Little Snowfall in the Big Valley

Not sure of the year it happened but boy was it something else! Until that little snowfall that we woke up to that Sunday morning, the only snow I had seen were the remains of what had fallen in the Colorado Rockies a few years before.

I remember waking up that morning, looking out the window and saw snow on the ground! In Los Banos of all places! This was call for a celebration! I then ran into my parents bedroom and shouted, 'It snowed last night! Look!!!' My poor dad, he was sick with the flu and pretty much told me to bug off, that it was frost on the lawn, something quite common in LB.

I would not take that for an answer and insisted he get up and look out the window. By the time they both got up, it was agreed upon that yes, it was indeed snow. (Now fast forward to NOW and it doesn't entice me quite as much as I no longer live in that insular valley but in the Utah mountains where snow is needed for the snowpack that it provides, but it is not fun to remove or drive in, 'nuff said.)

Within the  hour shouts could be heard throughout the neighborhood and phones started to ring. All us kids were out there playing in the snow as happy as little wet clams. None of us had the right gear, wool gloves, boots, etc. but we made up for that with enthusiasm and played until it was time to go to church. After getting home, off with the dress and Mary-Jane's and on with the aforementioned 'snow clothing'. The Arbelbide kids, Jeanne and Martin came over and we built one helluva snowman. He probably topped off at three feet! We were so proud of our masterpiece that my mother took a photo of us and him. Sadly I cannot find that photo. I have pretty much torn this house apart for the past two days looking for it. I can 'see' the photo in my mind's eye but that doesn't work on on paper, so to speak. Just believe me that there was a photo.

Now, back to staring at the blowing snow outside right now.