SNOW!!

Yikes!  I knew they were forecasting "substantial snow, but I didn't realize HOW much we were going to get until it started yesterday morning.  Fortunately, I was able to rush out and pick up some staples (beer, wine, fruit, veggies).  And I tried to find anyplace selling a snowblower.  HA-HA-HA!  They sold out in December and won't being restocking this season.

When the forecasters started to talk about "record snowfall" (I'm near Washington, DC) of possibly 30", I cringed!  The last thing I want to do is shovel over 2' of snow.  I injured my right hand a few days ago, and the idea of pushing a shovel and lifting heavy snow with it is daunting.  And my driveway is 65' long.  Plus the 4' high wall of frozen slush down at the end where the plows have pushed it...

I haven't gone out with a yardstick, but out in the level backyard, the 2'high flower cages are covered.  The driveway appears to have a 3' high mound covering 1/3 of it.  The deck is about the same.  Both are due to peculiar anomalies of wind patterns around the house and snow blowing off the roof.  

I may be in the house for the better part of a week.  Fortunately, I don't suffer from "cabin fever", and I have lots of cooked meals stored in the freezer.

And it is STILL snowing very hard!

The birds are doing OK.  I filled my 2 feeders as the snow started.  They are flocking around...

 

And the cats are sure loving watching them all!  Alya jumps up to the high bathroom windowsill where she has a great view (and through which I took most of these pictures).  Iza is not so lucky because she can't jump that high.

I have a bunch of cardinals.  I counted 10 males at one time, and there are many various female cardinals, juncos, nuthatches, sparrows, doves, titmouses, etc.  Black oil sunflower seed is very popular with many birds.

 

I also have a thistle feeder for the finches and some other smaller birds.  It's hard to get a picture of that today because the snow piled up against the deck door would fall inside.  But here are three little birds waiting their turn to perch and feed...

This snow is very wet, sticky, and heavy.  Various evergreen shrubs are crushed right to the ground!

 

That 2nd one was above the fence 2 days ago!  I had to cut away some broken branches after the December storm.  I expect to have to do more pruning after this one.  That's a shame; I had them well-shaped.

And you notice the 3 cages at the bottom of that 2nd pic?  Those are 2' tall.  They are covered now.

I like this pic of my compost tumbler.  It sits about 30" above ground and there appears to be 2' of snow sticking on top of it.  If the snow won't fall off a curved plastic top, it's STICKY!

 

Here are some more pics of the birds...  I think the middle 2 pics are good candidates for Holiday Cards next December!  But there might be better ones tomorrow when the sun is out and the birds are still collecting around the feeder.

 

I think I will mention something that I am very grateful for, that I did not really appreciate when I first moved here 24 years ago.  We have underground electrical lines!  Somewhere around 300-400 hundred thousand homes in the Washington DC region are with electrical power.  I almost never lose power (only when a switching station is struck by lightning) and it almost all comes back on within minutes.

And, being retired, I don't have to go anywhere for days.  From the sound of things, even by Monday, it is going to be very difficult to get around here.  Lots of people are going to have to get to work Monday.  I'm glad I'm not among them.

Oh, before I post this, I wanted to mention why this was such an evil snowstorm.  It started coming at us from the Northeast.  Then, as it passed over us, it looped around and hit us again from the southeast.  Finally, as the storm tracked east again, we got hit a 3rd time!  It did 3 loops with Maryland in the center each time!

Oh, BTW, do you know what happens the moment the camera "Card Full" message shows?   8 Male cardinals all sit close together in the same shrub!    LOL!