Before Hercules arrives

I don't entirely buy the Weather Channel's naming of winter storms, but the practice, started last year, seems to have legs. So, according to the WC's screaming headlines, we're about to be visited by Hercules, a mighty nor'easter capable of bringing near-historic accumulations of snow, fierce winds, and deep, life-threatening cold. I'm sure locusts would figure into the mix, except that the bugs would promptly freeze to death—although, come to think of it, gale-driven ice-locusts might make novel projectiles that would increase the ferocity of any blizzard. We shall see what transpires, but while I waited for the storm to arrive, I walked to a nearby waterfall and savored the bleakness of the sky. It looked properly gray and grim, perfectly appropriate for a mythic winter blow—and a perfect goad to return home to split and stack a herculean amount of wood.