Looks Like Snow in the Near Future...

Earlier this afternoon, one of our young and newly wed Amish neighbors came over to ask if there was a chance that I could drive him and his wife to the midwife. He was quite concerned and wondered if we could leave as soon as possible. They are not very far along, but she has had a rough time of morning sickness (which I learned when she threw up while I was driving her to the midwife last time), and so I became pretty concerned as well. We had gotten the majority of what we wanted done today, and the Apple Farmer was home, so I told my neighbor I'd be down in 30 minutes to pick them up. Of course, this time I put his sweet wife in the front seat and kept the cabin temperature much cooler than last time... poor girl - she isn't used to riding in a car, and top that off with riding in the back seat on windy roads and the joy of morning sickness, she didn't have a chance last time!

All went well today as far as the trip went, and she was very relieved that her abdominal pain was related to a bladder infection and not a threat to miscarry. I was very relieved for her! I'm sure the sad tragedy is as fresh in her memory as it is mine. It was only a few months ago, almost at the end of apple season that I drove her sister-in-law and her new groom to a midwife up north of us because her pregnancy took an unexpected twist. What everyone had expected as twins crumbled as we learned from the ultrasound that, in fact, the baby had died due to birth defects. We all anticipated talking about the miracle on the way home, and of course I intended to tease her husband that they would need so many diapers that he would have to set up a treadle sewing machine for himself to help sew all of the diapers. I still remember feeling the joy melt away to grief. How full my heart was for these two newly weds, as I drove them home with their sweet little angel wrapped carefully in a blanket. They buried her the next morning in the family's cemetery.

After much relief of the simple diagnosis we picked up the needed items that the midwife recommended to remedy her infection and headed home. As we visited, my neighbor mentioned that it looked like more snow in the near future. Of course my ears perked up because I was really curious to know what he saw! He explained that there was a bright reflection through the clouds on each side of the sun as well as one right below it. I had a hard time seeing what he was describing on the sides, and everyone thought it was quite humerous as I described the polka-dots before my eyes that resulted from looking at the sun.... But I did defintely see what he was talking about below the sun. He further explained that it is not always a reliable predictor, but that it is accurate enough that it is worth mentioning. He explained also, that snow wasn't immediate either, but that it was probably a couple or few days out when you see this type of pattern. So there we have it! Sun predicted through the weekend by the professionals. A chance of snow predicted by my neighbor. It will be very interesting if the forcast changes!