Snowstorm 2016

Winter caught up with us this week. If the subzero wind chills over the weekend weren't enough, we got walloped with 2 feet of snow today. My boss sent a text to let me know it was okay if I preferred not to drive today. The wise choice seemed to be staying put, so I did. It turned out to be one of my wiser decisions.

My fur and feather friends outside were hungry so I ventured out into the deep to bring them some seeds and nuts.  Then, being a tad on the nutty side myself, I took  my own portrait in the mirror inside Hannah's Place.

The snow came down like powdered sugar from a sifter early this morning. Too cold to make snowballs but fluffy and deep. Then the precipitation turned to rain for a short while before making the switch to a heavy wet snow. Traffic on the Irondequoit Bay bridge was at a standstill around 9:30am. No going forward, no going around, and no backtracking either. No way it would have been passable by the time I'd have needed to get through.(Borrowed the photo from a FB friend who was there.)

It's stormed all day in the way of snowfall. It's a mess out there with a ton of accidents, cancellations, and delays but we can be thankful that the bitter temperatures and wind chills didn't coincide with the snow.

I took the opportunity to catch my bird friends on camera when they stopped for a late afternoon breakfast or early lunch. My poor red bellied woodpecker was having a bad hair day. ha ha!My have gotten caught out in the rain.

Mrs. Cardinal was looking splendid and sat so nice for a photograph. Her mate was there too, guarding the food supply, as if there wasn't enough to share. The blue jays were out today along with juncos, a titmouse, a gray squirrel, and even Little Red. I'm having a tough time keeping bells on The Naughties so I hope my bird friends are watching each other's back as well as their own.

Finding Nemo

Okay, so maybe the storm here in western NY is not really the one called Nemo, but when it merges with the "real" Nemo they will be one and that's kind of the same thing, don'tcha think? It's blustery and snowy out there. This morning there was very little snow, but it is starting to pile up now.

Mom has just left for Rachel's house where she will be snowed in for the weekend. We will be snowed in here for the night with some hot cider (or chocolate) and a movie, and tomorrow we will dig ourselves out again, and hopefully go on as normal. (I'm always relieved when everyone is safely back at home. Can't help it, I'm a mommy. This weather is nothing to laugh at even if it is pretty much "normal".)

Our Overnight Guest

The snowstorm blew in late yesterday afternoon bringing lots of snow and bitter temperatures. We've been so spoiled by mild weather this season that I think perhaps even the wildlife was not quite prepared for the sudden change.

It was probably about ten o'clock when I opened the backdoor to let the dogs out for their nighttime potty break. To my surprise, a mourning dove had been huddled down by the woodpile. Startled, it fluttered up to the porch ceiling and flapped about until finding a resting spot in my wisteria vine. It sat on a thin branch and stared at me, not daring to fly off into the bitterly cold and windy darkness, yet not quite trusting me either. There wasn't much I could do, so I took a picture instead. :)

I felt bad for the poor bird who was obviously cold, fright- ened, and dis- oriented, but I really had no idea how to help it. The dogs finished their business, hurried back into the warmth of the house, and I came inside too. The bird, quite certain there was at least a bit of safety on the back porch, flapped about until it finally came to rest just outside my door. It sat on the top step and stared at me some more.

If it were possible to read the mind of a small bird, I would have said this one was begging to come inside the house. Of course that was next to impossible so when the porch light went out, I turned my camera off and left it in the dark. Lucky for the bird, my husband does not give up quite as easily as me. "Don't you have a cage?" he asked.

There was a very nice cardboard box under the table instead, so he took that and a piece of cardboard to scoop it into the box with and stepped outside. I was surprised when he came back moments later with one very tired mourning dove inside the box. There was no flapping about, no noise inside, just a very tired and quiet bird. This morning though, there was a bit of flapping, and when he took the box outside and opened it, our little guest was happy to fly off. Makes me smile. :)

A Little Blizzard

The sub-zero Minnesota temperatures from earlier this week have made their way east clashing with our warmer moist weather. The result? A nice little snowstorm. I would like to send a hearty "thank you" to Kristina, Kim, and my own dear son, Jim. It looks like we'll have a white Christmas afterall!

And how about a night time picture? It has been quite the day. I stayed inside other than taking Sofie out this morning. The girls got out of school an hour or so early but Alysa didn't get home until the regular time. Crazy to send kids to school with a storm like this coming... I baked banana bread and gingerbread men, made stew in my crockpot, and kept the fire burning. Church activities were cancelled too, so everyone stayed home tonight, watched Polar Express, and drank hot chocolate... "hot, hot!" I'm hoping I can get out of the driveway tomorrow.