Snow!

Here's what our back yard looked like at 8:00 this morning. Precipitation was still falling then, in the form of snow mixed with sleet.


The birds have had a field day at the feeders. In fact, Norman and I discovered a couple of new birds on the ground this morning. Small bright spots stood out in contrast to the snow, on birds we would ordinarily have dismissed as finches. The first was a small grayish bird with a red spot on its head. We only saw it briefly, but believe it was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The second had a spot of yellow by its tail, and more yellow on its breast. We both saw it/them a couple of times and identified it as a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

I measured in the front yard around 9:30, and it looks like we got about 4".


The kids have bundled up and gone outside twice, but the snow doesn't stick together well. It's not very much fun to play in the snow when you can't make snowballs or snowmen; it's just cold.




There are currently 586 "Closings and Delays" reported on the local TV's website. Looks like we may be stuck in the house for a few days, since driving will be a nightmare. They just don't have the equipment and manpower to clean up after storms like they do in Maine. Fortunately, it doesn't snow very often here -- just enough for the kids to get a taste of what it's like.