch more paper pots with an assist from Bookman.

It is a beautiful sunny 38F/3C day today. The Dashwoods have been out in the garden since sunup. Since we didn’t get all that snow, they have been having a grand time scratching around in the garden wherever their desire takes them. They have turned up some more sunchokes and have been enjoying those. And all the fall leaves we mulch the garden beds with are a great source of pleasure for scratching in too.

Nonetheless, Mrs. Dashwood decided it wasn’t good enough. We had a frantic knocking on our front door and opened it to our neighbor who informed us one of our chickens was in her yard! Bookman rushed out and next door to find Mrs. Dashwood scratching away in their flowerbed next to the retaining wall and fence that separates our yards. I looked out the back door and the other Dashwoods were clustered against the fence looking down on Mrs. Dashwood on the other side. Bookman scooped up the Mrs. and plopped her back over the fence, much to everyone’s relief.

We never did clip their wings last summer because after the one incident of Mrs. Dashwood flapping up to the top of the chainlink fence on the alley, it never happened again. I suspect Mrs. Dashwood was rather surprised to find herself in the neighbor’s yard this morning. Judging by the behavior of the other three, they too were surprised and not quite sure how Mrs. Dashwood got over there.

This, of course, has made us a bit paranoid and we frequently look out in the garden to count chickens. They seem to be content with their own garden and have exhibited no desire for further adventures, for now at least. Ah my silly girls and their silly humans!