Life in the Bristolwood

I suppose that those folks who feel overwhelmed by our winter must be feeling really poorly now.  I can say that this weather really stinks!

Knowing that extra weight on the back deck is really stressful to the to the structure, I went out this morning and shoveled the heavy wet snow off.  Within an hour or two,  there was another inch or so of wet, sloppy slush.  Since that time,  I have been out there twice with shovel in hand, sloshing the messy stuff onto the ground. I just keep hoping no more will fall before the temperatures drop again.

The Scottie boys and I walked to the mailbox this afternoon and it was a humorous ordeal. We decided since we don’t have to travel today, we might as well wait and plow after this weather settles down some. I noted that our neighbors plowed and when the rain came a little later, their driveway looked very icy.  We thought it better to wait until there is no further threat of rain.

The Scotties discovered they could walk on top of the snow.  Well, although they *can* do this, the slightest scampering motion would cause them to fall through the thick crust on top to the softer snow underneath!  Since the snow is pretty much up to their shoulders, they had a bit of a time trying to get out of their predicament! Being wise little fellows, they soon figured out the safest place to walk was in the tracks from the Explorer.  Even though they certainly got a workout, they enjoyed the little excursion. Angus rolled about on the crusty surface, scratching his head from side to side and snaking his way along.

We got up near the house and heard the Canada Geese returning north. That is a definite sign for optimism!

I also noticed what seemed like hundreds of little finches in the trees near the window feeder. Their happy little chirps seemed more brightening than the bluest skies and sunshine.

The winter storm warning remains in effect until 8am tomorrow morning. Tonight, we will deal with more falling snow and high winds. Here’s looking to much kinder weather!

Yes, it is weather once again!

I had promised to take the kids to the mall last night…As Mark viewed the weather maps throughout the day, he wondered if the trip should be cancelled.  I picked up two of our kids’ friends at 3 and we decided to leave right away, thinking  if the weather got too bad, we would leave right away.

When we arrived at the mall, it really wasn’t bad.  We looked around for a couple of hours, then went to the food court and grabbed a bite to eat. The kids looked around for a short time afterward, then were prepared to leave. When I called Mark, he asked me to pick up some things for him at WalMart, which was several miles away.

I drove to WalMart…the roads were snow-covered, but driving the Explorer, we were fine. I remembered Mark warning just never to get overly-confident driving, lest I end up in a cornfield somewhere!  We did get to the store and we hurried to pick up what we needed.

The drive home was slow, but I took the back roads so I would not encounter much traffic. I trust myself on the roads, but not everyone else! I put the Explorer into High 4×4 the entire trip as the roads looked as though they had at least acouple of inches of snow on them.

As I ascended the back road to the house, you could have heard a pin drop. There are some fairly steep hills to get home, but the Explorer never missed a beat. One of the boys called his parents and his dad asked that we meet him shortly thereafter, as the roads were bad.

I arrived home at about 9:30, thankful that the Explorer was so snow-worthy! It came right up our hill with no hesitation.

I fixed Mark some soup and went to bed. Even though the driving didn’t *seem* to bother me, it certainly made me tired!

I never awakened until 7 and then I stayed in bed, watching the birds in the trees outside the windows. I could hear the pinging of sleet on the windows and the bed was so warm and cozy. Finally, when the Scotties began to stir, I knew I couldn’t hide in bed all day!

As I said, we are now experiencing the joys of sleet over the several inches of snow we received. It is making for a mess and the shoveling is very heavy and  slow! In the photos below, you can see how the icy mess coming down has left what looks like a “chiseled” appearance to the snow on top of things.  It has also compressed the snow, making the 5 or 6 inches we got look deceptively less!

Uncle!!! We have had enough (too much!) of this messy weather already…