Blizzard 2011



Deck - mostly shoveled at 7 a.m. - I left a pile of snow about a foot deep near the center, photo taken at about 10:15 a.m.  Nuts tossed out for the squirrels are still visible.

It's not here yet - but it's coming.  We went through a preliminary bout of snow yesterday, with most of it piling up overnight, well after rush-hour.  The winds were up but bearable and the temperature was 27 degrees F when I left the office at 5 last night.  By the time I got home though, about 6:30, it had dropped 10 degrees, the winds had picked up and it was blowing gritty pellets of snow smack in my face.  It's the "dry" light kind of snow that easily blows, quickly icing over pavement that was plowed and salted just moments before.  Already last night it was drifting into strange configurations as I walked the last mile home from the Pick 'n Save with "emergency" supplies.  During the height of the blizzard we may get wind gusts to 60 mph and sustained winds of about 25 mph.  It is not going to be pleasant out there.


Back yard view to the southwest, off the deck, about 10:15 a.m.

Got up this morning and checked around the house - already 3 to 4 foot high drifts in some places, and other places bare pavement!  I shoveled off most of the deck just so I could feed my critters, and sure enough, they showed up right on schedule.  I do not expect them to be out and about later today, though, once the hard blow starts in earnest.  Already the flurries we've had since I shoveled at about 7 a.m. have taken their toll, coating a film of snow back over the deck.  By tomorrow morning there may be as much as 12 inches more - just have to wait and see.



Back yard view to the northwest, off the deck, about 10:15 a.m.

I debated back and forth whether to go in to the office today - for at least a half day, and then bugging out at noon and getting home hopefully well before the 3 p.m. forecasted "start time" for the big one.  But, after taking one last good hard look out the front door at 7:15 a.m. I decided that discretion was called for rather than valor :)  I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it safely to the bus stop 3/4th of a mile away, knowing that sidewalks would not be shoveled out and the plowing on the roads was iffy, at best, due to the wind conditions. 

View from the from the front door, to the southeast, about 10:15 a.m.  The driveway was all  clear 24 hours ago!

Since the blizzard warning won't expire until more than 24 hours from now (3 p.m. tomorrow) I'll be home tomorrow as well.  So - what to do, what to do?  Take down the Christmas tree?  But I don't want to take it down until after the Super Bowl.  I have been reading and doing some research.  I may settle in shortly before the fireplace and re-read the last half of the last Harry Potter novel -- I've been wanting to do that.  I'm cooking as well, and perhaps I'll do some baking tomorrow, rummaging around in the cupboards to see what I have that can be whipped up into some magical concoction.

The wind playing tricks with the snow - area in front of my garage door, about 10:15 a.m.

I snapped these photos at about 10:15 a.m.  I will take photos throughout the storm.  There really is something quite beautiful in all this snow piling up - as long as one does not have to be out in it!

I've got a pot roast going in the slow-cooker and the house smells wonderful!  The winds are beginning to howl outside - the big one may be here more quickly than originally forecasted (for about 3 p.m. today).  Brrrrr, it makes me shiver just hearing them.