Snow, snow and more snow

I wrote about snow last week and  didn't think I'd have to write about it again for another year. We don't usually get more than one snowfall a season down here in North Carolina.

But then it snowed yesterday. All day, from seven in the morning until after six at night. It was beautiful, a true winter Wonderland. The snow fell on trees and bushes like the flocking we used to spray  on our Christmas trees. Everywhere you looked, there was a scene ready-made for a Christmas card. I drove downtown (the roads were still clear) only to find everything closed up tight except the hardware store, which seemed to  be doing a brisk business.

 It was still beautiful this morning. I had hoped to take a photo of the sun rising behind a stand of silver-etched trees, but there was no sunrise, just an almost imperceptible lightening of the dull, gray sky.

Forecasters warned us all last evening that the snow we enjoyed was just a taste of what was to come, that dreaded "wintry mix" of snow, sleet, and ice. Today's snow started about an hour ago, and is coming down so thickly it looks as if I'm viewing the street through a sheet of white gauze. The roads are already covered. I don't think I will venture downtown today.

What I dread is a repeat of 2000, when we had some 14 inches of snow and power out for four days. I didn't move here from Pennsylvania for this.

But when it comes to nature, we have to take what comes. There's no bargaining, no putting off what she has in store for another day when we are more prepared.

So I'll sit back with a cup of hot tea and a book, because when we heard what was coming, we made a trek to the library and stocked up.

Jim and I know what's important to our survival.

What are you afraid of?

My cat, Spooky, is afraid of everything. She spends her time hiding under the bed where she imagines she is safe from: barking dogs, shadows, telephones, things moved from one place to another, sudden noises...

She will be snuggled up to my leg as I read, and leap to the floor and run as soon as I turn a page.

Yesterday I got a lap tray I  had ordered and put it on the sofa. She jumped up, saw it, and nearly twisted herself inside out trying to get away from this new menace. A few minutes later, she put her front paws on the sofa, eyed the monster, then touched it. It didn't move, so she jumped up and sniffed it, touching it again with one paw. Deciding it was "safe," she dared to lie down beside it.

She is a rescue cat, so I don't know what made her so distrustful of anything new in life. She may have been abused as a kitten. One clue is that while she loves to have her back scratched, any sudden moves toward her head sends her into full-blown panic mode.

When we have company, they swear they don't believe we have a cat. I point out the toys, the water and food dishes and tell them I'm too old to play elaborate hoaxes.

They insist on seeing a cat.

She did surprise us once by coming into the den when we had guests. She even let one of them pet her. I wanted to grab my camera and record this jaw-dropping event, but the flash would have sent her scrambling for safety.

While she is terrified of anything and everything, we all have at least one thing we are terrified of. My terrors are largely imaginary--every time I go up the hill on Anson High Road, I imagine a car coming up the hill on the other side is attempting to pass and will meet me head-on at the crest.

Hasn't happened, but it could. People don't think a piano will fall on their head, either, but there are verified reports of this happening.

What's your secret fear? is it rational or off the wall? You can share and we won't laugh at you.

Too much.