Our First Measurable Snow in over 300 Days!

By the time the snow was showing last night, it was dark, but I could see the snow was quite lovely. It wasn't so lovely for those who were trying to drive in it, though.  There were a number of accidents in our state, and one person that I know of died in one. My heart and sympathy goes out to the families having to deal with that, and damaged vehicles.

The night photos I took didn't turn out so well.  I did post a couple on Facebook.  I was excited for it to get light enough this morning to see the loveliness.  Folks in towns around us got up to 8 inches, but we got a little over 4 inches.  I am pleased, and hope it sticks around awhile, a nice blanket for the plants.

I took a number of photos from inside the house, sticking my camera out the door.

The next couple I took from inside the back door.

When Larry was getting ready to go out to shovel, I asked him if he would do the front walk soon, so Heidi and I could go out and take some photos.  He was sweet and did it first.

Heidi loves the snow once it is finished falling.

I told Heidi to go "get" Larry, when she saw him.  We sometimes run her by sending her back and forth between us.

The sky sure was a pretty blue this morning.

Can you see Heidi running back to me?  We sure had fun out there!

The common milkweed plants got pretty scrawny, but still, I don't mind their skinny stems poking through the snow.  (Run, Heidi, run!)

We're approaching the east front bed.

It sure looks different from the last post I did!

I always love the little coneflower and other seedheads with their little snow caps.

Now, we're looking west again.  I don't think I've mentioned that I quit trying to take photos without any cars in them.  I decided that seeing cars and the neighbors' houses are part of living on a corner lot.

Heidi does a good job staying out of the flower beds, including the big space of the new area in front of the house.  Maybe it's because it's so full that she doesn't know where to walk.

I love snow!  I think it is so pretty, especially soon after it has fallen.

I was thinking I should go ahead and trim or else cut back the butterfly bush.  It dies back every year anyway, and starts over from the ground.  It sure has been pushed down by the snow, as have some grasses and other tall plants.   I think the grasses will bounce back up, though, once the snow melts.  I hope it sticks around for awhile, though.

I made 15 medium sized loaves of whole wheat bread today.  When I went to turn the oven light on to see how the first batch was doing, the electricity went off to the outlet it's in, and couldn't be turned back on.  This is the third time for the problem.  It's very frustrating that appliances don't seem to be built to last like they used to be.  I am thankful that we have a convection oven in the microwave.  It sure got a workout today!

I also made a batch of whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  I rarely make cookies, but I got brave and used less brown sugar, salt and margarine.  I used a canola oil based margarine.  I suppose those with a taste for white flour and sugar wouldn't like them, but I think they are pretty good, and it's a bonus that my diabetic husband likes them.

God bless you and your families this Christmas and into the new year.  I look forward to having some days off.  I want to get some cooking and cleaning done around here.  Oh, and I am excited that after tomorrow we will start having more light each day!

The Day After

There were different amounts of snow reported from yesterday's event.  The news station a couple blocks away measured 4 inches, so that's what I'll report for our corner.  On my way to and from church this morning, I kept looking at the snow on all of the trees and such.  Hey, I just remembered I took some photos with my phone camera.  I'll put them in here.

This is one of the two flower beds I try to keep up with at church.  Normally, the snow gets piled clear over it.  I thought it was cute the way it was lined up around the edge this time.  I'm sure it appreciates the moisture, since it gets very little watering in the summer.

As I was driving out of the parking lot, I was in awe of the trees on the acreage across the street.  My camera phone takes fairly good pictures.

I drove a ways, then stopped to take a photo, then drove forward a little more to take another.

You can't tell, but on the left, just beyond the last tree, is a busy 4 lane street.

When I got home from church, it was so sunny, that I didn't go out to take photos until mid afternoon.  It was still sunny, but I saw that the snow was melting, and I wanted to pictures of what it looked like before it melted even more.

The critters have made tracks all over the yard.  I was surprised to see how much snow had melted.  I hope we don't get water in this part of the basement. 

I will need to move the two hellebores that I didn't get moved this spring.  I was waiting to see if the others survived.  Now, I'll have to wait until spring.

Look how beautiful and blue the sky was today!  Can you see the drop from the icicle?

I felt sorry for the honeysuckle vine.  I forgot to look up to see whether one should knock icicles off of plants.

 Here's a closer view.

All of these tracks were made by critters, including cats, rabbits, and squirrels.

It's still pretty out, but it doesn't look like it will last a long time.

The strawflowers look sadly pretty in the snow.

Next year, I'll be careful not to accidentally cut down all but one of the wild quinine stems.

Snapdragons have a strong will to live and bloom.

I love the look of echinaceas with hats of snow.

I just noticed while taking photos that the yellow repeat blooming iris had planned on a longer fall.

Larry put out more corn for the squirrels today.  I wonder how many of them live in this nest.

This weekend sure flew by!   I hope it was a good one for you.

Our First Snow of the Season

All week, the weather forecasters kept telling us to expect snow today, and they were right!  I took our grandsons over to see my parents as the rain was changing to snow, and it was fun to see the excitement of the almost 4 year old.  As we were driving up our street, the beauty of the snow on the plants caught my eye, and I exclaimed how pretty the house looked.  Grandson #1 said, "All the houses look pretty!"  I looked to make sure no cars were coming, stopped, and took some photos from the car then drove a little more to stop and take more.  I wish I'd have noticed the water on my lens and dried it off.

After I got the guys inside and the car in the garage, I walked around and took some more photos.

When I walked into the front door, I was informed that waiting for me to come in so the guys could go outside to play in the snow was boring.  We had a fun time getting extra socks and other layers on KJ, and out they went!

 Little Brother and I tried to see the guys from inside, but I had to change the batteries in my camera, and the photos of them playing in the snow didn't turn out the best.  I did manage to get a photo of a sparrow making a run at the safflower seeds in the feeder.
 

The holiday cacti plants are looking pretty good.  This is 'Naomi'.

I don't remember the name of this one.

After the guys left, around 3:00, I took a few more photos.

I am staying up to watch the 10:00 p.m. news to see how much snow we got.  I was going to wait and do this post after trying to take some better photos tomorrow, but decided to go ahead and post it since I ended up putting so many photos in already.  Happy December!  In a few weeks, the days will start getting longer again.  Yippee!

I am way behind in my blog reading, as usual.  I hope all are well and ready for winter.