Frigid Frosty Mornings

Well, we survived the big snowstorm this weekend, and despite all the hype we barely got a foot of snow. 

What a Day!

I have never seen such a day as this. 

The rains haven't stopped since the wee hours. 

Last night's peaceful snowfall turned to sleet...followed by ice....and then frozen rain. As the temperatures rose, it became all rain. Deluges of heavy rain. The snow has all been washed away. 

The wind is ferocious, whipping the trees around and making the heavy rain come in sideways. 

It kept me up much of the night. When I did sleep I dreamed that my little garden cottage was blown away. 

It was just a dream, thankfully. She's a little soggy but she's still standing. 

The storm hasn't let up all day. It's now late afternoon and we just had our first reprieve....for only a few minutes.  Just enough time to sneak out with the camera for a few photos. 

There is water pouring down the hillside, through the woods, flooding my little creek. Where normally there is a gentle trickle through the trees there are now raging currents. 

You can see the sheets of ice under the muddy water - the creek had frozen over completely over the weekend with the ridiculous low temperatures we experienced. 

Thankfully the bulbs that started peeking up last week look none the worse for wear....they are a bit flooded at the moment but will hopefully recover just fine from what Mother Nature has thrown at them this past week. 

My veggie garden may need a little more TLC in the spring....between the frost heaves and today's flooding I bet I'll need to drag in some heavy bags of mushroom dirt and compost. 

That's ok, I need the exercise. 

I had a very lazy day, watching the storm rage outside my window. 

And I'm ok with that. 

I've earned it. 

Snow, at Last...and a Nightmare

Well, it's a little too late for a White Christmas but we finally got a couple of inches of snow last night - just enough to make it finally feel like Winter around here!

It's not the nice white fluffy stuff but rather a wet, heavy snow with an icy crust on top. 

The kind that's just killer to shovel. 

And not so much fun to drive in. 

Remind me again why I was so anxious for snow?

Oh yeah, because it's WINTER and I live in the mountains in upstate NY! By choice, I might add - I like my four seasons!

I woke early this morning to the awful sound of my alarm - beep beep beep beep beep - isn't that just the worst noise? I was grateful for the wake-up, however, as I was in the throes of a terrible nightmare. 

In my dream I was back in NYC in a skyscraper, up on the 46th floor, and we were in the midst of a tornado. The building was swaying in the storm and for some reason we thought we'd be safe up there, in this strong brick building that had stood for a hundred years.  

We were watching the storm rage outside the windows and while it was terrifying, we were all together and safe indoors. 

Suddenly the bricks started popping off the walls and I could see the wall imploding. I screamed and threw myself to the floor, over my little dog, Daisy, in an attempt to protect her from the bricks. And the wall collapsed inward, showering us in debris, right before the building started to collapse. 

I was scrambling around frantically, trying to locate all the members of my family and gather everyone to safety....and then I woke up. 

It was a terrifying dream and it has stayed with me all day. 

I know that awful dream came about for two reasons - the first being that we were watching news footage last night before dinner of the terrible tornadoes and severe weather in Texas and the Midwest. 

My heart goes out to all those families - I can't imagine the terror they felt as the tornadoes approached their neighborhood and they tried their best to outrun the storm. 

The other reason I believe had to do with the strong winds that were whipping the trees around outside my bedroom this morning. Nothing like the tornadoes in Texas but pretty intense none the less. There was sleet hitting the windows as well, making for quite the little winter storm raging away outside. 

The wind was blowing some of the lighter snow around so at times it looked like a blizzard out the kitchen window. The thermometer was reading about 20 degrees. 

First thing I do in the mornings is start up the Keurig and brew a cup of coffee. Then I go out to the garage and get the feeders out for the little birds. 

This morning that involved a long down coat I put on over my fuzzy bathrobe and my winter snow shoes with the heavy duty treads. My sweetie bought those shoes for me a couple of years back so I wouldn't fall while feeding the birds - he calls them "snow tires for my feet." What a honey he is, always looking out for me. He's right, they helped tremendously. 

I must say, I looked a bit like a homeless ragamuffin in that hodge-podge of an ensemble this morning, though! Glad my sweetie wasn't around to see that!

I wonder if it's safe to leave the feeders out now? Can I risk it? Do we think Mr Bear may be sleeping for the winter now? I'm a little worried since winter has only been around for a day or two now....he may be still up and about, looking for poor innocent bird feeders to rip to shreds. 

Meanwhile, I had my coffee in my leather chair next to the toasty warm fire this morning and I said a little prayer for all those folks who weren't so lucky. 

Look around you and count your blessings today. 

I will be doing the same. 

And counting you among my blessings, sweet readers. 

Stay safe and warm, wherever you are.