Charlie Dittmeier's Home Page
Last night we had another snowfall that was almost a carbon copy of the previous three-inch snowfall last week. Again it occurred during the night and greeted us in the morning and was about three inches. The big difference is that this time much of the snow melted quickly and it was never a problem on the streets.
Today I had a meeting after lunch and was debating how I could go when I depend on my bicycle for getting around. I went outside at Nazareth Home above and the sidewalks there and the nearby streets look reasonably cleared and usable for a bike.
The temperature, though, was in the high 20ºs and low 30ºs, and I learned over the last weekend my fingers–even with ski gloves–could only take about 15 minutes of that. My earlier rides were REALLY painful, so I was happy to learn today that another priest was going to the same meeting and I could ride with him–in a car. The trip was smooth and warm and I got to see more beautiful scenes from this winter’s first real snow.
Just three inches of snow fell last night but the effect has been stunning. Kentucky frequently gets a couple inches of snow but if it is not gone in two or three hours, it probably is only patchy after the first night and doesn’t last more than a day or two.
This present snow is a heavy, thick, sticky snow that has covered everything and is still sticking to the trees, wires, fences, houses, and everything exposed. Driving around the city reveals beautiful panoramas of winter bliss. After 40 years in temperate Asia with no snow, it’s a real joy for me.
A week or two ago, we had a sprinkling of snow at Nazareth Home but it was gone in a couple hours. Overnight we had about 3″ of snow this time. This is a view at 6:15 AM in the little courtyard outside my room. It is a beautiful snow but it has really disrupted my plans.
Since I arrived in Louisville a few months ago, I’ve been lying low, going slow to get the feel of life in the US and what is expected of me as a retired priest. One particular area of interest is getting around since I will not be driving but depending on the e-bike my cousins bought for me. I’ve been checking what it’s like to ride in the rain here, what it’s like riding at night–and what it’s like riding in the cold.
Today the temperature was in the upper 20ºs when I left for a meeting. I had already found it’s not so bad riding in the cold except for my frozen fingers. The black gloves on the left were given me by my sister. They are great, just a tad too small but really pliable–and warm for the first twenty minutes. The red gloves are ski gloves I borrowed to test. They aren’t as pliable but they give me an extra ten minutes or so before my fingers are frozen. I’m going to have to keep working on this because it’s not even winter yet!
Today the Louisville temperature went down to the mid 20ºs and we got a few snow flurries and a little accumulation for an hour or two. This is the first time I’ve seen snow falling for 20 or 30 years.
Sunday I took a bike ride in Indiana where they have some wonderful biking and walking trails. The photo shows the Big Four pedestrian bridge on the right. Now closed to traffic, it is busy, especially on weekends, with many bikers and walkers, including whole families, enjoying the sunshine and beautiful views of both sides of the Ohio River.
It’s still early for the rainy season in Cambodia but, these days, with climate change, nothing about the weather is normal.
These are some of our Education Project students, enjoying some after-school activities in our eating area. You can see this first heavy rain of the seasons was, well…heavy! (And it looks like the gutter on the left is clogged.)
I was leaving–on my bicycle–for a 5:00 PM mass when the rain started and I got rather wet.
Thursday, March 20, was the vernal equinox, the day when the day and night are equal in length, and the first day of spring. Angkor Wat was built in the 1100s, long before modern developments of science, but it was constructed so that the sun on the vernal equinox rises directly above the main tower of Angkor Wat. This is a stunning achievement with the limited knowledge of astronomy and cosmology and architecture available at that time, and a dramatic expression of the curiosity and creativity and intelligence of the human species. This year more than 85,000 visitors were at Angkor Wat to observe this phenomenon.