Pretty, but Fleeting

We got about 6" of wet snow last night.  It was already melting by dawn.  It was quite pretty, but quite heavy.

It's exactly for wet snows like this that I do the turkey truss on some of the soft evergreens, otherwise the snow breaks them and leaves them misshapen.  I can live with the evergreen hostage look if the trees can survive the winter unscathed.

Some of Both

Gorgeous wet snow last weekend.

Chocolate cocoa espresso cookies I made while stuck inside.

Androsace under snow this week.

Butter cookies decorated by the kids today.

It's feeling seasonal around here.

On the Cusp?

We got 8" of snow last week, and now have temps in the 60s this week.  It really feels like we're transitioning to spring.  The sun is startlingly warm while the breeze still picks up the chill of the snow lingering in the shade.

The boundary between two seasons.

Even the bench is warming up.

Ray will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that this is dianthus freynii

emerging gorgeously from under the snow in the trough in his front yard.

I know, I know, there's still more cold, sleet and probably snow to come, but I can enjoy the sun today knowing spring is only a couple weeks away.

Crazy Winter

Zero degrees Sunday morning.

Heavy, wet snow yesterday. 

Predicted high of 55 degrees today.

The Swiss stone pine seems unfazed, but spring will tell what the true toll is from this bizarre weather.

Wintry Friday

We got the school district's robocall at 5:30 AM: 2-hour delayed opening.  By 8:30 AM they called again: no school.  The kids were elated.  

The snow was gorgeous in the morning, turning the driveway into a little winter wonderland. By the afternoon it was slush.  Looks like more is on the way this week.

It's Snow Problem!

The forecast on Friday was for 6-12" of snow from the storm, then I saw 6-18" but that evening.  By yesterday afternoon it was 24-28".  We got at least two feet when it was all over.  

By yesterday afternoon, the view out on the deck was already ridiculous.  Those are some of the troughs on the left.

My wife and I shoveled our way out in the late afternoon, fearful that if we didn't, we'd never get out the front door today.

Snow selfie, or portrait of Sarah and Todd Palin, as my sister snarked.

My Subaru is under there.

The front garden, post-cleanup this morning.  I couldn't throw the snow any higher.

On the left is the driveway this morning.  On the right is the same view last Monday.

The tender plants were warm and cozy inside with us.

Remember when winter used to be spread out over a few months, instead of all delivered all at once?

Under a Down Comforter

The garden's all tucked in for the winter.

I'm happy that we got some lasting snow cover.  

More to come tonight.  

After last week's Chicken Little Forecast for the non-blizzard (20-30"!), I'm worried that we're going to get surprised one of these days.