Incoherent Scribblings

It’s the Christmas Season?

Living out here in West Texas Town less than 100 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border, it is easy to forget that it is December, much less the Christmas season.

I suppose the fact that I own neither television nor radio probably has something to do with my complete and utter detachment from reality this materialistic overhyped time of year, but I think the reason that I am so befuddled is because it doesn’t really feel like Christmas to me.

Yes, there was a cold snap over Thanksgiving weekend and even a little bit of snow, but if it weren’t for the pictures I took to prove it, I wouldn’t believe it. I have barely needed a jacket since I moved here, most days I can still wear my sandals if I feel like it, and as I type this, my kitchen window is wide open because it is nearly 60 degrees outside. (Did I mention that it is 11:00 pm?)

Admittedly this isn’t the first Christmas season that I have spent “down south,” but I have never before lived in a place where the concept of winter seems so utterly foreign: A place where scarves and snow boots are fashion accessories, where yucca trees are strung with Christmas lights, and where Santa sits serenely amongst the cacti.

Snow in Texas

Snow Cactus
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian.

I have heard tell that out here in West Texas there are few things that get folks as excited as talking about the weather. Since we live in the desert I find this rather amusing because typically the weather here isn’t all that exciting. With the exception of a couple of days in early October where the thunder rumbled and there was a sudden, but brief downpour, in the two months that I have lived here the weather has been anything but thrilling: It has either been hot and dry or windy and dry.

Therefore you can imagine everyone’s excitement when the weather-person began predicting a cold front that might bring the possibility of snow to West Texas Town early last week. As the day of reckoning grew closer the speculation increased: Would it freeze? Should the plants be brought in? Would there be ice or snow on one of the busiest travel days of the year? And most importantly… Could we finally turn off our air conditioners?

On Wednesday while I was out and about I noticed a significant drop in temperature and decided it was time to pull my fall jacket out of storage. I unplugged my air conditioner and tried to figure out how (and if) the heaters in my apartment worked. That night the temperature dropped below freezing and the next day the talk of snow around town was even greater than before.

Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday passed without so much as a snowflake drifting to the ground, but when I went out on Saturday morning to do my errands I was greeted with cold, thick raindrops. I knew the temperature must be hovering around freezing and when I went to the grocery store I could tell from the thin supply of milk and bread that everyone was hunkering down as if a blizzard was coming.

A few hours later I heard the first brakes skid in the parking lot below and I decided that barring the Apocalypse I would not be leaving my apartment anytime soon as inexperienced snow-drivers made everything from driving my car to walking down the street dangerous. I settled down with some hot chocolate and my stitching and every so often I peeked out the window to see the magic of desert snow.

The next morning the clear blue sky was broken up by a few wisps of cloud and it was cold enough that the snow was still on the ground, but it was obvious that the “storm” had passed.

And by this afternoon the temperature had rebounded and the snow had all but disappeared.

Frosting: Not Just for Cake!

So, I will try not to make this just another boring weather report… Anyway, the last few days have been really cold and foggy here in the Munich area. You know that old saying about how the fog is so thick you could cut it with a knife? Yeah, that kind of fog.

Apparently, we have been under some sort of “inversion layer,” and as a consequence it has been colder and foggier down here at 500 meters than it has been up in the Alps. However, the most interesting aspect of this phenomenon is the layer of frost we have received.

It started out some days ago just as a general frost. The grass was white when I got up in the morning, but because of the fog and lack of sun, instead of melting off later in the day, it stuck around. Day after day the frost kept sticking and the result was the last two or three days everything is so covered in frost it looks like it snowed! (As far as I know, there was no snow reported here anyway.) Even if it did snow, however, the majority of the white stuff on the trees, the grass, and everything else is frost. You can tell it is frost, because if you look at it up close, you can see the crystals. It is really quite neat.

This morning it looked to be sunny and clear for the first time since the “frosting” occurred. Since it is still cold, the sun isn’t melting the frost off things too quickly and in the shade the frost is still quite thick. I have seen this type of “frosting” before, but seldom does it last in the sunshine, so before it warmed up too much, I thought I would take some pictures.

This is my favorite:

This is a fence behind our apartment building which was still in the shade at about noontime. Notice not only the long crystals, but also the fact that they are sticking out horizontally. Copyright and photo by Renée, the blondelibrarian.