Hey Lily! Hey 9! Have you noticed anything unusual going on outside lately?
Not freezing rain again!
Or a possum in the shed!
No, nothing like that. Have you looked up in the sky lately? It’s lighter for longer outside! Today in Walla Walla we are receiving 1 minute 27 seconds more daylight than we did yesterday.
Even on gray days with wintry precipitation the change in noticeable. In anticipation of plants returning to a cycle of new growth after dark days of dormancy, I am celebrating this week by returning to an old pursuit. You might remember this one, Lily:
Minute by Minute: Clover sprouts!
Sprouts! I love them.
It just looks like a bunch of wet seeds to me.
But the seeds will sprout, 9. What are we growing?
Clover sprouts.
That’s our dog’s name!
And, believe it or not, 9, my eye doctor has a daughter named Clover, too.
Though winter in Walla Walla has been mild so far, a warmer than average December and January sometimes indicates a miserably cold and snowed-in February. Seven years ago, when I was first living by myself, I was so timid about driving in the snow that I didn’t drive anywhere for two weeks! Even though I drive a Subaru.
Fortunately, there is a bus stop not far from the house. To keep the provisions stocked for myself, a dog and four cats, I’d lace up my snow boots, strap on my backpack, and ride the bus downtown. There, I could trudge a few more blocks to Safeway. The need to buy canned dog and cat food severely limited the volume and weight of groceries I could buy per trip, so I got creative. Powdered milk lasted longer and weighed a lot less than milk in liquid form, for example.
Produce was challenging. It’s not like this year when I have most of a 5 cubic foot freezer filled with frozen apricot halves. Bananas were essential, and usually a head of leafy lettuce. Hardly like the privations our pioneer ancestors endured getting established out west, but by 21st century First World standards it was practically living rough.
That winter, I started wondering if there was such a thing as powdered wine. They probably wouldn’t have it at the local grocery store, but maybe I could order some online? Because really, not just the weight of the liquid, but the bottle, too, took up a crazy amount of space in the backpack! The details of that research are available here:
https://www.susandmatley.com/official-blog/winter-survival-201-palcohol-anyone/
I hope you read that because I was far funnier back then. . .But now. . .
Winter again. How to stay prepared? Absolutely critical is stocking a month or more of Hoosegow’s prescription diet cat food. I will not go fully into what happens if he eats regular cat food, but it causes crystals to form in his bladder with extremely painful results. And, as long as we’re on a scatological thread, I am well-supplied with toilet paper.
But mostly, I’m not terrified of driving in the snow anymore. I’ve got my same reliable 2011 Subaru Forester, tires with plenty of tread, and a lot more confidence than I had in 2019.
And that’s a very good thing, because in this year of 2026 minute by minute there are so many more things to be terrified about than driving in the snow.
