Winter's Jewels

Out of Season

I took this picture on the 22nd. I can't imagine what this poor little fellow was doing up here in a snowstorm, but today I saw two more!

I do hope this isn't a sign that an early spring is on the way. We still need so much rain and snow. But, more than that, I hope these Robins will find a safe, warm place to take shelter in if they plan on staying up here!

After the Storm

There's nothing like the color of a mountain sky after a snow storm. A friend e-mailed me the above picture; I can't make it out to the main road yet.

It was my intention to hike up to the top of the ridge behind my house so I could take a picture from the top. I got a little over half-way and decided that it would have to do. Whew...I am out of shape! Waaaaay out of shape.

We got a little over 4 feet of snow. Big Bear, a bit further up the mountain, received over 7 feet. The roads were a mess because, on the second day of the storm, Cal Trans had a scheduled furlough day! So, no plowing got done on the state highways that day. The state highways to the ski resorts are now plowed clear of snow, but I thought the county plows would get to our road, too.  Not yet!  But my larder is well stocked, both for humans and animals, so we can wait. Amazingly, we only lost power for a couple of hours! My husband was just getting ready to go out and start the generator when the power came back on.

The people who live down in the foothills in the areas that burned in last year's fires also fared well, thank goodness. There was flooding, but no major mudslides or damage.

Right! No, Left!

The snow has been blowing sideways, first right, then left. A couple of times I could swear it was going up. A real, old fashioned blizzard, the kind we used to be able to count on to occur at least four or five times during a winter.

We've got about 14 inches on the ground as I write this, and it is supposed to continue snowing through Friday. For the elevation I live at the weather wizards are predicting about 7 feet of snow, but I don't think we'll get anywhere near that. I think we'll probably top out around 3 or 4 feet.

But, I wouldn't mind it if the weather wizards are right!

Billions of Blessings

It is finally snowing and raining here in Southern California! Yesterday we received nearly 7 inches of rain at the rate of 1 inch per hour. Today, more rain for the lowlands and snow up here. Each raindrop and snowflake is a blessing gratefully received by the parched earth, dehydrated trees, plants and some of the people; I'm amazed at the number of people shown on the news who live in the lowland areas who are complaining about the rain! I'm not talking about the people who live in the burn areas and are in grave danger of having their homes washed away by mudslides. My heart goes out to them and my prayers, too. I'm talking about people who are just a bit inconvenienced by rain but complain bitterly about it. Unbelievably self-centered...

More than billions of raindrops and snowflakes fell, and will fall, I'm sure. The weather people say we may have 4 to 6 feet of snow on the ground by Friday evening up here, and over twenty inches of rain in the lowlands. I'm hoping, for the sake of the people in the burn areas, that it won't be that much in such a short period of time, but that we will keep getting rain and snow storms that are more spread out. That way the earth will have time to, hopefully, absorb the water.

Rain, snow, water, precipitation...what beautiful words! :)

Who Cares?

Furgus doesn't care that we're still in a drought. He's just happy that it's sunny, 53 degrees F. and I have all the windows and doors open. That way, he can follow the sun around the house and bask in it's warmth. (That is some of the cats' play yard fencing behind the window screen. I don't let our cats use the play yard in cold weather because our ferals like to lay on the cushions in the play yard).

We did get a slight misting of moisture last night, not really enough to even call it rain. BUT! The weather people are predicting heavy rain, and snow above 7,000 feet, starting next Sunday or Monday. They say this should change our dry weather pattern and put us into a wet one for several months.

Oh, how I hope they're right!

All Right, STOP IT!

This is a picture from last year. This is the way it normally looks in Big Bear, and here, too, at this time of year.

But, not this year. The ground is completely bare, no snow, no rain, no form of precipitation of any form.

So, I have a request for those of you in the south eastern United States, England, and anywhere else that is getting much more snow than usual. If any of you were, or are, praying for snow, please....STOP IT!


(Not that I seriously think that any of you are still doing this, but we're getting desperate out here...)

Wordlesss Wednesday - Mine

Oh, Thoot!

"There thee ifh again wif that darn camawa!" I bet that's what this little Chickadee is saying, but she can't speak clearly with a full beak. I'm sure her mother taught her better manners! ;-)

The birds have been feeding heavily even though there isn't a speck of snow on the ground. It's cold, though; our lows have ranged from 7 to 22 degrees Fahrenheit over the past month. I'm going to have to visit the feed store tomorrow to buy more suet cakes, peanuts and black oil sunflower seeds. It's my belief a full tummy makes for a warm little critter!