This morning at 5:30 a.m. the phone rang; it was an automated message from the district for which I work saying that because of weather conditions and because it was already going to be a half day, schools would be closed. Snow days are such fun surprises! I sprang to my window and what did I see?
This?
This is what I saw. (Neither my sister nor I saw anything at 5:30 a.m. as it was still dark. However, later this is what we saw.) Because it was 35 degrees above zero, I considered putting on a coat to go outside to doucument the snowfall.
Not quite as dramatic as my sisters views.
It had been colder earlier, the roads were very slick and because we don't get a lot of snow, we don't have very many sand trucks. In addition usually, if you wait for a couple of hours, everything melts off of the roads by itself.
Lucky me I had a whole extra free day. Unlucky me, I'll have to make the day up in June during prime garden time. Stupid me, I didn't get a lot done. Oh well, I suppose there's somthing to be said for relaxing and there's always tomorrow, right?
One of the nice things about winter is that the deciduous magnolia leaves no longer obscure the gunnera leaf casting and buddha at the top of the little stream that falls into the pond.
Hope your day is full of surprises!
Yay for a free day! Your sister's view in Wasilla is a picture-book winter wonderland, though I cannot even imagine how unpleasant -20 degrees F would be.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's a dry cold and the wind wasn't blowing so it's not too bad. You know that feeling you get when you have a very strong mint in your mouth and you take a huge breath of cool air and it seems as if your entire upper body is filled with that minty coldness? Multiply that by about 10 and you'll approximate what it feels like to breathe at the temperature (I've been told.) Sure is beautiful to look at though!
DeleteThat looks like one of our snows and we close a lot more than the schools when this happens. Nice to have a day off just to relax and enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThe photos of Alaska are beautiful. I've been in some pretty cold climates and understand taking them through the window.
No sand, no problem. They dump gravel on our roads instead. It's like rollerskating on an ice rink. We don't go out.
Rollerskating on an ice rink made me laugh out loud! I can just picture it. I'm very lucky that if the road conditions are really bad, I don't have to go to work. There are folks who have to drive no matter what.
DeleteHope you are still enjoying the Texas warmth!
You really had me with that first photo! I know just the 150 or so miles between us can sometimes translate to big differences in weather but gosh that was A LOT of snow. Glad to see yours wasn't quite that "bad"...although that blue sky, wow!
ReplyDeleteThe snow last night was quite a surprise. It was only supposed to happen far north of us. All my gifts for my co workers were packed and ready to go and the half day would have been taken up with a class holiday party, an all school sing along, a little recess and then home. Oh well.
DeleteI wondered if anyone would be fooled for a minute by those first picures. Snow is so variable here, areas just a couple of miles apart may have totally different amounts of snow or none at all. Crazy. Love that blue sky!
It did actually make for dangerous driving here on the plateau. I usually drive my husband down to Sumner to get the train into town, but I drove down the street and around the corner, and the roads were a sheet of ice (at 6:10 a.m.). We turned around and came back immediately. The trucks hadn't even sanded or salted. In New England, yes, it would have been dealt with more quickly, making for safer driving. Black ice is much less of a problem there. Here I fear driving in an inch of snow more than I ever did driving in two feet back in Massachusetts.
ReplyDeleteTom, who was driving to work, called from just down our street to tell me not to even bother going out until later in the day as the streets were extremely slick. I know what you mean about black ice being so dangerous because you simply can't see it. Yikes. Glad that you turned around and stayed home!
DeleteHappy snow day! If a snow day is happy. Which I doubt... At least the lack of working part. there's about half an inch or so here. but nothing in the backyard. I have a bunch of those cordys. I say -4C (25F) is the danger zone for those cordys. In ground they can handle those temperatures but potted it will likely freeze. The green ones seem to handle 19F or so before becoming flopsy and the colourful ones are slightly more tender.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your snow! Thanks for the cordy advice. I've tried keeping them inside all winter and they're not too fond of that so this year I planted a couple in the ground but kept the largest ones in pots so that I could bring them in only on the coldest days.
DeleteI have to admit, I still do laugh at the histrionics that a dusting of snow creates here in Portland. LOVE your brick paths...I don't think I've ever noticed them so much before...they are uber-charming!
ReplyDeleteThe histrionics are amusing. When snow is predicted here, there is always a crowd of people at the stores buying water, shovels, and survival gear. Roads do get slick here though as sanding/salting/plowing roads isn't done as efficiently as it is in areas where it must be done on a regular basis.
DeleteGlad you like the brick paths. They're usually so covered with plants that you can't see them. Keep warm;)
Your garden is lovely with the fresh snow - and you beat Chicago to the punch for actual snowfall. But a snow day for 2"? My kids, when they were still school age, would have been mad with jealousy. Nothing short of a full-scale blizzard would close the schools here.
ReplyDeleteIn my 12 years of school in Alaska, there was only one snow day when the snow had fallen so quickly and with such winds that the drifts covered the doors of houses. They shoveled out and we were in school the next day.
DeleteIt is nice when a little snow covers the autumn debris and mud.
I had to pick the chin up off the keyboard when I opened your post and saw all that snow! Even the snow that actually fell in your yard is more than we have here! [which is zip, nada, zilch!] They are forecasting 'squalls' here in the coming days so we might have a white Christmas, but not keeping my fingers crossed. As for snow days, I don't think we've had one in the past three years. We are afforded a good amount of snow [a foot or so on average] over the winter, but it tends to me in February~!
ReplyDeleteNo snow yet for you yet? But you're in the Great White North, eh. Bob and Doug Mckenzie would be disappointed. Hard to believe that we in zone 8 beat you in zone 5 to snow. On the other hand, we get so much precipitation here that it makes sense. Hope you and the green kids are keeping warm!
DeleteYour sister's pictures are magical! When you're not equipped for it, snow or icy slush can be quite dangerous and I'm sure all the children whose schools were closed enjoyed the day off :) Your garden looks very pretty with its light dusting of snow, just enough to make it look Christmas-y but not enough to damage it :)
ReplyDeleteI know that most of the adults whose schools were cloed also enjoyed the day off! You're right, just the right amount of snow to enjoy and not feel the need to go out and knock it off of branches.
DeleteWow, you've got some snow. I feel sorry for your bananas, palms and other beautiful plants. Will they die? Yesterday it was -20 Celcius in the eastern Finland. Quite cold!
ReplyDeleteVery cold in Finland! No, the bananas, palms and others won't die. If the temperatures stay below freezing for very long, the banana leaves will die but the plant will live and put out more leaves in the spring and summer. The palms are very hardy ad will not mind the snow at all.
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