A RARE SIGHT!

It is so rare here to get a heavy frost or ice on the inside of a window… i was amazed the other morning to see this on the bathroom window. Rusty was complaining because he could not see out. His favorite aucuba is on the other side of this window… an apartment house to many sparrows. This stuff was blocking his view!

Looks like a landscape in ice to me.

NOT MUCH, BUT THAT'S OK

THE RECENT STORMS that have done so much damage to so many people have once again blessedly missed us. But, last night we did have a little excitement, a frozen precip event that lasted about an hour. I was told there was some thunder with it, but we were watching Northern Exposure, so I missed that. The snow/ice piled up on a few surfaces and is still on the roof tops. You can see the size of the ice crystals best on the adirondack. Snow/ice and a camellia... We are now waiting for a little snow storm. Yep, that is what the radio is saying, I can see it on the radar... but back in the 60s by Wednesday. But, for now, the boys are tucked in their heated box toasting their toes and cat-napping, as usual. The heat is on in the greenhouse... Hmmmm, I just saw something white pass by the window. Oh, my. I hope you all are warm and safe.
Pray for those poor folks who were not so lucky and lost their homes to all those tornadoes.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

24 LITTLE HOURS

But no sun,

And the flowers,

Are covered in snow,

Yes, I said snow…

Yesterday was an ordinary clear winter day, cold, temps in the 30s, but the sun was out to give the illusion of warmth. As the day wore on, the cloud cover moved in with the promise of snow. The heater light was left on all day in the greenhouse, the cats stayed snuggled in their box on the heating pad with short trips out to go potty or eat. The birds were busy stocking up on food as they so often do just before a storm.

Sometime after I went to bed the snow started and the ground was covered by 2 AM when I made my nightly trip down the hall. The snow was sticking to the leaves and branches… it was a winter wonderland all over again.

For some reason I woke up early this morning… it was one of those days when all I did was think about what I had to do, so I decided to get up and get started. It was a good thing, because WBOC TV called just as I pulled on my jeans, so outside I went with the phone and ruler to officially measure our 2 inches of snow.

After that I came in and grabbed the camera, a can of cat food, and a dish of crunchies, and headed outside again. The camellias had started to open, again, and, as you can see, have some frost bite on their petals. But I love the color contrast with the red and white and the dark green made darker by the presence of the snow.

The van was covered, but the road was clear – well, as clear as black ice can be called clear. It was pretty slippery, but the traffic has not slowed down.

The snow has started again. We probably won’t get that much more (famous last words, eh?) All I can do is be grateful we don’t have as much as some other places that got socked again, and grateful that spring really will be here before too long. But, I must also remember, it always snows on the daffodils, and they are barely thru the ground.

TODAY’S WEATHER REPORT

THE SECOND GREAT STORM of 2011 (drum roll please) did not happen here. Even my friends up in Dover, Delaware got by with just 2 or 3 inches of white stuff, BUT, they have a good layer of ice underneath all that snow. Here, in VA, it was a rain event, for the most part. However, we do have below freezing temps. As I type this, the temp has dropped to 30 degrees. It hovered just a bit above or below the freezing mark all night long, currently doing its daybreak dip of a degree or two. Haven’t you ever noticed how the temp drops as the sun comes up? As I write this, a sand truck just went by spraying sand over the black ice.

I got up early this morning, earlier than usual… I am trying to learn to sleep in, stay in bed until 6:30 or 7… as I was going to be on TV again this morning. I am the Southernmost Weather Watcher for WBOC, so whenever there is a storm, snow, ice or hurricane, I am the first one to be put on the air. This morning’s report was really quite boring vs the last time when we got 16 inches of snow and then 5+ foot drifts. This morning, only black ice to report, no pretty frozen trees or bushes, it just looks wet out there.

Several years ago I gave them a very exciting LIVE report… I don’t remember which hurricane it was, but I took the call outside on the carport. We had just spoken a sentence or two when the storm snapped my big maple tree – you could hear the craaaaaaaaaaaack on the air – Anna yelled for me to get back in the house – but it was fascinating to watch. The tree missed me (and the carport) by getting caught in between 2 other trees.  Fortunately I did not say anything bad (Oh CRAP!!!) comes to mind at a moment like that… I would hate to be bleeped on TV! LOL!

I have learned to be grateful for NO excitement like that! Calm and boring is much easier to live with.

Anyway, I am grateful we just have little inch long icicles hanging on the redbud, and also grateful for the nice layer of sand on the road. We cannot use chemicals, remember, too close to sea level, “Save the Bay” and all that.

So, now that I know we will not be frozen in, I guess I have no excuse for not calling the doctor and finding out what is happening with my heart. The chest pains are getting on my nerves and I really hate it when the old ticker skips a beat every now and then.

Hopefully the storm didn’t do too much damage in your neck of the woods… Stay inside, stay warm, be safe.