Brrrrrrr...

All right, Mother Nature... enough already! Jeez, it's only the front end of December and already it's flip-flappin' frigid out there!! Give us back a few degrees of warmth!

Even with the thermostat set at 74-ish and wearing two layers, my trusty little under-the-desk heater is getting a workout. My nose is icy and I swear, I can almost see the vapor when I breathe... and that's indoors!

I'm definitely getting too old for cold!!

You know the weather's turning...

...when I pull out my socks!

Used to be I walked around barefooted all. the. time. Summertime goes without saying, but even in the winter, I have been known to scoot out to the mailbox sans footwear... in the snow! I know, I know, a little bit crazy, but we all do goofy s**t when we're young and dumb. Sometimes I just couldn't be bothered with looking for my shoes, you know? ;-)

Howsomever, the more I've 'matured,' the more I find that my poor little tootsies just can't handle the chilly temperatures anymore. I mean, the darn things turn into icicles (ask Lew, he'll tell ya!) and when my feet are cold, the rest of me is frigid.

So, the thermometer dropped below 50 last night and while it was great sleeping weather -- I love being able to open the window a few inches -- I've not only pulled out my socks, but a sweatshirt and my trusty little heater by my computer! I am freezing!

Next comes the flannel sheets...

I'm still here...

Well. It has been an experience. I don't believe I've ever seen quite this much snow at one time here. Truly an awesome sight.





The National Weather Service recorded us at 27" on Saturday afternoon, which brings us upwards of 50 inches for this winter. That's one heck of a lot of snow! This now ranks as #4 in the Top Ten storms of all time for this area and depending on what happens Tuesday, may be this area's second snowiest winter ever. Woof! History-making weather.

We fared better than I feared - I fully expected to lose power. Even though our utility lines are underground and in no danger of falling under the weight of snow, they're well over thirty years old and in dire need of repair/replacement; we lose power far more often than we should, especially in bad weather. We experienced a momentary hiccup at about 1:00 am Saturday morning, but that was it.

We have suffered some plant damage and loss. At least one, probably two, rhododendron snapped right off at the base, and my pretty little weeping Japanese maple appears to have lost several major branches. *sniff* The lilacs may have some breakage, but they'll recover. Surprisingly, my two ornamental cherry trees that had me worried appear intact. I'm grateful the damage wasn't more extensive but most of my azaleas are still buried, so we'll know more as this stuff melts.

Now, it's just a matter of digging out ... so we can start over again on Tuesday! And then, there's that little matter of plummeting temperatures... it was 6 flippin' cold degrees here last night!!

And still it falls...

Oh.my.god!! We have a looottt of snow... tons and tons of wet, heavy snow. So far.

It's still coming down as I type and isn't expected to end until sometime this evening. A picture is worth, etc., etc...







We have about two feet now. It's like a scene from Dr. Zhivago...

Still more of the white stuff...

Oh lordy, I am so not looking forward to this one. We're in for a massive winter storm that promises to out-perform what we had on December 19-20. Apparently it's going to be another one for the books. Oh joy!

They're talking a real nor'easter blizzard here, with one to two inches of snow/hour and 18-24" when it finally stops sometime Saturday evening. Along with crippling ice.

It's been the #1 news story in these parts for days now, and the entire area is closing down in anticipation of this thing. The whole region has gone into storm preparedness panic mode. The schools are closed, businesses are closed, airports are closing, snow equipment is already on the road with salt and liquid deicer and it's not even expected until early tomorrow afternoon! Grocery store shelves are empty and people are fighting over snow shovels, for crying out loud! (Folks get a little crazy around here when it snows... it's traditional.)

If it does what they think it's going to do, it will be a storm of a historic nature, making it one of the Top Ten of all time for this area. Which will, in turn, make it two Top Tens in one winter since December's storm was a book-maker too.

And then... and then... if all goes according to plan... the snow gods will give us some more on Tuesday!!

Send the St. Bernards if you don't hear from me by spring...

The gods were angry...

Oh.my.word!! I don't know who tinkled in Mother Nature's Cheerios, but what a storm she threw at us last night!!

There was lightning. There was roaring wind. There was bazillion gallons of rain. I fully expected to wake up this morning and find us and our house floating down the road!

It was truly awful. Kept me awake off and on all night. I had visions of our shed ending up in pieces in the farmer's field. I expected to find half our roof gone. I just knew the family room floor would be wet by the patio door, but I was afraid to go down and look! How dumb was that?? Even the cats were restless. But Lew? Oh, not a problem... he slept right through it all!!

This morning there was a variety of dead branches in peoples yards and Lew found a shingle (presumably from our roof) in the road, but other than a full creek/river and some flood warnings, that looks like the extent of the damage. Our bird feeder didn't even fly away! Amazing!

Holy ice cube, Batman!!

Brrrrrrrrr. Jeez, it's cold! The heat is on and we light a fire in the evenings. I have my handy-dandy little oscillating heater spreading its warmth beside me while I'm at my desk. So how come I'm still freezing my tush off? Along with a good bit of the rest of the country, winter has arrived here with a vengeance and with more snow expected tonight, things aren't looking very promising
anytime soon.

Why I'm sitting here in frigid MD, moaning about the cold instead of lying on a sunny beach somewhere in the Caribbean, I do not know. Piss-poor planning on my part, I guess. I should have me my own A-frame cabin on my own private beach sipping my own pina coladas and soaking up my very own rays! Where's my millionaire??

I know... I should be grateful I've even got heat, and I am, really I am. But all that gratefulness doesn't alter the fact that I'm still bloody cold. *sigh* The only good thing about winter is Christmas!

Where's my nosewarmer??

Glug, glug...

Jeez, enough with this rain already! Somebody turn off the faucet up there! I've got flowers to plant!

In the past couple of weeks we've picked up some annuals (and a few perennials) for planting and potting, but instead of acclimating themselves to some new dirt, they've been cooling their roots in the garage, waiting for a reasonable planting day to come along. Maybe all this rain is Mother Nature's way of ensuring they don't get into the ground until our 'safe' time of Mother's Day, and okay, I get the message, but really, Ma, enough is enough. All this watery murkiness is just depressing!

The grass, however, is growing like crazy!

What is that yellow thing?

Why, I do believe it's something called a "sun!" Yes, yes, it looks like that thing I've read so much about. Oh joy, we have sunshine, just like in the old days!! Wow!

I'm gonna go buy some flowers to plant... quick before it rains.

40 days and 40 nights...

Okay, okay, so I exaggerate a bit, but it sure seems like it's been raining that long. This is definitely taking the April showers thing just a little too far. If it gets any wetter around here, I'll be sprouting gills! I wanna get on with the May flowers thing. I want warmth and sunshine and digging in the dirt, not icy puddles and mudpies. My trusty little desk-side heater has been working overtime this month!

On the other hand, as I gaze out my patio door and watch the squirrels scurry around in its verdant lushness, it's hard not to be reminded of my go-to response to cold and rainy weather complaints...it's good for the grass. Lew can attest to that. The sun came out long enough over the weekend so he could cut it, but with more rain today, you can almost see it grow another inch before your very eyes. And we won't even talk about all the healthy weeds that are making an appearance.

Aren't those six weeks predicted by that PA rodent waaaay over?

Weathering the weather

I have trouble enough breathing in normal weather, but during the winter months I tend to hibernate indoors and don't go out too much. Mainly because I simply can't breathe out there in the frigid cold. Cold air constricts the bronchial airways and really makes it difficult for us lung-challenged folk.

So usually, when I do go out, I make sure to cover my nose/mouth with a warm scarf or stick my face in my open coat while I scurry out to get to the car. I also try to breath more through my nose, which helps because it warms the air somewhat before it reaches the respiratory system.

Anyway, while browsing the internet yesterday, I discovered something that might make winter excursions a bit more doable...a "cold air mask." It's a fleecey kind of thing with ear loops that covers the nose/mouth/cheeks and allows your hands to be free instead of holding on to a scarf (which would have been darned convenient when I was trying to take photos outside last winter!)

Duh huh! Why didn't I think of this before? Probably because I didn't realize such a thing existed, but now that I do, I have got to get me one of these! I may look a little strange doing it, but I just might get me some snow pictures yet!

Fair is fair

Since I spent so much time whining about the nasty weather, it's only fair that I should celebrate the glorious (almost) change we've had. Last night's thunderstorm cooled things down considerably and today's high was only in the mid-80's... where it belongs. The humidity is bearable - it was actually pleasant to be outside today.

Okay, enough already with the weather reports. No more whining about that which I cannot change.

"We're having a heat wave...

... a tropical heat wave, the temperature's rising, it isn't surprising..." Okay, I'm trying to be a good sport about all of this but I gotta say, I'm not caring one tinker's damn about whether "she can can-can" or not. We're frying here in the midst of this heat wave, and there's precious little relief in sight, with the possible exception of a thunderstorm later this evening. (I wonder if playing the royal "we are not amused" card would have any pull with the weather gods??)

Anyway, I'm just trying to go about my business and ignore it. A little hard to do when about 5 minutes is my limit outside, but hey, there are things I can do inside. I mean, it is what it is... summer. Summer is hot. It's to be expected, right? Naaaaah, not this early. Not even a little bit.

Okay, whine over. Come on, thunderstorm!!

It's going to be a long, hot summer...

Whatever... all I know is it's hotter than "that place"
out there... and it's only June! *gasp*

Spring has sprung... a leak?

I've heard of floppy-eared bunnies, but I'm thinking this is a little extreme...

The first day of Spring blew (with winds of 40-plus mph!) into our corner of the world today and this Easter decoration looks like it lost the battle under the buffeting it must have taken. Or, maybe its owners pulled the plug before the winds came.

This little lady, on the other hand, seems to have fared a bit better and may still make it to Easter.