Snow. Again?!

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by nutmeg66 via Flickr"][/caption]

I just returned from a two day trip. As I was driving back into the state, I saw that it was snowing. What?! It's a wonder we don't all keel over from this crazy weather. We'll all catch our death. Just a light jacket one day and then it's snowing. Should we all get our parkas back out? My mom bought me some super cool zebra print boots for the Spring mud season. I suppose they would work in the snow too. Ugh.

As I sit here at the kitchen table I see the big, fat flakes falling outside. A lot of them. This is crazy. April Fools Day isn't until Friday, 'cause this is a joke, right?

(P.S.) To those of my loyal readers that have been following the mouse saga....I hear them again.They are back. I guess I need to serve up the "green pellet" buffet again. If you are a mouse lover, don't talk to me. Joe,the cat, caught one too. Mice reproduce way too fast. Just sayin'. And now with all this new snow they will be cold outside, and want to come in to warm up. Listen up little micey, this is NOT the Motel 6!!!!  I love all of God's creatures with the exception of small little field mice that want to become my room mates.

I will blog tomorrow after I unpack, and after giving a pep talk to the cats about needing to "patrol the perimeter" for incoming rodents.

Related Articles

• Ever seen a snowflake that's 10 inches wide? (theglobeandmail.com)


• Snowflakes Falling... (forthemommas.com)


• Apples and blueberries (mcubed15.wordpress.com)


• White as Snow (snowwhitedove.wordpress.com)


• April Fools Day Party Fun! (coolj735fansite.wordpress.com)


• Here we snow again ... ANOTHER winter storm set to sock NYC (nydailynews.com)


• Racing Lawn Mowers - No Foolin'! U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association Celebrates April Fool's Day Weekend With Garden Gnomes and Racing Mowers (prweb.com)


• More Snow? Just Say NO! (halleyscomment.blogspot.com)


• It's snowing again - Lexington, KY (travelpod.com)


• A Snow Day after a Sweater Day?! (teenagersmom.wordpress.com)


• More Snow?!? (iloverandomness.wordpress.com)

Cold Beauty

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by David Hepworth via Flickr"][/caption]

Yes. This winter seems unending. It has been cold and chaotic since the first snow fell on December 1.

And yet...as I stand at my kitchen window, I am amazed at the beauty of it all.

I quietly sigh. I stare upward.

White gray.

Snow blowing every which way. A blur of flakes.

Each one different. Unusual.

The scene before me resembles a snow globe that has been shook hard.

A flake frenzy.

Cold beauty.

Dogs with snowy fur.

Schools closed.

Gray sky filled with flakes.

The roar of wind.

I feel the need to snap a picture. To remember.

To pull out on the hot, sticky days of late July.

A cool memory to ease the pain of the heat.

Lord, I am thankful for this day you have given me.

And for the eyes wide open...to see your gift to me.

 

 

 

Related Articles

• Create a Homemade Snow Globe (education.com)


• A few snow flakes early Saturday in Fresno? (fresnobeehive.com)


• Review: The Snow Globe (bookingmama.blogspot.com)


• 2 years ago: A prayer for snow (thepracticingcatholic.wordpress.com)


• Snow on the way, at least for the peaks (sfgate.com)


• Snow (fushiacat.wordpress.com)


• Cleveland flakes out as ice covers Erie (dispatch.com)


• Forecast for snowfall in Seattle went cold (seattletimes.nwsource.com)


• Snow! Snow! Snow! (gibsongirl247.wordpress.com)

Peeing In The Wind

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

This winter storm is something else.I spent most of the night listening to everything we had on the deck being flung down to the other end of the deck. Even our huge, heavy grill. Seriously powerful wind.

This morning my son, K, had to take Lonnie the wonder dog, out to do his morning business. Forget the postman delivering mail in rain, snow, sleet or hail.....what about a dog owner having to get the pooch outside in this weather? K suited up with coat, hat, boots, gloves for the stint outside. Lonnie on the other hand, was totally oblivious to the storm on the other side of the laundry room door. All he knew was that he had to go. Let's make it snappy, pappy!

The door opened and the cold and wind smacked them both in the face. ( I on the other hand only looked on, snuggled up in my cozy robe.) Now, keep in mind my family and I live in a field. There are no wind breaks. It's always windy here in rural Ohio, but today the wind is 40-50 mph. It is snowing and there is a thin sheen of ice on everything. Not the best of conditions for walking the dog. I sort of felt sorry for K, but not enough to walk the dog for him.

I briefly saw Lonnie go flying by the window. The poor dog only weighs 19 lbs, so it is a good thing K had him leashed or he might have ended up in Pennsylvania. As it was, he was part dog and part kite.

Poor Lonnie dog. Having to pee in 40 mph winds. Not an easy feat...especially for a 19 lb. dog that is hanging on for dear life.

Lonnie the wonder dog is resilient. He toughed it out. When he re-entered the laundry room, he shook off the cold and snow. He then made his way back to "his" rug in front of the fireplace. It's all in a days work.

Related Articles

• Lonnie, The Wonder Dog (gibsongirl247.wordpress.com)


• Simply NOT Acceptable (gibsongirl247.wordpress.com)


• Welcoming A New Family Member (coffeemuses.com)


• US Braced For Massive Winter Snow Storm (news.sky.com)


• Heavy snow is headed our way - Kansas City Star (news.google.com)


• Dropping snow level, winds could cause problems along mountain roads (latimesblogs.latimes.com)


• Arctic front brings high wind, dangerous cold ()


• Winds knock out power to about 5,000 Memphians (commercialappeal.com)


• A storm of historic proportions (thegazette.com)


• Winter storm 2011 - "storm of the century" hits farmers hard - Examiner.com (news.google.com)


• Winter Storm Warning Feb 2011: Snow To Hit Toronto/Hamilton, Ont. (nowpublic.com)

White Out!

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

My husband and I, and our children are visiting family in upstate New York. It has been cold here, but not really any snow (besides what is already on the ground). I've been watching the news this morning. Everyone is talking about the blizzard that hit many areas of the east coast. New York City doesn't look that bad to me, yet it is being called a blizzard. Technically, a blizzard has to do with certain amounts of snow, but a true blizzard also has high winds over 35 m.p.h.

I remember being in 5th grade in Carroll County, Maryland when the blizzard of '79 struck. Of course, as a child I enjoyed being off school for a week. My sister and I got bundled up like a couple of Arctic explorers and ventured outside to make tunnels in the deep snow.Mom always had hot tea ready for us when we came inside.

I also remember as a young newlywed, the "storm of the century" in March of 1993. The entire east coast got pelted with that monster storm. My husband and I went to bed on Friday night with just a few flurries falling. We made a bet with each other that it wasn't really going to amount to anything. We woke up on Saturday morning to a snow induced hush over our own, personal winter wonderland!

All this talk of blizzards got me to thinking about snow fall. Look at this site of the Top 10 Worst Blizzards of all time. It makes me cold just reading about them!

What are your coldest, snowiest, most blizzard like memories?  How old were you? Where were you living at the time?

Related Articles

• Snowfall Totals and Snow Accumulation Map from Blizzard of 2010 (VIDEO) (blippitt.com)


• Blizzard wreaks havoc from Carolinas to Maine (msnbc.msn.com)


• Travel chaos as blizzards hit US (bbc.co.uk)


• East Coast Blizzard Botches SoCal Flights (laist.com)


• Blizzard strands travelers up and down East Coast (philly.com)


• US hit by heavy snow storms (bbc.co.uk)


• East Coast storm strands travelers, vexes drivers (seattletimes.nwsource.com)


• U.S. East Coast snowed in by blizzard; airports closed (theglobeandmail.com)


• Winter blizzard disrupts travel in northeast (scientificamerican.com)


• Travel Chaos As Blizzards Batter The US (news.sky.com)


• North Carolina declares State of Emergency (charlotte.news14.com)


• Blizzard slams N.J., disrupts travel plans (nj.com)


• Mid-Atlantic, Northeast Brace for Monster Storm (abcnews.go.com)


• Snow storm bears down on Mid-Atlantic, Northeast (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Old Man Winter

Image via Wikipedia

Old Man Winter

didn't knock at my door.

He pounded and slammed,

left mud and snow on my floor.

He was bitter and cold

dressed all in white,

icy blue eyes

and breath with a bite.

I asked him how long

he planned to stay?

March? April?

Not longer, I pray!

"I love freezing rain,

sleet and snow.

I spread ice

wherever I go!"

I grabbed my mittens

got ready to play

If you can't beat him, join him

and have a SNOW DAY!

By: Dawn Gibson

Related Articles

• Blizzard blocks Giants from Minnesota (nypost.com)
• Old Man Winter (subheart.wordpress.com)
• Get Ready for Old Man Winter (lewrockwell.com)
• Seven Effective Products To Keep Old Man Winter's Wrath Away From Your Skin -- Help Your Skin Say Ahhh Instead Of Brrr! (prweb.com)
• Old Man Winter is early (fillingspaces.wordpress.com)
• Amazing Art Of Snow Sculpture (noupe.com)
• Influenza: Eric & Magill "Old Man Winter" (culturebully.com)
• Bracing for Old Man Winter (homeloans.org)
• Twin Cities: First Snowfall 2010 (biodork.wordpress.com)
• Flurries possible by Friday in Metro Vancouver (globaltvbc.com)

Weather Geek In Action

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="289" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

I have told people on more than one occasion that I am a die hard weather geek. I have to check out the NOAA page several times a day. One never knows when the weather might change. I have to be prepared after all.

1. I checked the NOAA page this morning per my normal routine.

2. I saw, in bright red letters, HAZARDOUS STORM WARNING.

3. Oh, the excitement.

4. There could possibly, maybe, sorta, kinda be a storm that might push into Ohio this weekend.

5. It's always "possibly" because we all know weather is an exact science.

6. There is no doubt the temps will plummet to HIGHS in the teens.

7. With wind. That is the killer.

8. Just don't know how much snow is on the way......

9. Our first snow of the season was on December 1.

10. It has flurried and been freezing cold, every day since.

11. Omen for the rest of the winter?

12. A possible storm on the way.

13. You know what this means, don't you?

14. A trip to the grocery store.

15. I have to lay up provisions. In case we are stuck in the house until the Spring thaw.

16. We at least need hot chocolate and plenty of ingredients for cookie making.

17. With that, we could pull through until the Spring.

18. Or at least until a snow plow comes down our road.

19. After all my family has priorities.

20. If I was trapped in the house all winter with my family without hot chocolate and cookies, it would be bad.

***I would end up like the Jack Nicholson character in The Shining. We all know THAT didn't end well.***

Related Articles

• AccuWeather Says Cold Temps To Last Until Christmas! (roysrants.wordpress.com)


• Northeast Ohio braces for still more lake snow (dispatch.com)


• "Breezy" we can handle . . . (seattletimes.nwsource.com)


• What those Weather Service terms mean . . . (seattletimes.nwsource.com)


• National Weather Service Releases 'Winter Weather Advisory': Snow Possible (b-townblog.com)


• What's the Best Weather App for iPhone? (brighthub.com)


• NOAA: Warming Arctic Unlikely to Return to How it Was (via Chrisy58′s Weblog) (wilderside.wordpress.com)

Fighting With The Mailbox

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

As I have mentioned on more than one occasion, I happen to love getting mail.

This afternoon I decided that I would brave the cold temperature and go out and get the mail. I could have sent one of the kids, I suppose...but, getting the mail is kind of my thing.  I live such an exciting, adventuresome life. At this point it was snowing and the wind was blowing and I was thinking I should have pulled on a coat instead of just wearing a sweatshirt. Oh well, I live. I learn. And I freeze to death. It's all in a days work.

After dutifully looking both ways before crossing the road at the end of our driveway, I made my way to the mailbox. Woo hoo! I got mail! After perusing my mail, I went to close the mailbox lid. It would not close. I slammed it. It fell back open. I jiggled the lid then slammed it. It fell back open. I gingerly closed it. Still not working. Now, I was becoming annoyed with my big, black, plenty of room for packages, mailbox. One more time I jiggled, slammed, pushed the door shut. It stuck. Finally, I was half way back up the driveway when I heard the mailbox door fall open. Again. I gave up...and just continued up the driveway.

The mailbox will no doubt be filled with snow or ice in the morning. Sigh.

I'll have you know that I totally and completely blame the snow plow guy for this whole mailbox fiasco. Earlier this year, he bent our lovely mailbox in one of his plowing ventures. This is part of my blog entry from February 8th of this year....

I just heard scraping out on the road. It’s the snow plow. Probably plowing our driveway shut. Again. Oh no. This time the snow avalanche hit our mailbox and popped the door of the mailbox open. Great. So now snow can get in and make our mail nice and wet. Lovely. At least our mailbox is still in one piece. Living out here in rural America one sees a lot of mailboxes that have seen the bad end of a snow plow. My friend, who grew up here, informed me that winter mailboxes are attached to the post with a myriad number of things. Duct tape, bungee cords, an old belt….whatever one can find to hold the mailbox together. After all, who wants to spend money on a new mailbox if the plow is just going to destroy it again? Makes sense to me. Our mailbox used to have a fancy piece on top, that had our family name on it. It lasted all of 2 seconds. We found it laying in the ditch last winter. A victim of the plow.

Related Articles

• The Latest in Commercial Snow Plowing; Businesses use Forklifts for Snow Removal (prweb.com)


• What's In Your Mailbox? (livingrichwithcoupons.com)


• City adopts new snow plowing technique (cbc.ca)


• What's In Your Mailbox? (forthemommas.com)

Day 6 of Confinement

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Image by cindy47452 via Flickr"][/caption]

Now we have some serious wind to add to the snow that we have piled up around here.  When I say "serious" wind, I mean it! The wind in Logan County is vicious. Of course, the fact that our house is setting in the middle of a field with no windbreaks (at all) does not help matters. The  wind makes it feel a lot colder and also makes it impossible to keep any sort of respectable hairstyle. I have given up on that front. A hair clip is now my friend. Either that or have my tresses resemble something a rat made a nest in. (Don't you love that visual?) The snowing and blowing going on around here makes my front yard look like a snow globe that has been shook one too many times.

I'm sitting at the kitchen counter. I see the forlorn mailbox at the end of our driveway. The mailbox door limply hanging open. Our mailbox filled full of snow. What a sad looking mailbox. There is some comfort in the fact that our neighbor's mailbox looks worse than ours does. It is resembling the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I'm sure the mail lady just loves winter mailboxes. Who knew all the weird angles and bent doors that one mailbox could display?

This afternoon I will be baking some brownies. Cold, snowy days are made for baking. With the weather here lately, I will weigh 900 lbs. before we see the spring thaw. Hey, and I have plenty of milk to go with those brownies. I'm just sayin'.

Related Articles

• Fighting With The Mailbox (gibsongirl247.wordpress.com)


• Mailboxes and Pizza Delivery (dickstersrandomthoughts.com)


• "Mailbox Monday ~ January 24th" and related posts (bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com)


• Real-life mailbox mod tells your iPhone when you've got snail mail (video) (engadget.com)


• Mailboxes smashed in Kings County (cbc.ca)


• The Great Postal War of '10 (momblognetwork.com)


• What's In Your Mailbox? (forthemommas.com)


• What's In Your Mailbox? (livingrichwithcoupons.com)


• Student Mailboxes for Classroom Organization (brighthub.com)


• The passive-aggressive mailbox prankster (passiveaggressivenotes.com)