Snow Tire and Frozen Daffodil Festival

It appears that Arkansas' periodic "Snow Tire and Frozen Daffodil Festival" has, again, come to a close.  Thank You, Lord.

I was house-bound for two days last week, waiting for the temperature to rise enough to begin to melt the approximately 5" of snow and the underlying inch or more of solidly frozen sleet, the latter having begun to fall upon us with a vengeance about 4 p.m. on Wednesday last.

When I consider other parts of the U.S. and what they have been through in the way of repeated, and seemingly unending, winter storms, I'm happy that Winter Storm Thor was all we had to contend with.

I'm quite content to deal with sleet and snow -- it usually doesn't stick on the tree limbs and power lines.  I was extremely thankful to awake the morning after the storm to find my furnace still running and the lights on.

We're currently experiencing rain, Spring Rain (YAY), and temps are in the high 50's.  While there are still patches of sleet/snow lingering around my yard in areas where the winter sun doesn't reach, it should all be gone, gone, gone in a day or two.

I hope all of you weathered the latest round of unpleasant weather without destruction or major inconvenience

Tomorrow is also a day.

What's Going On?

SPRING? WINTER! SPRING?

The latter part of this past week brought balmy, shirt-sleeve weather to our part of the U.S.  My daffodils and forsythia bloomed, the day lilies began to send up new leaves, and all was looking well for the world. "About time!", I thought, and began to make plans for working in the flower beds.  Silly me! 

By mid-afternoon yesterday, a light rain was being pushed by a cold north wind at about 50 miles an hour (the gusts turned my umbrella completely inside out, took my breath away [so much that it scared me], and nearly blew me off my feet... really!) and then....

...it snowed last night!  

Not very much; the ground was not even completely covered, just clumps of snow here and there, when I got up this morning.  The temperature is rising, even as I type, and a quick look out the window just now shows that it's nearly all gone.  

We Arkies are wont to say "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes; it will change."



BITS AND PIECES

* This past Saturday, which was a balmy day, my stamping partner and I hosted another successful Stamp Camp, our first of this year. I'm happy to report that a good time was had by all.

* I continue to enjoy my Kindle, and the free books I download from Amazon.  As I've previously commented on this blog, I am a (big) fan of mystery stories. My taste runs to the "cozy" mystery, although a well-constructed thriller also holds my attention.  One evening last week, I began to read Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon.  Once I read the first page, I couldn't stop. This has to be one of the funniest stories I have ever read. If laughter is good medicine, I shouldn't be sick for quite some time! Highly recommended by yours truly, if you enjoy such things.

* My smart phone, a gift from my son-in-law in 2012, is behaving erratically. I've checked everything I know to check, and have had others more experienced than I try to resolve the problems I'm having -- to no avail. Perhaps it has a built-in self-destruct chip. :)  I fear a new phone is in my future.

I am slightly amazed at how much I have come to depend on this pocket-sized piece of technology -- being able to send and receive email when not at home on my computer; texting (never while driving, thank you); taking photos; checking the weather, etc., etc.  I've become so comfortable with it that I have been giving thought to doing away with my "land line."  Today, I'm not so sure!

* Today is St. Patrick's Day. Are you wearing green? Interesting information on the wearing of the green here.

That's it.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Hot Foot

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" *

Image from Cabela's Heated Socks

I donned my cold-weather gear early this afternoon and went out to clear the snow from the area leading to my mail box.  The twelve-foot walk on the north side of the house is covered by a deep roof overhang. Because of the wind, the walk had almost as much snow on it as did the open yard.  The only disturbances to the blown snow, other than for a few tiny bird tracks, were the deep imprints of the postman's footwear, which had crushed and melted the snow all the way down to the concrete. However, the bitter cold had frozen these footprints into size 13 chunks of ice about a half inch thick.  The broom I was using moved the snow easily, but didn't begin to budge the icy reminders of the postman's visit.

My gardening tools include shovels of several sorts but no flat blade shovel, which is what I really needed.  As a substitute, I selected a gardening hoe and used it to chip away at the icy footprints.  It took me a good fifteen minutes to get the tracks broken up and swept away.  I worked up a sweat, and have definitely had my exercise for the day.

The next time I see my postman, I'm going to ask him if he wore heated socks during this most recent snow storm. If he did not, he's got the hottest feet in the country!

* Note:  The quotation is NOT the official creed/motto of the United States Postal Service, although it is often referred to as such.  I learned that from our good buddies at Wikipedia, in this article.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Evening Shadows

"Look round and round upon this bare bleak plain, and see even here, upon a winter's day, how beautiful the shadows are! Alas! it is the nature of their kind to be so. The loveliest things in life, Tom, are but shadows; and they come and go, and change and fade away, as rapidly as these!"

~ Charles Dickens (Martin Chuzzlewit)

Same Song, Second Verse

The photo above was taken in my back yard one year ago yesterday. That bush looks much the same this afternoon, only more so. It has snowed steadily since early morning, and we have about 7"-8" on the ground. A light snow is still falling and the temperature is in the low 20 degree range (F). It will be even colder tonight. Fortunately, there has been no rain, therefore no ice on power lines, etc.

The grackles came in droves this morning, completely cleaning out my bird feeders. It made me sad to see my 'sweet birds' (cardinals, gold finches, house finches, juncos, nut hatches, and a variety of sparrows)  trying to find something to eat, so I donned my Nanook of the North outfit, put on my gloves and leopard-print wellies and made a supply run.

The minute I filled the feeders and turned back to the house, the grackles, and a host of starlings, which had been lurking in the trees, made a mad dash for them, flocking to them so heavily that the sweet birds, which are much smaller than the grackles and starlings, could not even approach the feeders, much less get a bill in edgewise.

I finally just stood outside under the porch overhang, like a fat scarecrow. The grackles and starlings would not come down from the trees when they saw me, but the sweet birds seemed not to fear me at all, and came quickly to the feeders, even to the one that was less than four feet from where I was standing. They must have been hungry. I stayed out there for about 15 - 20 minutes, just watching them eat.

The sweet birds were twittering (even without Internet access) and giving thanks for their seeds. I love to hear them 'talk' to each other.  There are a great many juncos that visit my feeders, or the ground beneath them -- little 'snowbirds.' I don't think I've ever before noticed the sound they make. It's really pretty.

When my toes froze, I came back inside. In the hour or so following, I made several trips to the back door to scare away the hordes of black birds, but they came back as soon as I closed the door. Oh, well. Everything has to eat.

Besides feeding and watching birds, I've done little else today, just a bit of laundry and basic housekeeping stuff. I did manage to make a batch of cheese dip, the kind with Velveeta® and Ro-tel ® tomatoes and green chiles. That was a mighty good snack for a cold, snowy afternoon.

That's about it.  Tomorrow is also a day.

Clear Skies

Just a dusting of snow left on the tree limbs

The morning brought bright sunshine and, although it was still below freezing, the sound of drip, drip, drip from the eaves. Streets that last night were snow-covered (only about 1/2 inch, but covered nonetheless) are clear except in shady patches.

Looking out my kitchen window this morning while waiting for my coffee to brew, I beheld a yard full of diamonds.  There was enough sleet in last night's wintery mix to create light-catching shards of ice that glittered and glimmered on the surface of the snow. I tried to capture the sparkles in a photograph, but gave up after a few chilly tries, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

All's right with the world here.  I hope you can say the same.

Tomorrow is also a day.

A Touch of Color

"Lantana" - Watercolor by M. Koziar

Snow showers with intermittent rain seem to be the weather for today.  An Autumn Clematis, still clinging to one of my front porch supports, has icicles hanging from the vines.   Brr!

Rather than dwell on the weather, I went searching through my photo files for something more cheerful, and found the image shown above. The photo is a detail from a watercolor painting of Lantana by my talented younger sister.

"M" and her husband moved to Arkansas 18 years ago, after living in Portland, Maine for over 20 years.  (Talk about BRR!) They live about 70 miles southwest of my home, and I am able to drive to see them several times a year.  I visited with her by telephone earlier today to be sure she had no objections to my posting her art work.  She told me that they are snowed in.  Keep in mind that "snowed in" in Arkansas doesn't mean 10 foot drifts; two or three inches of snow accumulation on the street is enough.

I'm working on the story of how I came to be at a dinosaur museum in Alberta, Canada (the subject of yesterday's post.)  I'd like to get the whole thing written (in installments) and photos assembled before I start to publish it.  It may be a while before it's ready.

It started snowing again in early afternoon. Great huge flakes. I ventured out to the library to pick up a book I ordered before any of the downy white stuff stuck to the streets, only to find the lights out and the doors locked.  So much for that!

Tomorrow is also a day.

Mother Nature Fluffed Her Down Comforter ...

... but she didn't know there was a hole in it!

Just before noon, huge feathery flakes started falling from the heavens even though the temperature was a couple of degrees above the freezing mark.  The flakes gradually became smaller and ceased shortly before sunset.  We have no snow accumulation on the sidewalks, driveways or streets, and probably only about 3/4 of an inch on the ground.  However, what snow remains will still be there in the morning since it's well below freezing now.  The forecast calls for continuing chill for the next few days, but the precipitation has moved on.

The birds -- cardinals, juncos, sparrows. doves and grackles -- came to the feeder areas in droves as soon as it began to snow. Is there anything prettier than a bright red cardinal sitting on a bare branch with huge snowflakes falling around him?

I did stay bundled up and, except for filling the feeders, inside all day.  I played with my Kindle, successfully downloading a few free books, and managed to read about 60% of one this evening. It's fluff, but it was free, and is proving to be a relatively quick read, once I became used to the Kindle screen.  I've put a few books for which one has to pay a small fee ($0.89 to $2.99) on my wish list. 

That's it for this 20th day of 2011.  Tomorrow is also a day.

1/11/11 - Going, Going, but not Gone

Although the air temperature did not rise above the freezing mark today, the abundant sunshine started melting the snow. By a little after 3 p.m., when the above photo was taken, the asphalt on the roadway had warmed enough to completely clear away the snow, but what remains on the ground had shown little sign of melting.  I left deep tracks where I walked on the way to and from bird feeders.

While I was looking at icicles hanging off the roof edge on the north side of the house,  my attention was diverted to a white half-moon standing out clearly in the dark blue sky.  I cropped and otherwise fooled around with the photo a bit with my Picasa editing program, but I like the effect.  If you look closely, you can see two eyes and a nose, and a bit of a grin (for those with a good imagination.)

I have lots of work to do during the remainder of this week. Monday's routine church work, which was put off because of the weather, has to be done before the vestry meets at 5:30.  Our church's annual congregational meeting will be held this coming Sunday after church, and I have budgets and reports to prepare before then.

That about wraps up day eleven of this new year. Tomorrow is also a day.

New Year - Day 10 - Housebound

 It was still snowing when I went to bed just before midnight last night, so I didn't know exactly how much would accumulate overnight. I took a ruler outside with me this morning and measured 5" on the flat.  Fine, powdery snow that, given any rise in the temperature, should be gone before too long.  However, a warming trend is not in the immediate forecast, so who knows when this pretty stuff will be gone, and unfortunately, it won't be pretty as it goes. 

I tried to get a couple of photos before I went tromping around the yard in my size 10 gumboots; I do admire the look of unbroken snow.  The photo is of the looks-like-a-mushroom-with-all-the-snow-on-top metal birdbath in the back yard which, except for some critter tracks, was unblemished.  My driveway had deep tire tracks in it and until I remembered that the paper delivery people come up the drive to (supposedly) throw my paper under the carport, I wondered who had been to visit after the snowfall, since the drive was pristine when I retired.

I awoke just before 8. Almost the first thing on my mind, even before coffee, if you can believe that, was that the bird feeders needed to be filled.

You can see from the photo on the right that this one was quite empty.  There are birdy tracks all around the edges of its roof; the birds were up and looking for breakfast long before I rolled out.

After clearing off the snow and emptying the tray of blown-in snow and seed hulls, I filled it to the brim, then made a trip to the smaller feeder further out in the yard. 

It wasn't long before I had a scarlet visitor (photo below right). He was soon joined by a host of Sparrows and a jumble of Juncos, those cute little 'snowbirds.' However, almost before they could get their fill, the Grackles arrived (photo below left). When they are in the neighborhood, I can't keep the feeders filled. Oh, well -- everything deserves to eat, and I did have more bird food.

The Grackles departed after depleting the seed supply, moving on to someone else's feeders, no doubt.  When I felt sure that the larger flock, at least, had moved on, I refilled both feeders, which were soon visited by my 'sweet birds.'

I will keep stocking and re-stocking the feeders several times a day until the snow is gone. When things are back to normal, whatever that may be, I'll only have to fill them once a day.

Needless to say, I did not venture any further than my back yard today.  I made a big pot of beefy vegetable soup, visited a few new blogs, ran a load of laundry and otherwise took it easy.

If there was wintery weather at your place today, I hope you were safe, warm, and dry.

That's it for this 10th day of January. Tomorrow is also a day.

New Year - Day 9 - What is that White Stuff?

Cold Gray Skies - 2 p.m. January 9, 2011

Looks like the forecast was right - 4 p.m.

Pretty, isn't it?  -  5 p.m.

 

Still snowing - 9 p.m.

The snow began to fall just before 3 p.m. and is still falling as I write this. I may, or may not, be going to work tomorrow.  Whether I do or don't, I see that the bird feeders will have to be filled again in the morning. I filled both feeders at least half full about 2 p.m. The birds came by the dozens to the feeders when it began to snow and kept eating, I think, until there was no more. 

A snowy ending to the ninth day of the new year.  Tomorrow is also a day.

New Year- Day 7 - Still Windy, Snow in Forecast

Still Windy - January 7, 2011

 

 

The sky in the photo above looks a great deal like the sky yesterday -- mostly blue, with a few puffy clouds and some streaky clouds blown by the wind, which is still quite strong today. The mail delivery person (to be politically correct although it was actually a mail-man since this person was of the masculine gender) caught me in the front yard with the camera to my eye.  I felt I had to explain that I was documenting the new year by taking a sky photo every day.  Now -- lest any readers feel panic creeping up on them, just because I take a sky photo every day does not (necessarily) mean that you will be looking at 365 sky photos in 2011!

Staying with the "windy" theme for just a 'mo, and since I'm still reveling in having learned how to upload videos,  I offer you a rendition of my #2 favorite "Wind" song:

Gogi Grant was a pretty woman, and had a beautiful voice.  Too bad they weren't making videos back in 1956, when this was recorded.

Earlier in the day, the temperature was in the low 60's, but it's supposed to SNOW on Sunday!  If you don't like the weather around here, just wait a while.  We shall see what we shall see.

I called my physician's office this morning to request new written prescriptions for the medications I take daily.  This is an annual exercise; my medications haven't changed in several years, but the prescriptions must be rewritten every twelve months, and January is the month.  What has this to do with the weather, you might inquire?  The clerk in the doctor's office to whom I spoke told me that it might be Tuesday of next week before I could pick up the prescriptions because "We're supposed to have snow, you know, and the office may have to be closed on Monday."  

Arkansans, by and large, don't react very well to snow or ice.  I suppose I have to include myself among them, at least when it comes to ice.   However, only one time in the last 40 years of my working life did I miss work because of the weather, in this case about 9" of snow -- not because I couldn't/wouldn't get out and about, but because my mother's "sitter" couldn't make it to my home to stay with her.  Since retiring, I generally have the luxury of just staying in when it snows.  If I'm in a particularly mischievous frame of mind, I can stand in my open doorway and listen to tires squeal as drivers try to make it up the inclines on the freeway, just a few blocks away.

That's it for this 7th day of the new year.  Tomorrow is also a day -- and happens to be my son's 52nd birthday.