Snow on Ocracoke!

Snocracoke! Snowcracoke! Call it what you will, I got my snow! One of the experiences I wanted while I live on this island was a real snowfall. And I got it!

I have always loved snow. I grew up in Boone so it is good that I liked snow! Looking back, I realize how much different it was for my parents when the snow started falling.

I can still see my Daddy putting those horrid chains on the tires, out in the snow, carefully laying out the chains and slowly backing up, moving forward, latching the hooks. I think back to how he had to go outside and around the house to put coal in the furnace the first ten years of my life.  And I remember all those nights he would struggle to get home in the snow after a long day of work. My brother, sister and I would meet him at the door, still in his boots, asking, “Do you think we’ll have school tomorrow? Do you; do you?!” Because Daddy knew these things! And then we would listen to WATA on our transistor radios (this was not last year, folks!) to hear the announcement: “Watauga County Schools will be closed tomorrow.” Let me assure you that, although the media is different, the agony/ecstasy of that much-antcipated announcement is no different today. For teachers and students. And for parents who no doubt see it differently. (I’m a parent but I have always seen it from the other side!)

Last year, my first on the island, had its share of meteorological challenges. Three weeks after I arrived, tropical storm Hermine appeared.  A couple of weeks later Hurricane Matthew arrived. Lots of excitement and lots of damage. But winter came and there was no hint of snow. We did have one uncharacteristically long, cold spell. My heat pump stopped working and I woke up to 40 degrees inside my house. But still no snow. I just thought that seeing snow on the beach would be magical.

Fast-forward to January 2018. Overnight on January 3, snow fell. We had a snow day. (Magic words to student sand teachers!) Snow days are harder to come by when a school doesn’t run buses and everyone can actually walk to school!

But there was not a lot of snow. Nothing to write home about. (Especially when home is Boone!) It was also very, very cold- which contributed to the sparse snowfall. And the cold continued. And we dripped our pipes. And still they froze. Mine included. This was no longer much fun. A friend/neighbor graciously let me use her shower. I brought home jugs of water to flush the toilet. And the Girl Scout coped. But I still did not have the snow I really wanted.

It was snow and it was cold, and I was prepared to accept this as the snow I hoped for. There were beautiful ice formations (not including those inside my pipes!) and I walked and took pictures and enjoyed the moments. But deep down I really wanted to see more snow.

Another fast-forward, two weeks later. On January 18, we woke up to 7.5 inches of beautiful snow! I am reminded of the morning in Vilas (outside of Boone) where snow was not so rare a commodity; we opened the blinds and my 4 year old, quoting from The Snowy Day, looked out and said, “Snow had fallen during the night.”

And so my wish was granted! I bundled up and headed for the sound nearby and then to school and the lighthouse and Springer’s Point, and finally to the beach. I wanted to see it all covered in the beautiful heavy snow. All told, I walked about fourteen miles. It was wonderful! And beautiful. And everything I had hoped for in my island snow!

My parents instilled in us children a love for nature and the beauty of our world. Our Sunday drives took us to the Blue Ridge Parkway and along mountain roads. Our brief and infrequent vacations took us to the coast and to the Great Smoky Mountains. We literally stopped to smell (and, sometimes, dig) the flowers; to gather branches from cotton plants beside the road on our way to visit grandparents; to picnic beside a river or stream; to look at the Brown Mountain Lights. And when it snowed– and it snowed a lot in Boone– we built amazing snowmen; we sledded on a piece of sheet metal with wooden sides (notice there is no mention of brakes or steering mechanism) in an apple orchard. And yes, Daddy put chains on the tires and walked around the house to get to the cellar to put coal in the stove. Did I mention how much more fun snow was for us than for them? And so I “inherited” my love for all things nature, including snow.

Snocracoke. Snowcracoke. Snow on Ocracoke. Call it what you will. I got my wish. I got my snow! And I have my snow angel in the sand to prove it!